Species at Risk 101

© Jared Hobbs

Burrowing Owl

Outline

Background and History

(the Accord and SARA) Sticks and Carrots Assessment and Listing BC’s approach Recovery Planning and Critical Habitat Conservation Framework (teaser)

Why Protect Species at Risk?

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“Species” Extinct or Extirpatedin BC

Public Opinion on Endangered Species Legislation

66

28

6

StronglySupport

SupportSomewhat

Do NotSupport

Pollara pollsters 2000

% of Canadians polled

94 % support

Rio Convention

1992

Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk

Goal: to prevent species in Canada from becoming extinct as a result of human activity

Recognizes that: cooperation between jurisdictions is crucial conservation of species at risk is key

element of Canadian Biodiversity Strategy

Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk

We agree to:

i) participate in the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council

ii) recognize the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada

iii) establish complementary legislation that provide for effective protection of species at risk

Agreements under the Accord

a. address all native wild species;b. provide an independent process for assessing the status of species at risk;c. legally designate species as threatened

or endangered;d. provide immediate legal protection for threatened or endangered species;e. provide protection for the habitat of threatened or endangered species;f. provide for the development of recovery plans within one year for endangered species and two years for threatened species that address the identified threats to the species and its habitat;g. ensure multi-jurisdictional cooperation for the protection of species that cross borders through the development and implementation of recovery plans;

h. consider the needs of species at risk as part of environmental assessment processes;i. implement recovery plans in a timely fashion;j. monitor, assess and report regularly on the status of all wild species;k. emphasize preventive measures to keep species from becoming at risk;l. improve awareness of the needs of species at risk;m. encourage citizens to participate in conservation and protection actions;n. recognize, foster and support effective and long term stewardship by resource users and managers, landowners, and other citizens; ando. provide for effective enforcement.

iii) to establish complementary legislation and programs that will:

Key Accord Agreements Establish complementary legislation and

programs that will: legally designate species as threatened or

endangered provide immediate legal protection for

threatened or endangered species provide protection for the habitat of

threatened or endangered species provide for development and implementation

of recovery plans emphasize preventative measures foster stewardship

The Species at Risk Act (SARA)

SARA (Bill C-5) has been structured around the Accord, and fulfils the federal governments’ commitment to it.

As of June 5, 2004 SARA is fully in force

D PROTECTION

ERECOVERY

How SARA works….

Automatic Prohibitions

Permits/Agreements

Safety Net

Mandatory Recovery Planning

Stewardship Programs / Incentives

Critical Habitat (Safety Net )

C LEGAL LISTING Endangered Threatened

C LEGAL LISTING Endangered Threatened

B RESPONSE STATEMENTS

B RESPONSE STATEMENTS

A ASSESSMENT Status Reports Review COSEWIC Decision

A ASSESSMENT Status Reports Review COSEWIC Decision

SARA – Basic Elements Independent, science based assessments Legal listing process Prohibitions against killing, harming, or

trade in individuals or destruction of residence

Recovery and management planning Stewardship measures to protect critical

habitat with prohibition as backstop Effective enforcement measures

SARA and the provinces SARA is “safety net” legislation. It applies to all listed species on

federal lands and to listed aquatic species and migratory birds on other lands

If the provinces and territories do not effectively protect listed species, the federal government can apply the “safety net” provisions of SARA

White-headed Woodpecker

Spotted Owl

SARA and the “Safety Net”Applies: If the laws of the province do not adequately

protect other species or their residence; and If critical habitat on non-federal lands is not

“effectively protected” by other legislation or voluntary measures

Emergency Orders (section 80): To identify and protect habitat of a species at

risk if the minister is of the opinion that the species faces imminent threats to its survival or recovery

242

265

58

109114

140

55

71

41

27

77

55 5249

26

117

Number of species assessed by COSEWIC

Canadian Jurisdictions with Legislation & Regulations providing for protection of individuals and residences

of listed Species at Risk (numbers)

Stand alone, full protection

Other, full protection

Other, partial protection

Not in place(4)

(6)(0)

(28)(0)

(41)

(16)

(77)(0)

(43)

(34)(15)

(24)

Stick and Carrots

SARA safety net Legal challenges CEC and NAFTA Pelly Amendment CITES GAO Review Canada-US agreement on Species at Risk Market pressures (e.g. certification programs)

Legal challenges – species at risk Alberta – gap in legal protection

of tiny cryptanthe and small-flowered sand verbena

Piping plover – inclusion of critical habitat in the recovery strategy posted on SARA public registry

Spotted Owl – reasonableness of minister’s decision that the species is not at imminent risk (section 80)

DFO- judicial review on Sakinaw Sockeye listing.

