Achievements

Last review/update: August 20, 2003

Ord's Kangaroo Rat

Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee has been meeting since September 1998 and has accomplished a great deal in its short tenure. It has:

  • developed and revised operational procedures for itself;

  • defined guidelines for determining what species are endangered or threatened in Alberta (the committee did a detailed review of the IUCN guidelines);

  • proposed and developed workable definitions related to endangered species assessment with which government and organizations can work;

  • created and provided general guidelines to the independent Scientific Subcommittee, and appointed its initial members;

  • endorsed the species assessment criteria developed by the Scientific Subcommittee for species potentially at risk;

  • facilitated the planning, review and implementation of recovery plans for endangered and threatened species, including assisting stakeholders to participate in the process;

  • reviewed and facilitated public input into draft recovery plans;

  • discussed Wildlife Act and areas where regulations and legislation could be improved or enhanced to improve Alberta's approach to efficient management of Species at Risk

  • made recommendations regarding the standard actions to be taken following status designation at each level (endangered, threatened, species of special concern, data deficient);

Future Activities

In the next year Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee hopes to accomplish the following:

  • continue ongoing assessments of species potentially at risk in Alberta (optimum is three species per meeting) and make its recommendations about these species to the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development;
  • continue to facilitate the planning, review and implementation of recovery plans for endangered and threatened species, including assisting stakeholders to participate in the process;
  • continue to review and facilitate public input into draft recovery plans;
  • continue to further identify and define new status categories of species at risk, as necessary; and
  • continue revisions of its operational procedures.