Temporary Wildlife Fence

The City of Kingston has hired Dig’N Dirt to install temporary wildlife fencing along Abbey Dawn Road, Highway 2, and St. Lawrence Avenue. The purpose of this fence is to protect local wildlife. The installation of this temporary fence is a requirement from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks in advance of future construction activities for the flood protection measures project, such that turtle nesting occurs in safer areas, and outside of the future construction site. The temporary fence location and design was determined by the project’s ecologist. The fence is designed with turnarounds to help guide turtles and other animals to the Highway 2 culvert for safe crossing. An ecologist is on-site daily, supervising the installation. While on-site the ecologist has observed various species of birds nesting within the project limits and has educated the contractor on how best to install the fence while keeping disturbance to a minimum. If distress is exhibited by a nesting pair, work will cease temporarily until the birds have calmed or temporarily vacated the immediate area, allowing for installation to be completed quickly and the birds to return to the nest site. Please note, that there is little risk of nest abandonment, as these species are accustomed to anthropogenic habitats and are frequently exposed to human activity from the marina and vehicular traffic.

This temporary fence will also act as an erosion and sedimentation control measure during construction and will remain in place until a permanent wildlife fence is installed as a part of the flood protection measures project. Although the primary objective of the flood protection measures project is to provide enhanced flood protection along all three roadways, the project also aims to protect and enhance the natural environment through appropriate design and monitoring measures both preconstruction, during construction, and post-construction. Further information on this can be found in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which will be posted on the project Get Invovled Kingston (GIK) webpage once available. In the meantime, the Public Engagement Summary Report on the GIK webpage is a great resource.

This installation work could be completed as early as this Thursday. You can also track the status of this work via the City’s My Neighbourhood App.

Temporary signage will be installed by the end of May to prevent disturbances to the fence (see the image).