Commission on Environmental Cooperation (NAFTA) – failure of Canada to enforce timelines for posting recovery strategies and to effectively enforce the emergency order provisions under s. 80 for Spotted Owl in BC and Woodland Caribou in AB

May 17, 2007

MCGUINTY GOVERNMENT STRENGTHENS PROTECTION FOR ONTARIO’S SPECIES AT RISK

New Legislation Is Among The Strongest In North America

TORONTO — Ontario is now a North American leader in species at risk protection and recovery with the passage of The Endangered Species Act, 2007, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay said today.

“This act represents a milestone in the protection and recovery of species at risk in Ontario and establishes a benchmark for the rest of the world,” said Ramsay. “This legislation also ensures that future generations of Ontarians will benefit from a healthier and diverse natural environment.”

More effective legislation is just one component of the government’s comprehensive three-part approach to species at risk protection that also includes programs and policies to implement the new legislation, and greater support for public stewardship initiatives.

“The new act takes a stewardship-first approach to protection of species and their habitats,” said Ramsay.  “We will back up our commitment to this approach with funding of $18 million over four years to support public stewardship activities protecting essential habitat and green space.”

The Ministry of Natural Resources is working with its conservation partners to develop the stewardship program. Initiatives eligible for stewardship funding may include outreach and education projects, habitat enhancement and recovery, youth employment and research activities, and support for landowner efforts to protect species and habitat.

COSEWIC

Created in 1977 Recognized in the Accord as:

a source of independent advice on the status of SAR nationally

established legally under the Species at Risk Act

Reports to the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council

Receives an annual letter of instruction

COSEWIC Assessment

Step 1. Is the species eligible for assessment? Step 2. Is the status report acceptable?Step 3. Apply the quantitative criteria.Step 4. Is there rescue effect?Step 5. Are there life history or other considerations?Step 6. Is the status suggested by steps1-5 above consistent with the definition of (Extinct, Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, Special Concern)

COSEWIC’s Criteria

Criteria: A - Declining population B - Small distribution and decline or

fluctuation C - Small population size and decline D - Very small population size E - Quantitative Analysis for Extinction

Risk

Getting off the List

• wait for the ten year review (10 years)

• request an assessment by COSEWIC (2-6 years)

• submit an unsolicited status report (1 year)

• request an emergency assessment(Extirpated to Endangered only) (.3 year)

slow

fast

Scouler’s Corydalis

Getting off the List (cont.)

Go extinct

B.C. Conservation Data Centre

Burgman, M.A. 2004. Evaluating methods for assessing extinction risk. Acta Oecologica 26:65-66.Regan, T.J. et al. In press. The consistency of extinction risk classification protocols. Conservation Biology.Burgman, M.A. and J.C. Fox. 2003. Bias in species range estimates from minimum convex polygons: implications for conservation and options for improved planning. Animal Conservation 6:19-28.Keith, D.A. et al. 2004. Protocols for listing threatened species can forecast extinction. Ecology Letters 7:1101-1108.Maunder, M.N. 2004. Population viability analysis based on combining Bayesian, integrated, and hierarchical analyses. Acta Oecologica 26:85-94.McCarthy, M.A. et al. 2004. Comparing predictions of extinction risk using models and subjective judgment. Acta Oecologica 26:67-74.Regan, T.J. et al. 2004. Capturing expert knowledge for threatened species assessments: a case study using NatureServe conservation status ranks. Acta Oecologica 26:95-107.O’Grady, J.J. et al. 2004. Correlations among extinction risks assessed by different systems of threatened species categorization. Conservation Biology 18:1-12.Possingham, H.P. et al. 2004. Limits to the use of threatened species lists. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17:503-507.

