Search by Map
The main purpose of this web mapping application is to help you determine the presence of SARA Schedule 1 species (endangered, threatened, and special concern risk categories) in any region of Canada. Before beginning a search and using the results of your search, you must read and understand the Data Description and Limitations and Disclaimer sections. Instructions on how to perform a search are given in the How to Perform a Search by Map section.
The information obtained from this web site should be cited as follows: Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service. 2004. Species at Risk Web Mapping Application (http://www.sis.ec.gc.ca/ec_species/ec_species_e.phtml), accessed on [accessed date].
For more information or for comments on this application and on the distribution data, please contact Alain Filion (Alain.Filion@ec.gc.ca), Species at Risk Branch, Canadian Wildlife Service.
Data Description and Limitations
This web mapping application is limited to species belonging to SARA Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act. Note that some species do not have a distribution map on this site, which results in their exclusion from a search. Nonetheless, these are listed in the species table and indicated with a special icon (see below).
The distribution maps presented on this web site are based on limited available information. Because access to other data sources or field surveys could yield new distribution data, and because a species distribution is dynamic, the distribution maps displayed on this site do not represent an exhaustive and comprehensive inventory of a species current distribution. Therefore, only field inventories can determine with certainty which species are present in an area when precise knowledge of the presence / absence of species at risk is required for environmental assessment or for legal purposes (e.g. compliance with the Species at Risk Act (SARA)).
The distribution maps displayed on this web site are intended to be used at the national / regional scale; use at the local scale is inappropriate.
Disclaimer
This Disclaimer applies to distribution data displayed on this web site.
How to Perform a Search by Map
Step 1 - Selecting the taxonomic group and risk category of interestBy default, the distribution of all endangered, threatened and special concern species is shown when the application is first started. To select a specific taxonomic group and risk category, 1) click on the taxonomic group of interest at the top of the species table (this will limit the species list to that group), and 2) click on the number beside the risk category of interest; the species table and the map will automatically refresh to highlight those species in pale yellow and display their distribution maps (when they exist). For example, to select all endangered birds, 1) click on “Birds” at the top of the species table, and 2) click on the number beside the “Endangered” category; all endangered birds are now highlighted in pale yellow and those with a map are displayed (see following figure).
Step 2 - Navigating to the geographic area of interest
From the toolbar, select one of the following four buttons to navigate to your area of interest:
| Zoom In – select the button and draw a square on the map to zoom in to an area |  |
| Recentre - select the button and click on the map to recentre |  |
| Zoom Out – click the button to zoom out |  |
| Show Entire Country - click the button to display the map at the scale of the entire country |  |
Step 3 - Identifying species present
| From the toolbar, select the 'Species Search Within a Geographic Area' button and draw a rectangle around your area of interest to identify the species located within that area; those species are highlighted in bright yellow in the species table. For example, searching for the presence of endangered birds in southern Ontario identifies 6 species (the figure below shows part of the results). |  |
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Additional Features
| Help - For help on using this mapping application, click on the 'Help' button located at the top right corner of the map. |  |
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| More information - For additional information about a species, click on the 'More Information' button located to the left of the species name. A separate window will open linking to the individual species profile web page. |  |
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| Individual species distribution - To view the distribution map for an individual species, click on the 'Distribution Map' button also located to the left of the species name. |  |
| Species with no distribution map available are indicated with a special icon. | 
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| Reference map layers - Reference map layers may also be added to the display by simply checking which layers to include. For these layers to be displayed, click on the 'Redraw Map' button. Note that the list of available layers is dependant on the display scale. |  |
| Tools - Currently, only one tool is available: 'Distance'. To measure the distance between two points on the map, click on the 'Distance' button on the toolbar and then draw a line between those two points. |  |
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