Species at Risk / Endangered Species / Species of Concern

 

 

 

“Extinction is forever.”

 

 

Provincial

 

On June 29, 2018 the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks assumed responsibility for the Endangered Species Act, 2007.  The act was formerly the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

 

According to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website (as at 3-Jun-2013):

 

With the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA 2007), Ontario becomes a North American leader in species at risk protection and recovery.

 

Ontario's original Endangered Species Act was written back in 1971.  Since then there have been big changes in the province; changes in land and resource use, planning processes, and increasing threats to our native species.  It was time for updated legislation.

 

During the year long review process we asked Aboriginal communities, industry and resource organizations, environmental groups, other partners, the Endangered Species Act Review Advisory Panel, and the Ontario public for their views.  Support was strong for updated species at risk legislation.

 

Compared to Ontario's previous Act, the new ESA 2007 provides

 

 

 

However, on May 31, 2013, Ontario’s provincial Cabinet under McGuinty/Wynne announced sweeping exemptions for industry under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA).  The new exemptions lowered the standard of protection for endangered plants and animals across many industries, including forestry, pits and quarries, renewable energy, hydro, mining, infrastructure development, waste management, and commercial and residential development.  The new exemptions also dramatically reduced government oversight of activities affecting Ontario’s lakes, rivers, forests, and wildlife.

 

In 2019, the provincial government under the Ford government continued to “increase efficiencies” for businesses.  The Environmental Commissioner's role, a position that reported directly to the Legislature and filled by all-party recommendation and unanimous vote, was abolished by the government with responsibilities for the enforcement and administration of the environmental registry (EBR) transferred to the Auditor General of Ontario.

 

Federal

 

The Species at Risk Act (SARA) is part of Canada’s strategy to protect hundreds of wild plants and animal species from becoming extinct, and to help in their recovery.

 

The Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA) requires the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks to ensure recovery strategies are prepared for all species listed as endangered or threatened on the Species at Risk in Ontario (SARO) List. Under the

ESA, a recovery strategy may incorporate all or part of an existing plan that relates to the species.

Species at risk public registry 

 

 

 

SPECIFIC ISSUES

 

AWARE-Ontario considers these species of concern in the challenges that they face, however, not all are “at risk” or “endangered” as defined by government.

 

 

Bees & Other Pollinators

 

Link to AWARE-Ontario’s Bees & Other Pollinators News

 

 

Caribou

 

The caribou also known as reindeer is a species of deer native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions across the world.  Some subspecies are rare and at least one has already become extinct:  the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou of Canada.  In Canada, the image of a caribou is iconic and appears on the $0.25 coin. (Wikipedia)

 

 

Date

yyyy-mm-dd

Source

Title

Comment

2020-02-21

TheNarwhal.ca (BC)

B.C. partners with First Nations to create new park in habitat for endangered caribou herds, threatened species

Sarah Cox

- Indigenous Guardians program

2020-01-21

Leadnow.ca

Petition: Save the Caribou

 

2019-06-13

National Observer

Story of Survival

Emilee Gilpin

- Peace River, BC

2018-05-12

EcoWatch / onEarth

America’s Last Woodland Caribou Herd Is Down to Just Three Animals

Jason Bittel

2018-05-04

Toronto Star

Alberta, B.C. caribou need immediate intervention to survive, federal government says

The Canadian Press

2018-04-23

Toronto Star

Canada to oppose Alaska oil drilling on caribou habitat: minister

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

2018-03-25

Global News

Alberta’s stance on caribou a ‘national test case’ of Species at Risk Act

Colette Derworiz

2018-03-09

WesternStar.com

Quebec government to let threatened woodland caribou herd die off

The Canadian Press

2018-03-09

CBC News

Efforts to save woodland caribou in northern Quebec too costly, says province

Julia Page

2017-06-22

Nrdc.org

Plight of Val d’Or Caribou Is Wakeup Call for Quebec

Anthony Swift, Jennifer Skene and Courtenay Lewis

2017-04-21

CBC News

Quebec to send threatened woodland caribou to zoo for protection

Angelica Montgomery

2017-04-20

CBC News

Environmental group sues Catherine McKenna for failing to report on efforts to save caribou habitat

Peter Zimonjic, Susan Lunn

2015-08-08

CBC News

Nearly entire caribou herd at St-Félicien zoo mysteriously dies

 

 

 

Monarch Butterflies

 