Conservation Status Ranking

Uses a standard set of criteria developed over the past 30 years by

the international organization, NatureServe (IUCN member) in

conjunction with other well established ranking schemes

Conservation Status RankApplicable to different “elements”:

vertebrates ecological communities invertebrates vascular plants non-vascular plants

Any Scale

global, national, provincial, your backyard

Criteria Long-term Trend Short-term Trend Population Size Range Extent Area of Occupancy Number of Occurrences Number of Occurrences with Good Viability Threats (Severity, Scope, and Immediacy) Intrinsic Vulnerability Environmental Specificity Other Considerations

Endangered

Threatened

Special Concern

CDC SARA, WA, COSEWIC

S1S1S2S2S2S3S3S3S4S4S4S5S5

Red list

Blue list

Legal listing

COSEWICassessment

CDCassessment

Governor in Council

Lieutenant Governor in Council

Species at Risk Act

(Schedule 1)

Wildlife Act(regulation)

Federal Provincial

Status report

Status report

BC’s approach to protectingSpecies At Risk

BC has committed to the National Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk

The Province will use authorities in a number of statutes to protect and recover species at risk

Jared Hobbs

Vancouver Island Marmot

Existing Tools

Wildlife Act Forest and Range

Practices Act Parks and Protected

Areas Land Use Planning Support for Recovery

Planning Community Charter (Variety of federal acts)

Wood bison

Wildlife Amendment Act, 2004

Enables Cabinet to list as endangered, threatened or extirpated the full range of species that can be similarly listed under the federal Species at Risk Act

With listing comes a series of prohibitions against the killing, trading, trafficking and transport of individuals of that species

Cabinet also has the ability to define and protect the residence of a listed species

Does not expand provisions for habitat protection for species at risk

Forest and Range Practices ActIdentified Wildlife

“Category of species at risk” established by order under the Forest and Range Practices Act

Includes 85 species or plant communities Enables the wildlife management provisions of

FRPA to be applied (e.g. creation of wildlife habitat areas with general wildlife measures)

Powerful tool for preventing species from becoming at risk from Forest and Range activities (if we add to FRPA list preventatively)

need a similar tool for other industries

Land Tenure ChallengesNumber of known occurrences of red-listed species on different land tenures:

Aboriginal Land (381)

Federal Parks (168)

Provincial Parks (1241)

Private land (2562)TFL (436)

Crown Land (3105)

Recovery Planning The process of planning and implementing

priority actions to reduce the risk of extinction for species listed as endangered, threatened or extirpated

Planning documents:

Recovery strategy

Recovery Action plan(s)

Sharp-tailed Snake Recovery Team

Recovery Team may be formed

Recovery Strategy

Recovery Action Plan

(RAP)

Recovery Implementation Groups (RIGs) may be formed

Recovery Projects are implemented

Recovery Planning

Species assessed as Extirpated, Endangered or

Threatened

Recovery planning – why do it?Accord commitments:

f. provide for the development of recovery plans within one year for Endangered species and two years for Threatened species that address the identified threats to the species and its habitat;

Bilateral commitments: endeavour to develop recovery strategies and

action plans that meet timelines and other requirements set in federal and provincial legislation.

apply a two stage approach to recovery planning (recovery strategy and action plan)

Responsibility for Recovery Planning in BC

Species or Land Ownership Lead Jurisdiction

Migratory Birds Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS)

Marine Species Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)

Freshwater Fish DFO and BC Ministry of Environment (MOE)

Other Wildlife BC Ministry of Environment

National Parks, National Historic Sites and National Marine Conservation Areas

Parks Canada Agency (PCA) for species whose Canadian distribution lies mainly on lands under PCA jurisdiction and other species of interest as agreed to by the responsible jurisdiction(s).

Federal lands (non-park, i.e., Department of National Defence lands, Indian Reserves)

CWS if the majority of the listed population in British Columbia is on “non-park” federal lands

Recovery Teams - role accountable to the lead jurisdiction the primary role of the team is to provide

the best available scientific advice on how to recover the species

this advice is provided to government and others in the form of a recovery strategy

decision making and accountability for making management decisions rests with the responsible jurisdiction

Recovery Planning in BC

54 recovery teams are currently active in BC

BC is leading or co-leading 32 teams

BC lead or co-lead teams are engaged in planning for 133 COSEWIC species

(121 SARA listed species) BC co-lead, 6

BC lead, 26

Federal lead, 22

Approaches to Recovery Planning

Single Species

Multiple Species

Ecosystems

Landscapes

American Badger, jeffersonii

SARA and Recovery Planning Recovery strategies for endangered

threatened and extirpated species must be prepared within specific time frames ( 1, 2, 3 years)

Management plans must be prepared for species of special concern (3 years)

Recovery strategies and action plans must address threats and identify critical habitat

Minister must report on implementation every five years

SARA and Critical Habitat: Identification "critical habitat" means the habitat that is

necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species.

