Transcript Species at Risk 101_2 hour version_Apr2008m

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?
5
“Species”
Extinct
or
Extirpated
in BC
4
3
2
1
Fi
Le
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Va
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Bi
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pt
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Public Opinion on Endangered
Species Legislation
6
% of Canadians polled
Strongly
Support
28
Support
Somewhat
66
Do Not
Support
94 % support
Pollara pollsters 2000
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
iii) to establish complementary legislation and programs that will:
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;
and
o. provide for effective enforcement.
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)
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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
A ASSESSMENT
 Status Reports
 Review
 COSEWIC Decision
How SARA works….
B RESPONSE
STATEMENTS
C LEGAL LISTING
 Endangered
 Threatened
D
PROTECTION
Safety Net
Automatic
Prohibitions
Mandatory
Recovery Planning
E
RECOVERY
Stewardship Programs /
Incentives
Permits/Agreements
Critical Habitat (Safety Net )
SARA – Basic Elements
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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
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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
White-headed Woodpecker
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Spotted Owl
If the provinces and territories do not
effectively protect listed species, the
federal government can apply the
“safety net” provisions of SARA
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
26
58
41
49
55
52
55
242
117
109
27
114
265
140
77
71
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
(6)
Other, partial
protection
(0)
(0)
(28)
(24)
Not in place
(4)
(15)
(77)
(34)
(0)
(43)
(41)
(16)
Stick and Carrots
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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
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Alberta – gap in legal protection
of tiny cryptanthe and smallflowered sand verbena
Piping plover – inclusion of critical habitat in the
recovery strategy posted on SARA public registry
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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
Spotted Owl – reasonableness of minister’s
decision that the species is not at imminent risk
(section 80)
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DFO- judicial review on Sakinaw Sockeye listing.
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
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Created in 1977
Recognized in the Accord as:
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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)
slow
• 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)
fast
Scouler’s Corydalis
Getting off the List (cont.)
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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 Rank
Applicable to different “elements”:
vertebrates
 ecological communities
 invertebrates
 vascular plants
 non-vascular plants
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Any Scale
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global,
national,
provincial,
your backyard
Criteria
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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
CDC SARA, WA, COSEWIC
Red list
Blue list
S1
S1S2
S2
S2S3
S3
S3S4
S4
S4S5
S5
Endangered
Threatened
Special
Concern
Legal listing
Federal
Provincial
Status report
CDC
assessment
COSEWIC
assessment
Status report
Governor
in Council
Lieutenant
Governor
in Council
Species at Risk
Act
(Schedule 1)
Wildlife Act
(regulation)
BC’s approach to protecting
Species At Risk
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BC has committed to
the National Accord
for the Protection of
Species at Risk
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The Province will use
authorities in a
number of statutes to
protect and recover
species at risk
Vancouver Island Marmot
Jared Hobbs
Existing Tools
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Wildlife Act
Forest and Range
Practices Act
Parks and Protected
Areas
Land Use Planning
Support for Recovery
Planning
Community Charter
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(Variety of federal acts)
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Wood bison
Wildlife Amendment Act, 2004
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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 Act
Identified Wildlife
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“Category of species at risk” established by
order under the Forest and Range Practices Act
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Includes 85 species or plant communities
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Enables the wildlife management provisions of
FRPA to be applied (e.g. creation of wildlife
habitat areas with general wildlife measures)
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Powerful tool for preventing species from
becoming at risk from Forest and Range
activities (if we add to FRPA list preventatively)
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need a similar tool for other industries
Land Tenure Challenges
Number of known occurrences of red-listed species
on different land tenures:
Federal Parks (168)
Provincial Parks (1241)
Crown Land
(3105)
Aboriginal Land (381)
Private land (2562)
TFL (436)
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 Planning
Species assessed as
Extirpated, Endangered or
Threatened
Recovery Team
may be formed
Recovery
Strategy
Recovery Projects
are implemented
Recovery
Implementation
Groups (RIGs)
may be formed
Recovery
Action Plan
(RAP)
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:
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endeavour to develop recovery strategies and
action plans that meet timelines and other
requirements set in federal and provincial
legislation.
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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
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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 coleading 32 teams
 BC lead or co-lead
teams are engaged in
planning for 133
COSEWIC species
(121 SARA listed species)
Federal
lead, 22
BC colead, 6
BC lead,
26
Approaches to Recovery
Planning
American Badger, jeffersonii
Single Species
Multiple Species
Ecosystems
Landscapes
SARA and
Recovery Planning
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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
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"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.
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Must be identified “to the extent possible”
“based on the best available information”
Legal challenges under SARA
Failure to identify critical habitat in
recovery strategies posted on the SARA
public registry
Sage Grouse
Piping Plover
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David Menke, USFWS
Nooksack Dace
Mike Pearson
Sand-verbena moth habitat
SARA and Critical Habitat:
Protection
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Nick Page
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
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Provincial approach
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Provincial recovery strategies are advice:
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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:
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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
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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:
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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
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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
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“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.”
Scouler’s corydalis
Re-assessment, down-listing
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
CITES
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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
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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
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Focus on Provincial priorities
Work cooperatively with the federal
government
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Proactive management approach
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Canada – BC bilateral agreement
Species at risk and species becoming at risk
Priority driven
Performance-based management
New governance and funding models
Framework Goals
1) To contribute to global efforts for species and
ecosystem conservation
2) To prevent species and ecosystems from
becoming at risk
3) To maintain the full diversity of native species
and ecosystems
Western Painted Turtle
White-headed woodpecker
Woodland Caribou
A new planning tool
1) Prioritization component
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Prioritize species for conservation and management
efforts
Separate prioritization tools for each of the 3 goals
2) Management action sorting component
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Based on a “decision key”
Consistent assignment of species to appropriate
management actions
Developing a similar tool for ecosystems
1981
1930
Questions?
1918
1940
Last seen:1910
1924
1922
Questions?