Link to AWARE-Ontario’s Monarch Butterfly News

 

 

Piping Plovers

 

Date

yyyy-mm-dd

Source

Title

Comment

2022-04-25

Thenarwhal.ca

Plovers and friends: Sauble Beach town’s $100,000 fine for bulldozing bird habitat stands

 

Fatima Syed

-      Town of South Bruce Peninsula

2019-10-18

Environmental Defence

Victory! Town of South Bruce Peninsula found guilty of destroying endangered piping plover habitat

 

Kelsey Scarfone

2019-04-11

TheStar.com

Sauble Beach’s mayor is accused of destroying rare birds’ habitat. She says Doug Ford is on her side

 

Sandro Contenta

2018-05-03

OwenSoundSuntimes.com

Endangered piping plovers return to Sauble Beach

 

Denis Langlois

2017-08-24

Owen Sound Sun Times

Complaint halts beach bulldozer work at Sauble

 

Scott Dunn

2017-06-07

Simcoe.com

Wasaga Beach marks 10 years of piping plovers

 

Ian Adams

2015-06-15

World Wildlife Fund

The Return of the Endangered Piping Plover

 

Jarmila Becka Lee

2015-06-13

CTV News

Piping Plover comeback on Great Lakes aided by army of volunteers

 

Marlene Leung

 

 

Turtles

 

Date

yyyy-mm-dd

Source

Title

Comment

2019-01-14

North Bay Nugget

Save the Turtle, Stop the Casino, North Bay group says

 

2018-05-08

CBC

Virus that has contributed to “mass mortality” in reptiles confirmed in Canadian turtle for first time

Dan Taekema

2018-04

Canadian Wildlife Service

Environment and Climate Change Canada

COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report:  Midland Painted Turtle, Eastern Painted Turtle (.pdf)

COSEWIC

2017-11-03

EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow

Hundreds of Sea Turtles Found Dead Off El Salvador and No One Knows Why

Lorraine Chow

Telegraph

2017-07-05

Hamilton Spectator

How did the turtle cross the road? With some help from its friends

Sheryl Nadler

2017-05-31

BBC News

Turtle disaster avoided with roadkill rescue

Sean Coughlan

2017-05-26

Global News

How an Ontario community set a global example for saving turtles on a deadly road

Allison Vuchnich, Veronica Tang

2017-04-03

CBC News

Ontario bans snapping turtle hunt after public outcry

 

2016-02-02

National Geographic

Famous Giant Turtle Dies—Only Three Left on Earth

Scott Duke Harris

- rafetus turtle, China

2014-05-26

In The Hills

Imperilled Turtles

Don Scallen

2014-03-28

EcoWatch / Traffic

Surge in Illegal Trade of Turtles and Tortoises Spells Trouble for Rare Species

 

2012-04-25

Toronto Sun

Ontario changes rules on capturing snapping turtles

Antonella Artuso

“species of special concern”

2012-02-18

Toronto Star

Ontario snapping turtle endangered yet hunted

Mary Ormsby

2009-04-14

Youtube / PBS

NATURE | The Loneliest Animals | Last Living Pair | PBS

- rafetus turtles, China

 

 

NEWS – General – Concern about Wildlife

 

Date

yyyy-mm-dd

Source

Title

Comment

2020-11-17

France24.com

'Abnormal spike in deaths' as fin whales wash up on French shores

 

 

2020-09-15

Global News

‘Unprecedented’: Birds mysteriously dropping dead across southwestern U.S.

 

Josh K. Elliott

2020-06-26

Toronto Sun

Dead dolphins wash up on France’s shores in record numbers

 

Reuters

2020-04-05

Backantravels.info (Kazakhstan)

60,000 Antelope Died in Four Days and No One Knows Why

 

- 2015

- Pasteurella, clostridia bacteria?

