The website Endangered
Species and Ecosystems in British Columbia, provides
links to detailed information on rare and endangered
species and ecosystems in B.C., helps you find national
and global information about species in B.C. and beyond,
and provides links to provincial agencies and other
agencies working with endangered species. BC
Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the search tool
associated with the website, enables you to find provincial
species and ecological communities; red- and blue-listed
species/ecological communities; all ecological communities
and red- and blue-listed species by Forest District
Biogeoclimatic unit, Ministry of Environment Region or Regional District, species and ecological community
status, legal designation, distribution, life histories,
conservation needs, recovery plans and more; and direct
links to relevant publications about species and ecological
communities.
Species and ecosystems at risk in British Columbia
number in the hundreds. British Columbia is Canada's
most biologically diverse province. How do we balance
development with our responsibility to protect this
diversity? One of the first steps is to identify those
species and ecosystems that have become most vulnerable.
Many such species and ecosystems have been identified,
through the cooperation of scientists and experts throughout
the province, and each has been assigned a global and
provincial rank according
to an objective set of criteria established by the Nature
Conservancy (US) (see how rank is determined). The B.C.
Conservation Data Centre (CDC) (est. 1991), maintains lists of species and ecosystems that include assigned ranks, and these lists provide the basis for
the Red and Blue lists of the Ministry
of Environment (MoE). These lists include taxa that
have population characteristics, population trends,
or distributions which indicate that they require special
attention so that they may be maintained as part of
the wildlife of British Columbia. One red-listed
species is the Vancouver
Island Marmot. Red and Blue lists are available for amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, freshwater fish, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, non-marine molluscs, vascular plants, mosses and some lichens.
Placing taxa on these lists flags them as being at
risk and requiring investigation. The Red and Blue lists
provide a list of species for consideration for more
formal designation as Endangered or Threatened, either
provincially under the British Columbia Wildlife
Act, or nationally by the Committee on the Status
of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and provide
a method of assigning conservation priorities for species
considered at risk in British Columbia. Recovery
planning is a process undertaken to ensure the survival
and recovery of these species and ecosystems at risk.
The Ministry also lists taxa considered to be secure
in British Columbia on the Yellow List
- these taxa are managed at the habitat level by managing
for a diversity of habitats in the province.
For details on species and ecosystems ranking and status, see BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.
See the list of
Species and Ecosystems
at Risk brochures available
and visit EIRS Biodiversity e-library for access to more publications about species and ecosystems at risk.
The Species and Ecosystems at Risk Local Government Working Group (SEAR LGWG)
The SEAR LGWG was established in 2009 in response to the Minister of Environment’s interest in developing a collaborative, provincial vision for species and ecosystems at risk protection on private land. A jointly prepared Discussion Paper was prepared by the SEAR LGWG in January 2011, which includes 5 key strategies and 45 recommendations for enhancing SEAR protection on local government and private lands in British Columbia. Membership includes representatives from regional and municipal governments from across British Columbia. Visit the SEAR LGWG website to learn more.
British Columbia
Conservation
Data Centre
The B.C. Conservation Data Centre (CDC) was established
in 1991 to assist in identifying those species and ecosystems
that have become most vulnerable in the province, and
to compile this information so that it is accessible
and usable. The Conservation Data Centre is now part
of the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management.
Identified Wildlife Management Strategy
The Identified Wildlife Management
Strategy (IWMS) is an initiative of the Ministry of
Environment in partnership with
the Ministry of Forests and Range and is carried out in consultation
with other resource ministries, stakeholders and the
public. Statutory authority is provided for the Ministry
of Environment to carry out this
strategy under provisions of the Forest and Range Practices
Act and regulations.
The term "Identified Wildlife" refers to
those Species at Risk and Regionally Important Wildlife
that the Minister of Environment
designates as requiring special management attention
under the Forest and Range Practices Act. Visit the IWMS website to learn more...
