News Release

Environment Minister Proposes to Add 42 Species, Including the Fin Whale and Ancient Murrelet, to the Species At Risk Act

OTTAWA, June 12, 2006 - The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, in consultation with the Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced her proposed recommendation to add 42 new animals, plants and fish to the list of species protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

The proposals to amend the list of protected species were published in the Canada Gazette, Part 1, on June 10, 2006. Canadians will have until July 10, 2006 to provide further comments or concerns about the listing recommendations. A final decision on this set of species will be made by the Government by August 16, 2006.

The recommendation to add new species to SARA is based on scientific assessments by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and on consultations with governments, landowners, conservationists, Aboriginal peoples, stakeholders and the Canadian public. COSEWIC assesses the biological status and risk of extinction using the best available scientific, community, and Aboriginal traditional knowledge. The assessments were received by the Government in November 2005.

The Minister of the Environment is recommending that 32 terrestrial and 10 aquatic species be listed. These include birds, reptiles, arthropods, plants, mosses and lichens, fish, and whales. A significant benefit of adding species to Schedule 1 is that the listing helps to maintain diversity and healthy populations.

The Minister of the Environment is recommending that eight aquatic species not be listed at this time, including five populations of beluga whales, the porbeagle shark and two populations of white sturgeon. Further information is provided in the attached backgrounder "Rationale for recommendations to not list species under SARA".

It is also proposed that Verna's flower moth not be listed at this time, but be referred back to COSEWIC for further information and consideration, given the limited information on this species.

The implementation of the Species at Risk Act reinforces the Government of Canada's commitment to ensure the protection for species at risk and their ecosystems. Under the Act, stewardship is the first response to habitat protection.

More information regarding the SARA is available on the SARA Public Registry on the Internet at: www.sararegistry.gc.ca.

Information on the Habitat Stewardship Program for species at risk, and on Canada's Strategy for the Protection of Species at Risk, can be found on the Internet at: www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca.

Related Backgrounders:

• Rationale for recommendations to not list species under the Species at Risk Act
• Species at Risk Act Listing Process
• 42 Species recommended for SARA listing

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