Introduction
Species at Risk Introduction
Species-at-risk are the canary in the mine for our relationship with the earth. Be they butterflies, snails or the more visible grizzly bear and woodland caribou, their loss is a direct example of society’s failure to manage the environment in a sustainable, renewable way.
Indigenous and local varieties of plant and animal life are vital components of a wilderness landscape. Some species are especially sensitive to human activity and are worthy of special management to prevent their extinction or extirpation.
Legally, species-at-risk do not receive adequate protection in most cases throughout Alberta. Recently introduced federal legislation only protects species on federal lands, while provincial legislation only sets up optional recovery plans without legal obligations to protect habitat.
The major gap between the current legal definition of protection and a scientific one is that the species and its individual “nest, den or shelter” are protected by law, but habitat – key to the survival of individual organisms and the long-term survival of a species – is not protected in most of Alberta's landscapes.
At least five species are missing from Alberta’s landscapes: the extinct Banff long-nosed dace (extinct in 1986); plains grizzly bear and plains wolf (extirpated pre-1900); black-footed ferret (extirpated 1974, no longer any wild populations in Canada); and greater prairie chicken (extirpated 1990).
Many more species are on the brink of extinction: there are currently at least 41 Threatened or Endangered species in Alberta, 15 of which are listed by the province and 37 by the federal government.
Status
Indigenous and local varieties of plant and animal life are vital components of a wilderness landscape. Some species are especially sensitive to human activity and are worthy of special management to prevent their extinction or extirpation. Legally, species-at-risk do not receive adequate protection in most cases throughout Alberta. Recently introduced federal legislation only protects species on Federal lands, while provincial legislation only sets up recovery plans without legal obligations to alter industrial development practices.
The major gap between the current legal definition of protection and a scientific one is that the species and its individual 'nest, den or shelter' are protected by law, but habitat- key to the survival of individual organisms and the long-term survival of a species- is not protected in most of Alberta's landscapes. Until adequate legislation is in place, AWA will continue working to ensure that species-at-risk and other wildlife habitat is secure through the establishment of designated protected areas.
Vision
- AWA will continue working to ensure that the habitat of species-at-risk and other wildlife is secure through the establishment of designated protected areas.
- AWA will also continue to support efforts that improve species-at-risk legislation and to enforce existing legislation in the spirit with which these laws were created.
