2020 review of progress towards the protection and recovery of Ontario's species at risk

Overview

The Government of Ontario has published the 2020 Review of Progress towards the Protection and Recovery of Ontario’s Species at Risk, which includes progress reports for four species at risk, and highlights recent activities undertaken as part of the province’s species at risk program.

Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), reviews of progress towards the protection and recovery of a species are required to be conducted no later than the time specified in the government response statement (GRS) for each threatened, endangered or extirpated species, or not later than five years after the GRS is published if no time is specified.

Progress made towards the protection and recovery of a species, as reported in the reviews of progress, is based on progress made towards implementing the actions set out in the species’ GRS. Further, depending upon the information and resources available at the time of the review, the review can also help identify implementation gaps as well as opportunities to adjust protection and recovery actions to achieve the recovery goal for the species.

In 2020, reviews of progress towards protection and recovery are required for four species for which GRSs were published in 2015:

• 3 bird species: Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, and Barn Swallow
• 1 plant species: Showy Goldenrod (Boreal population)

Progress toward the protection and recovery of these four species is reported in a total of 3 reports – 2 single-species reports, and 1 multi-species report (i.e., for Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark).

This progress report consists of an Introduction, which provides an update of recent activities under Ontario’s species at risk program, and three chapters, with detailed information on the progress made toward the protection and recovery of the above-listed species.

Species at Risk in Ontario List

In 2020, there were no changes to the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List – no new species were listed, and no existing listings were changed. In other words, the status of species on the SARO List in 2020 remained the same as that in 2019.

• 117
  endangered
• 54
  threatened
• 56
  special concern
• 16
  extirpated

The provincial record of species at risk

Staff at the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) track Ontario’s species at risk by collecting, reviewing and managing species information that is then incorporated into the comprehensive provincial database known as Land Information Ontario (LIO). As of October 2020, LIO contained 761,165 observations and information on 26,277 occurrences of species at risk in Ontario.

Recovery strategies

As of December 2020, recovery strategies have been developed for 158 species at risk. Progress is being made towards the development of recovery strategies for an additional 17 endangered and threatened species. The Government of Ontario is cooperating with federal agencies on the development of the majority of these recovery strategies, and prioritizing the development of recovery strategies under the ESA for the remaining species.

Government response statements

The Government of Ontario publishes a government response statement (GRS) to identify and communicate how the government will support the recovery of a species. The GRS is Ontario's species-specific policy on what is needed to protect and recover the species. The GRS for a species includes a recovery goal as well as actions the government will lead or support to help achieve that goal.

Species at risk stewardship in Ontario Parks

Ontario Parks is a key partner in carrying out a range of actions that contribute to species at risk protection and recovery in Ontario. Each year, projects comprising research and monitoring, habitat creation, management, and restoration, and education and outreach, led by Ontario Parks staff, continue to bring us closer to realizing recovery goals and priorities for several species at risk.

Eastern Whip-poor-will research in Algonquin Park

A project supported by The Friends of Algonquin Park, Birds Canada, Ontario Parks, and the Species at Risk Stewardship Program is underway in Algonquin Provincial Park to examine if the Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferous) disproportionately use areas associated with one type of forestry practice over another. Forestry management approaches differ based on the forest type and the particular management area.

Using the knowledge that Eastern Whip-poor-will call most frequently in times of the full moon, teams head out every moon-lit evening during the whip-poor-will breeding season to survey different forest types. The goal is to note the presence or absence of birds and begin to fill knowledge gaps about whip-poor-will habitat preferences. Areas surveyed vary in the type of forest management applied and the time since the last forest harvest, with a variety of forest patch sizes and shapes being assessed.

By focusing on a sensitive bird such as the Eastern Whip-poor-will, the Friends of Algonquin Park and Bird Canada are aiming to improve the ecological integrity of Algonquin Provincial Park, helping to protect and assist this unique and important bird species. Research such as this will help inform planning for forest management which can be applied both within the Park and to other crown land areas over space and time.

More information on this study and other projects comprising research and monitoring, habitat creation, management, and restoration, and education and outreach, led by Parks staff can be found on the Ontario Parks Blog.

Improving how we assess pollution effects on species at risk

According to new research from partners and the Ontario Government, the scope of Canadian species’ exposure to pollution is being underestimated when their risk of extinction is assessed. Researchers have developed a mapping tool to help improve the accuracy of this process (McCune et al. 2019).

Christina Davy, Species at Risk Research Scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, helped to develop a method for assessing the scope of pollution exposure to species at risk in Canada. First, the research team mapped the distributions of 588 species at risk alongside known pollution sources. They then developed a quantitative method to measure the extent of pollution exposure to species at risk in Canada. They found an average 57 percent of species’ distributions overlapped with identified pollution sources.

Pollution in the air, water, or soil can threaten species in Ontario. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) uses a threats calculator, which summarizes available data and expertise from species experts for two metrics: (1) the scope (how much of a species’ range is impacted by the particular threat) and (2) the severity (what the effect/impact on the species is). These factors are considered independently for each threat. However, measurable data or expertise specific to each threat is not always available, and without that information, the “scope” of the threat of pollution is often scored as absent or negligible, despite a lot of range overlap, particularly for vascular plants.

The new mapping tool developed by the research team can be used to improve accuracy of risk assessments by quantifying the scope of pollution exposure consistently across species.

Supporting public participation in species at risk stewardship activities

Stewardship is a cornerstone of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Species at Risk Stewardship Program (SARSP) provides financial support to enable individuals and organizations to get directly involved in protecting and recovering Ontario’s species at risk.

Species at risk legislative and policy updates

Ontario is committed to providing protections for species at risk, while continuing to work with stakeholders, Indigenous peoples and the public to improve the effectiveness of the species at risk program, as outlined in our Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan.

Ontario is proposing regulatory changes that will offer more innovative and coordinated ways of helping species at risk impacted by development projects.

Some of the proposed changes include:

• Enabling use of the Species at Risk Conservation Fund by proponents who are authorized to undertake activities that impact species at risk: instead of completing beneficial actions for species impacted by their development, proponents will have the option of choosing to pay a species conservation charge to the Fund. Regardless of the option chosen, proponents would still be required to take action to minimize impacts on species at risk and their habitats, as required by law. A new provincial agency would administer the Fund and determine how best to implement long-term, large-scale and strategic protection and recovery activities that benefit eligible species.
• Designating the eligible species and the species conservation charges for the Species at Risk Conservation Fund approach.
• Establishing a new provincial agency, the Species at Risk Conservation Trust, to administer the Species at Risk Conservation Fund. The agency would include qualified members that have knowledge and scientific expertise related to the protection or recovery of species at risk.
• Updating the rules for the ESA authorization process for some activities that have common and routine mitigation actions and have well understood requirements to reduce impacts on species.

References

McCune, J.L. Colla, S.R., Coristine, L.E., Davy, M.D., Flockhart, D.T.T., Schuster, R., Orihel, D.M. 2019. Are we accurately estimating the potential role of pollution in the decline of species at risk in Canada?