2020-04-16

EcoWatch (USA)

Wild Bears 'Having a Party' in Coronavirus-Closed Yosemite National Park

 

Madison Dapcevich

2020-04-10

EcoWatch (Greece)

Thousands of Migrating Birds Found Dead or Injured in Greece

 

Olivia Rosane

2020-03-02

EcoWatch

Trump Admin Failed to Protect 241 Species From Extinction

 

Jordan Davidson

2019-12-08

The Big Wobble

Fish all gone! Gulf of Alaska fishery to close for the first time ever: No more cod: Salmon all but gone: Millions of small sea birds died since 2015

 

 

2019-11-23

Forbes.com

Koalas ‘Functionally Extinct’ After Australia Bushfires Destroy 80% Of Their Habitat

 

Trevor Nace

2019-11-23

BBC News

Malaysia's last known Sumatran rhino dies

 

(EcoWatch)

2019-07-10

CTV Ottawa

Ottawa Riverkeeper says 'something that got in the water' likely source of hundreds of dead fish

 

Joanne Schnurr

AO News - Water

2016-06-06

AWARE-Simcoe.ca / Ontario Nature

Tragic day for vulnerable species in Ontario

Ontario Nature

2019-04-18

TheNarwhal.ca

It just takes too damn long’: How Canada’s law for protecting at-risk species is failing

 

Larry Pynn

2019-04-22

CTV News

American Bumblebee facing 'imminent extinction' in Canada: researchers

Christy Somos

AO News – Pollinators - Bees

2019-04-11

EcoWatch / Olivia Rosane

28 Tons of Trafficked Pangolin Scales Seized in Singapore

Olivia Rosane

2019-03-12

TheGuardian.com

'Almost certain extinction': 1,200 species under severe threat across world

Lisa Cox

2019-03-06

TheGuardian.com (USA)

Endangered species face 'disaster' under Trump administration

Oliver Milman

2019-01-31

EcoWatch / Olivia Rosane

Warming Oceans Strongly Linked to Sea Star Die-Off

Olivia Rosane

Youtube video

2019-01-11

EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow

WATCH: Poachers Ambush Sea Shepherd Vessel Protecting Nearly Extinct Vaquita

Lorraine Chow

- Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Captain

- vaquita, world’s most endangered marine mammal

2018-11-12

CTV News

'So many bears:' Draft plan says Nunavut polar bear numbers unsafe

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

- too many polar bears?

[indicative of the difficulty in getting reliable stats]

2018-11-01

EcoWatch / Olivia Rosane

5 Countries Control 70% of the World’s Remaining Wilderness

Olivia Rosane

USA, Brazil, Canada, Russia, Australia

2018-10-30

TheGuardian.com

Humanity has wiped out 60% of animal populations since 1970, report finds

Damian Carrington

2018-08-01

National Post

The world's largest king penguin colony has collapsed, losing nearly 90 per cent of its population

 

2018-06-25

EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow

Major Oil Spill Contaminates 1,000 Birds in Rotterdam Harbor

Lorraine Chow

AO News – Oil  & Gas Spills

2018-05-16

Water Canada

New Aquatic Species Added to Endangered Species List

Katherine Balpataky

- Midland Painted Turtle

2018-03-09

InsideHalton.com

Burlington's King Road to close for annual Jefferson salamander migration

Burlington Post

2018-03-05

DailyMail.com

Storm Emma's grisly aftermath: Incredible pictures show beaches blanketed by millions of dead fish, crabs and seals dragged ashore by gale-force winds and an underwater storm

Mark Duell

2018-02-27

Financial Post

Polar bears keep thriving even as global warming alarmists keep pretending they’re dying

Susan Crockford

2018-01-24

EcoWatch / The Revelator

Ghost Cat Gone: Eastern Cougar Officially Declared Extinct

John R. Platt

2017-12-15

National Observer

Bluefin tuna in P.E.I. are so hungry they no longer fear humans

Elizabeth McSheffrey

2017-12-12

Toronto Star

Ontario regulations are jeopardizing species at risk, report says

Miriam Katawazi

2017-10-25

Sudbury Star

Ont. failing to protect special wolves: Report

Jim Moodie

ECO

CTV Newsclip

2017-10-07

TheBigWobble.org

Hundreds of thousands of fish, crabs, shrimp and other species are washing up dead on India's west coast leaving experts baffled

Gary Walton

2017-09-28

CTV News

Drone study finds endangered BC orcas are malnourished

 

2017-08-29

TheGuardian.com

Sea Shepherd says it will abandon pursuit of Japanese whalers

Ben Doherty

2017-07-11

New York Times

Era of ‘Biological Annihilation’ Is Underway, Scientists Warn

Tatiana Schlossberg

2017-06-27

EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow

6 Endangered Whales Found Dead This Month in 'Unprecedented Event'

Lorraine Chow

2017-05-03

Globe and Mail

Nine aquatic animals added to Canada’s list of at-risk species

Luke Carroll

2017-03-21

YourNewsWire.com

Hundreds Of Millions Of Salmon Feared Dead On US West Coast

Sean Adl-Tabatabai

2016-12-09

Smithsonian.com

Giraffes Silently Slip Onto the Endangered Species List

Jason Daley

2016-11-11

EcoWatch / Dan Zukowski

70 Giant Freshwater Stingrays Found Dead in Thailand River

Dan Zukowski

2016-10-26

Toronto Star

Ontario’s moose population under threat, some bats may be wiped out entirely, environment report says

