Steps
to Recovery
| Canada's National Strategy |
| Regional Species at Risk programs |
| Recovery strategies and action plans |
| Local partners in action |
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Canada’s national strategy
- national cooperation among government bodies (National Accord
for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada);
- legislation (Species at Risk Act);
- funding for stewardship actions in priority ecosystems (Habitat
Stewardship Fund);
- incentives for donating ecologically sensitive lands (Ecological
Gifts Program).
Regional Species at Risk programs
Working with a range of partners, Environment Canada provides leadership,
expertise, support and coordination for recovery work, including:
- recovery teams and planning;
- stewardship funding and activities;
- development of a shared data repository;
- recovery activities for migratory birds and Species at Risk
found on federal lands;
- species inventories for National Wildlife Areas and First Nations
lands;
- research on Species at Risk in forest and wetland ecosystems.
Habitat
Stewardship Program
On average, projects funded under this program benefit 75 wild
species each year. The federal program supports projects that contribute
to species recovery as identified in recovery strategies or recovery
action plans that are in place for a species. Activities may include
habitat improvement, habitat restoration, outreach and communication,
and land securement. Current regional priorities for protection
are grasslands, Carolinian forest, wetlands and aquatic ecosystems.
Ecological
Gifts Program
Private and corporate landowners who donate ecologically sensitive
lands, or interests in such lands, can receive significant tax benefits
through Environment Canada's Ecological Gifts Program, also known
as ecogifts.
Recovery Strategies and Action Plans
The federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) requires
the development of recovery strategies to outline the steps necessary
to recover extirpated, endangered and threatened Species at Risk.
The strategies must include recovery action plans with identified
timelines. Management plans are required for species of special
concern. All required documents are made available to the public
on-line via the SARA Public Registry.
Recovery teams
Recovery teams are formed through partnerships among government
bodies, First Nations, Conservation Authorities, private volunteers,
and non-government organizations of all sizes and capacities. Teams
usually include expert representatives from a variety of wildlife
organizations.
Increasingly, recovery teams focus on a priority ecosystem rather
than a single species. In Ontario, eight recovery teams cover all
Species at Risk found in these priority ecosystems: Ausable River,
Grand River, Sydenham River, Thames River, tallgrass prairie communities,
Lake Erie sand spits, Lake Huron coastal dune grasslands, and Walpole
Island.
Nearly two-thirds of the Species at Risk in Ontario can be found
on federal lands, including First Nations lands, although a large
majority of the species are more abundant on privately owned lands.
Many Species at Risk are concentrated in relatively small areas:
| Location |
Species at Risk present |
Ecosystems present |
| Walpole Island First Nation |
51 |
Tallgrass prairie, oak savanna, Carolinian
forest, streams, coastal waters, wetlands |
| Point Pelee National Park |
50 |
Savanna, dune, Carolinian forest,
coastal waters, wetlands |
| Long Point |
29 |
Dune, coastal waters, marsh, swamp,
cottonwood-red cedar savanna, hardwood forest |
| St. Clair National Wildlife Area |
21 |
Marsh, aquatic, tallgrass prairie |
| Note:
Scientists continue to conduct species inventories on federal
lands in Ontario. On completion of these inventories, the above
chart will be updated (2003). |
| Photo:
Long Point National Wildlife Area sand dune / Canadian Wildlife
Service |
Local Partners in Action
Local partners including volunteer organizations, individuals and
community groups are essential in carrying out recovery projects
that benefit species at risk. See our Partners
at Work and learn more about on-going recovery projects across
Ontario.
| What
is critical habitat? |
The term
critical habitat is a central concept to the recovery of Species
at Risk, and is integrated into the Species
at Risk Act. Critical habitat is generally defined as
“that portion of the habitat that is essential for the
survival or recovery of a species listed under the Species
at Risk Act.”
Critical habitat is identified using the best available scientific
information about the physical, biological and geospatial needs
of a species, including:
- space for individual and population
growth, and for normal behaviour;
- food, water, light, air, minerals
or other nutritional or physiological needs;
- cover or shelter;
- sites for breeding, reproduction,
and rearing of offspring, and;
- habitat that is protected from disturbance
or is representative of the historical geographic and ecological
distribution of a species.
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