Portobello Creek National Wildlife Area Management Plan: appendix 3

Appendix III: Government of Canada Species at Risk Glossary

Species at Risk Act (SARA):

The federal legislation that provides protection to species at risk in Canada. This act establishes Schedule 1 as the legal list of wildlife species at risk to which the SARA provisions apply. It classifies those species as being: extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern. Once listed, the measures to protect and recover a listed wildlife species are implemented. Schedules 2 and 3 contain lists of species that, at the time SARA came into force, needed to be reassessed. After species on Schedules 2 and 3 are reassessed and found to be at risk, they undergo the SARA listing process to be included in Schedule 1. SARA Registry Status Reports

COSEWIC:

Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. In Canada, species at risk are assessed and classified by COSEWIC. Species designated as at risk before the creation of the Species at Risk Act must be re-assessed by COSEWIC according to the new criteria of the Act before they can be added to Schedule 1. These species are listed on Schedules 2 and 3, and are not yet officially protected under SARA.

COSEWIC assessments and status reports:

SARA Registry Status Reports

Critical habitat:

The habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species.

ECCC-CWS:

Environment and Climate Change Canada - Canadian Wildlife Service.

Schedule 1:

The official list of species that are classified as extirpated, endangered, threatened and of special concern.

Schedule 2:

Species listed in Schedule 2 are species that had been designated as endangered or threatened, and have yet to be re-assessed by COSEWIC using revised criteria. Once these species have been re-assessed, they may be considered for inclusion in Schedule 1.

Schedule 3:

Species listed in Schedule 3 are species that had been designated as special concern, and have yet to be re-assessed by COSEWIC using revised criteria. Once these species have been re-assessed, they may be considered for inclusion in Schedule 1.

Species at risk:

An extirpated, endangered, threatened species, or a species of special concern.

Wildlife species:

A species, subspecies or biologically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and native to Canada or has been present in Canada without human intervention for at least 50 years.