Kristin Rushowy

2016-10-11

Toronto Star

Law allowing exemptions to Ontario’s endangered species rules upheld

Liam Casey

2016-09-15

NYwolf.org

Ontario Opts to Allow Threatened Algonquin Wolves to Be Hunted/Trapped

EBR 012-8105

2016-09-14

Globe and Mail

Bird populations in steep decline in North America, study finds

Eric Andrew-Gee

2016-09-14

New Eastern Outlook

Cynthia: Flesh-Eating Synthetic Bacteria that has Gone Wild

Jean Perier

(.pdf)

2016-07-08

Aptn.ca

Mi’kmaq band asks for emergency order to protect at-risk salmon from natural gas project

Trina Roache

- Nova Scotia

- first time Cdn Dept of Fisheries & Oceans is asked to protect aquatic species at risk

- AO Info:  First Nations News

2015-12-29

TheDodo.com

The Chilling Image Behind Every Vaccine You’ve Ever Had

Sarah V. Schweig

- horseshoe crabs

2015-10-05

NYTimes.com

Environmentalists Praise Wildlife Measures in Trans-Pacific Trade Pact

Ron Nixon and Coral Davenport

2015-09-19

Toronto Star

Opinion:  Canada is no country for vulnerable wildlife

Devon Page

2015-01-29

Natural News

West Coast orcas experiencing 100% infant mortality rate as radiation from Fukushima drifts across ocean

Daniel Barker

AO Info:  Fukushima News

2015-01-03

EcoWatch / Anastasia Pantsios

10 Animal Species That Could Vanish in 2015 if We Don’t Act Now

Anastasia Pantsios

2014-12-19

The Diplomat

Spare a Thought for the Tiger of East Asia, It’s Almost Gone

Luke Hunt

2014-12-15

CBC News BC

Pregnant killer whale J-32 was starving, necropsy reveals

 

2014-12-12

CBC News

Canada opts not to block international trade in 76 endangered species

 

2014-12-11

Huffington Post

Canada Hasn’t Blocked Global Trade in 76 Endangered Species: Docs

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

2014-08-26

CNW Newswire

Government of Canada is taking action to protect species at risk

Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk

2014-04-24

Huffington Post

Blog: Down-Listing Jeopardizes Humpback Whales

Chris Genovali

2014-03-28

Iler Campbell

Federal Court finds Canadian government failed to protect species at risk

Laura Bowman

Rabble.ca article

2014-03-04

Straight.com

David Suzuki:  The fate of federally recognized endangered species remains in jeopardy

David Suzuki

2014-02-13

Youtube / Sustainable Human

How Wolves Change Rivers (5 mins)

 

2013-11-09

Green Party of Ontario

Video: Liberals sell out endangered species to corporate interests (2mins)

Mike Schreiner

- gov’t removing Endangered species permits from the EBR process

2013-10-30

Globe and Mail

White fungus spells a dark future for North America’s bat populations

Dene Moore

2013-07-13

Common Dreams

“Significant” Destruction of Canadian Wildlife Serves “Public Interest”, says Govt Panel

Jon Queally

2013-06-30

Daily Mail (UK)

… Raja the baby elephant …

Mark Shand, palm oil

2013-05-31

Sun News

Ontario endangered species changes spark controversy

Antonella Artuso

2013-05-31

Ontario Nature

Ontario Government Abandons Endangered Species

 

2013-03-11

InsideHalton.com

Dates set for salamander road closure

Temporary closure for Jefferson Salamander

2013-02-27

Mike Schreiner, Green Party of Ontario

Tim Hudak’s attack on endangered species is misguided and unnecessary

 

2013-02-27

Toronto Star

Tim Hudak warns endangered species regulations hurting business

Robert Benzie

 

 

 

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Disclaimer: This information has been compiled through private amateur research for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision.  However, while the information is believed to be reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

 

 


APPENDICES

 

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