Protecting Wildlife in Canada for 25 Years

Did you know there are currently 402 species at risk in Canada? For the past 25 years, the dedicated wildilfe scientists and experts of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) have been assessing the status of native wild species so that appropriate actions to protect those that are at risk can be taken.

Celebrating 25 Years of Science and Knowledge

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, was established in 1977 to answer the need for a single, official and scientifically sound list of wildlife at risk in Canada. The Committee has evolved to become the most credible and authoritative voice on the status of wildlife species in Canada. Its success is due largely to the scientists and experts who have given countless hours to assess the status of species at risk.

How it works

The national status of wild native species, subspecies and separate populations suspected of being at risk is determined by COSEWIC which reports its findings to government and the public. Decisions are based on the best available scientific information, local and Aboriginal traditional knowledge and the evaluation process is independent, open and transparent.

The Committee is made up of representatives from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Environment Canada, Parks Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biosystematics Partnership, currently chaired by Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government experts, representatives from the scientific community and Aboriginal traditional knowledge experts.

In order to take appropriate actions to protect species that are at risk, those species most in need of protection must first be identified to help focus efforts in the right direction.

There are eight species specialist subcommittees, each dealing with a unique taxonomic group of species:

• birds
• terrestrial mammals
• marine mammals
• amphibians and reptiles
• freshwater fish
• marine fish
• plants and lichens
• lepidopterans and molluscs

There is also a new subcommittee for Aboriginal traditional knowledge.

A status report is prepared on each species suspected of being at risk and serves as the basis to assess their status. Key information that helps determine how a species is doing includes the current and historic population size and distribution, magnitude of change in these parameters over time, and current and possible future threats to the species and to its habitat.

In most cases, a species is considered to be at risk if it occurs in small and/or declining numbers that will likely continue to dwindle and eventually disappear if nothing is done to stop or reverse the factors causing the declines. Even if not declining, small populations occupying restricted areas can be at risk as they can be devastated by a single natural or human induced event.

For example, nowhere but in Banff National Park have the right chemical, biological and geological forces combined to give rise to a remarkable species called the Banff springs snail. This species is considered endangered and could disappear altogether, unless efforts to protect its habitat continue.

The Garry Oak ecosystem in southern British Columbia is a mix of woodlands, meadows, grasslands and open rocky areas. It is uncommonly drought tolerant, and it contains 93 species of mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, butterflies, mosses and plants that are listed as endangered or threatened in British Columbia. Of these species, 21 are listed by COSEWIC as being at risk nationally. This is an exceptional number of species at risk in a single ecosystem. Work is underway to protect this unique habitat and to help ensure species survival.

COSEWIC also has the power to designate species on an emergency basis when there is a clear, immediate danger of serious decline in the species population and/or range. An emergency listing can also be made when such a decline is already in progress and will continue unless immediate corrective actions are taken. This power also applies when the delay involved with going through the normal process could contribute to the species' jeopardy. The first emergency status designation was for the Oregon Spotted Frog in November 1999. Because of the early spring breeding season of this rare frog, British Columbia requested that an emergency listing be made based on the evidence contained in a preliminary status report. This allowed a recovery team to be set up in time for the critical breeding season for the species.