Species Assessment and Recovery Process
Last Update/Review: July 28, 2005
How Do We Identify, Conserve and Recover Species at Risk in Alberta?
The diagram below illustrates the process of identification and recovery of species at risk in the province, from species assessment to recovery implementation. Parallels between the provincial, national and federal processes are also profiled. Note, some of these links are off site and will take you away from the Species at Risk website.
Provincial Minister
Formally Designating Species at Risk
The SSC assessment and ESCC recommendations
are forwarded to the Minister of Sustainable Resource Development.
Once the recommendations are received, it is the Minister's responsibility
to formally designate a species as Endangered or Threatened in
legislation. Species listed under the Wildlife
Act receive automatic protection from killing and trafficking
and become candidates for recovery programs.
The Minister is also responsible for immediate actions to protect the
species and to gain national and international cooperation where necessary.
If a Recovery Plan is appropriate, the
Minister will strike a Recovery Team whose
task will be to prepare and submit the plan for review to the ESCC
and the Minister. Recovery Plans are prepared within one year of a
species being designated as Endangered and within two years of a species
being listed as Threatened unless there is a compelling reason for
delay, such as the need for new data to be incorporated.
What is the SSC?
The independent scientific subcommittee (SSC) of the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC), made up of biologists with expertise in fish, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates, and plants, uses the Status of Alberta Wildlife document prepared by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development to assign priority.
Priority is given to species listed as:
- "At Risk" or "May Be At Risk" in the status document;
- species that are "Undetermined" due to a lack of information;
- or species that occur in Alberta and are considered at national risk by the Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada (COSEWIC).
Using the detailed status reports produced by Alberta Sustainable Resource Development and the Alberta Conservation Association, along with other current information collected by researchers and publications, the SSC makes a detailed assessment of the biological status of each species suspected of being at risk of extinction. The criteria used for these assessments include population trend, population size and distribution, and are based on criteria developed by the World Conservation Union for the evaluation of species at risk. The subcommittee may consult outside experts and may commission more detailed studies. When finished, the SSC will provide the results of the species status assessments to the ESCC, including relevant advice and recommendations concerning the conservation of the species.
What is the ESCC?
The Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC) is a broad stakeholder group including scientists, government and corporate land managers, resource based land users, and conservation organizations. The ESCC advises the Minister on matters relating to the identification, conservation, and recovery of species at risk such that all wild species are maintained and protected from decline.
What is the role of the ESCC?
Based on SSC recommendations, the ESCC makes a formal status assessment report outlining the species biological status within Alberta. The ESCC also recommends:
- what legal designation (endangered or threatened) a species should receive,
- whether a formal Recovery Team should be formed, and who should be invited to join, and
- what conservation actions are immediately required to prevent further risk or loss until the Recovery Plan is implemented.
This combination of review by both scientists and land use managers ensures that the process is scientifically sound, realistic and workable. It also ensures that the appropriate stakeholders (land managers and owners who own, manage and use the land which all species rely on) participate by giving their advice, knowledge and commitment throughout the planning and implementation process - sound science and practical land use management!
