My grandchildren have delighted in helping rescue a few of the lost toadlets at Lost Lake in Whistler, and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) team do an incredible amount of work closing areas off and warning visitors to the park to watch where they step!
Sadly, our Elders have not been able to join us on these trips, because the car park is closed during migration time, and it is just too far for them to walk into the area.
Every year signs are posted around the lake, and cyclists are instructed to please walk their bikes.
It is a fact that many toads still die because of the impact of foot and bike traffic in the area, and maybe the RMOW will need to look at ways of enforcing the no riding of bikes around Lost Lake while the migration is on.
I have to say that on our visits we have noticed how many families biking were respectful and they did dismount to walk the area, but then we also saw those that disregarded the signs. Again, it is the tiny Western toadlets who then suffer.
Lost Lake is one of our Lil’wat Nation’s treasures, and we need to do more to ensure we protect the area and all its wildlife. My question is what the RMOW is going to do this year to protect these small Western toads as the migration will soon happen again—signs obviously do not work!
Kúkwstumckacw (Thank you),
Rosa Andrew // Mount Currie
[Editor’s note: Whistler’s annual Western toad migration from the shores of Lost Lake to the surrounding forests typically takes place in late July and early August each year. The RMOW has installed several permanent fixtures to assist with the migration, along with temporary structures and signage during the migration. Read more at whistler.ca/toads.]