Must be identified “to the extent possible” “based on the best available information”

Failure to identify critical habitat in recovery strategies posted on the SARA public registry

Legal challenges under SARA

Piping PloverDavid Menke, USFWS

Sage Grouse

Mike Pearson

Nooksack Dace

SARA and Critical Habitat: Protection

Critical habitat identified in the final version of a recovery strategy or action plan posted on the SARA public registry: On federal lands, must be protected within

180 days On other lands, if it is not “effectively

protected” the federal minister must recommend that SARA “safety net” provisions be invoked

Sand-verbena moth habitat

Nick Page

Provincial approach Provincial recovery strategies are advice:

Contain a description of the bio-physical attributes of habitat but do not include geospatial information on critical habitat

Policies and procedures will be developed to ensure that: Identification of critical habitat is transparent, and

science-based Decisions regarding protection of habitat include

consideration of existing provincial tools, socioeconomic factors, and consultation as appropriate

Canada – BC Agreement on Species at Risk

Framework for communication and cooperation on species at risk in BC

Federal agencies have indicated that they will not post recovery strategies without at least a partial identification of critical habitat (if information exists)

Species at Risk Coordinating Committee Decision: If critical habitat needs to be identified in the recovery

strategy or an addendum to it, the first step will be to consult with the province, so that we can work together to design a consultation process and steps that will result in effective protection.

An example of effective protection in BC Parks Lyall’s mariposa lily, Threatened, SARA schedule 1 10 of 12 populations occur in the South Okanagan

Grasslands Protected Area (SOGPA) Habitat in the SOGPA is protected from loss, but may be

impacted by threats from invasive alien plants, cattle grazing and forest encroachment

Stewardship Plan for the Lyall’s Mariposa Lily in the South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area: 2008 to 2012 “This plan provides effective protection for the Lyall’s mariposa

lily in the SOGPA by addressing and monitoring major threats, as identified in the recovery strategy.”

Inventory & habitat protection Scouler’s corydalis – inventory & protection

resulted in COSEWIC re-assessment of Not at Risk (from Threatened) – may be removed SARA

Dragonflies - inventory work resulted in provincial status re-assessment for multiple species (down from red-listed)

Harvest management Sea otter & wood bison were harvested extensively,

now populations are expanding Sea otter has been re-assessed as Special

Concern by COSEWIC

Re-assessment, down-listingScouler’s corydalis

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Movement to morphing it into sustainability treaty (esp. by the EU, USA and Australia)

Regulation of commercially fished and timber spp

Need to maintain our reputation on SAR management.

Setting Conservation Priorities

Widespread recognition that there are limited resources for species at risk

Risk listing is not the same as conservation priority (just one of the things you take into account)

Recovery efforts fail primarily because action is taken too late

to be effective (McClure et al. 2005)

To be effective at species recovery, we need to:

1) Act sooner

2) Act smarter

3) Invest more wisely

4) Be coordinated, consistent, and predictable

New Provincial Strategy- the CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK

Focus on Provincial priorities Work cooperatively with the federal

government Canada – BC bilateral agreement

Proactive management approach Species at risk and species becoming at risk

Priority driven Performance-based management New governance and funding models

Framework Goals1) To contribute to global efforts for species and

ecosystem conservation 2) To prevent species and ecosystems from

becoming at risk3) To maintain the full diversity of native species

and ecosystems

Woodland CaribouWhite-headed woodpecker

Western Painted Turtle

A new planning tool

1) Prioritization component Prioritize species for conservation and management

efforts Separate prioritization tools for each of the 3 goals

2) Management action sorting component Based on a “decision key” Consistent assignment of species to appropriate

management actions

Developing a similar tool for ecosystems

19221924

Last seen:1910

1940

19811918

1930

Questions?

Questions?