White Sturgeon Nechako River Critical Habitat

Summary#

The Critical Habitat of the White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) Nechako River Population Order (SOR/2024-21) replaces an earlier 2016 order and re‑affirms protection for the Nechako River population’s critical habitat under the Species at Risk Act. The order was registered on February 8, 2024 and published in the Canada Gazette on February 28, 2024.

What it does#

• Confirms that the legal protection against destroying critical habitat (as described in the recovery strategy) applies to the Nechako River population of White Sturgeon.
• Replaces the earlier order (SOR/2016-84) with a joint order signed by the Minister of the Environment (as the minister responsible for the Parks Canada Agency) and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
• Keeps in place the previous exclusion for habitat inside the Nechako River Bird Sanctuary — that area remains protected by the separate rules that govern migratory bird sanctuaries.
• Applies to the critical habitat described in the recovery strategy, including any updates to that strategy. An amended recovery strategy that recognized the Parks Canada minister was posted on January 25, 2023.
• The old 2016 order was repealed when this replacement order was made.

Who's affected#

• People and organizations active near the waters named in the recovery strategy, including the Nechako, Stuart, Stellako and Nautley Rivers, and Fraser, Trembleur and Stuart Lakes.
• Federal land managers at the Fort St. James National Historic Site, administered by the Parks Canada Agency, since the order explicitly recognizes Parks Canada’s minister as a competent minister for this population.
• Anyone whose activities could destroy or alter the species’ identified critical habitat (the order applies the prohibition against destruction).
• The government says this replacement order has the same effect as the 2016 order and will not add costs to businesses or to Canadians.

Why it matters#

• This order removes an administrative gap by formally involving the Parks Canada Agency alongside Fisheries and Oceans Canada, so protections clearly extend to federal lands like Fort St. James National Historic Site.
• For local communities, resource users, and land managers, it means the areas identified in the recovery strategy stay covered by the law that prevents destruction of critical habitat for the endangered Nechako River White Sturgeon.
• Protecting those habitats supports efforts to recover a species listed as endangered and helps guide what activities are allowed or need special care in these waterways.