Critical habitat protected for Gattinger’s Agalinis

Summary#

The Critical Habitat of the Gattinger’s Agalinis (Agalinis gattingeri) Order: SOR/2022-4 gives legal protection to the places judged essential for the survival of Gattinger’s Agalinis (Agalinis gattingeri) on certain federal lands. The Order came into force on January 18, 2022 and covers three federal properties in the Manitoulin Islands area of Ontario.

What it does#

• Applies the protection in the Species at Risk Act that prohibits the destruction of listed species’ critical habitat to the remaining unprotected critical habitat of Gattinger’s Agalinis (Agalinis gattingeri) on federal land.
• Covers three properties administered by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans:
  • Strawberry Island
  • Cartwright Point (on Clapperton Island)
  • Goat Island Range
• Lists examples of activities that could destroy the habitat, including:
  • covering, excavating, compressing or eroding soils
  • introducing invasive plants or promoting woody vegetation
  • applying herbicides, fertilizers or pesticides
  • changing local water flow or drainage
• Keeps the possibility of permits for activities that might affect the habitat, if strict conditions to limit harm are met.

Who's affected#

• The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, because the three properties with unprotected habitat are run by that department and contain navigation aids (lighthouse, range lights, daymark).
• The Department of the Environment (the federal department responsible for issuing permits and enforcing the Order) and its enforcement staff.
• Visitors and tourists: the Strawberry Island Lighthouse is a historic attraction, but public access is already limited and tourism is not expected to be affected.
• Indigenous groups: letters were sent to 11 Indigenous groups near the lands; no responses were received and the Order’s incremental impacts on Indigenous communities were assessed as minimal in the government analysis.
• Scientists, conservation groups and people interested in local nature, who may benefit from stronger habitat protection.

Why it matters#

• It protects key habitat for an endangered plant, Gattinger’s Agalinis (Agalinis gattingeri), helping its chances of survival and recovery. The plant lives in a rare habitat type called an alvar, which also supports other at‑risk species.
• The Order is a federal legal step required when critical habitat on federal land was identified but not yet protected under other laws. The recovery strategy that identified the habitat was posted in February 2019.
• The government expects the Order to have small net costs. The analysis estimated total present-value costs of about $131,000 over 10 years, mostly for enforcement. Possible permit-related administrative costs were estimated at $9,600 to the government and $5,400 to applicants. First-year enforcement costs were estimated at about $22,500, with about $12,000 per year after that.
• The protection can also produce non-monetary benefits: better recreational and educational opportunities, scientific value, and co-benefits for other species that use the same habitat.