As part of Canada’s national strategy for the protection of species at risk, the Government of Canada established the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. The Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) is administered by Environment Canada and managed co-operatively with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Parks Canada Agency. It provides funding to stewards for implementing activities that protect or conserve habitats for species at risk and other priority species beyond those that are listed under the Species at Risk Act to prevent them from becoming a conservation concern.
Under the National Conservation Plan (NCP), new funding of approximately $28 million over five years and $5.1 million ongoing annually starting in 2019-20 is being used to expand the HSP (over and above the annual funding already available through the program). The new funds are being split equally between two distinct funding streams:
- The Species at Risk Stream focuses on traditional species at risk recovery projects, funding stewards for implementing activities that protect or conserve habitats for species listed under the Species at Risk Act; and
- The Prevention Stream focuses on projects addressing other priority species beyond the protection and recovery of species at risk under the Species at Risk Act to prevent them from becoming a conservation concern.
For both streams, activities must take place on private lands, provincial Crown lands, Aboriginal lands, or in aquatic and marine areas across Canada. The program also fosters partnerships among organizations interested in the recovery of species at risk and other priority species. The HSP is one of the three main federal funding programs that focus on the protection and recovery of species at risk. The two other funds are the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk, and the Interdepartmental Recovery Fund.
The Program aims to achieve a minimum of 1:1 leveraging on funds that it invests so that, for every $1 provided by the HSP, at least $1 is raised by project recipients. This leveraging can take the form of either financial or in-kind resources (volunteered labour, products or services). Partner funding and other support broaden the scope of projects, improve on-the-ground results, and strengthen the public and private collaboration that is essential to involving all Canadians in stewardship activities for species at risk and other priority species.
There is a wide range of voluntary actions that Canadians take to care for the environment, ranging from conserving wild species and their habitats directly, to improving the quality of habitat by mitigating human impact. These types of conservation activities, particularly those that protect habitat, are essential to the recovery of species at risk. They are also instrumental in preventing other species from becoming at risk.
Some of the ongoing stewardship activities supported by the HSP include:
- removing invasive White Sweet Clover at Prairie Point Alvar in Ontario in order to improve the habitat of the Endangered Gattinger’s Agalinis, a branching, slender plant;
- developing a landscape management strategy for the winter habitat of the Threatened Woodland Caribou in Manitoba;
- recruiting local volunteers to rope off all-terrain vehicle trails in order to protect a bog that is the habitat to the largest population of the Endangered Eastern Mountain Avens in Nova Scotia;
- monitoring marine mammal populations and protecting important habitats from disturbance along the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific coasts.
In support of such stewardship activities, the National Conservation Plan, announced by Prime Minister Harper in May 2014, includes additional funding of $50 million over five years to support voluntary actions to restore and conserve species and their habitats. Programs like HSP are an important part of the Government of Canada’s National Conservation Plan to conserve and restore our lands and waters, and connect Canadian families to our natural spaces.
Partnerships are the key to making stewardship a successful conservation tool in Canada. Federal and provincial governments encourage action by providing scientific information, technical assistance and economic incentives. Non-governmental organizations help private landowners and concerned citizens identify and implement effective stewardship activities. Many other partners are also involved, including fishers, Aboriginal organizations, educational institutions and community organizations.
Since 2006, under the Habitat Stewardship Program’s Species at Risk Stream, we have invested over $99 million to support over 1,550 local conservation projects, benefitting the habitat of more than 430 species at risk. In the first year of this new Prevention Stream (2014-15), the HSP invested more than $2.8 million in 81 projects.
In 2015-2016, the HSP’s Species at Risk Stream will provide more than $8 million over three years to support over 80 new projects. The HSP’s Prevention Stream will provide almost $4 million over three years to support approximately 60 new projects.
To find out more on how stewardship actions contribute to the protection of species please visit our website.
