COSEWIC Assessment Process Overview

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) exists to provide Canadians and their governments with advice regarding the status of wild species that are nationally at risk of extinction or extirpation.

The COSEWIC assessment process is divided into three sequential steps, each of which has a tangible outcome. The steps are outlined briefly below, and more detail is provided on the web page detailing COSEWIC's assessment process. Each of the three steps below forms a key component of the COSEWIC website.

• selection and prioritization of species requiring assessment - the Prioritized Candidate list;
• compilation of available data, knowledge and information - the COSEWIC status report; and
• assessment of a species' risk of extinction or extirpation and subsequent designation - the COSEWIC status assessment and designation.