Rusty Cord-moss Assessment Referred to COSEWIC
List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order: SI/2021-58
The Governor in Council has referred the COSEWIC assessment of the Rusty Cord-moss (Entosthodon rubiginosus) back to COSEWIC for further information after new survey data indicated major declines at some sites. The Minister of the Environment must post the reasons on the Species at Risk Public Registry and COSEWIC will re-examine the species before any listing decision proceeds.
- Published
- September 1, 2021
- Department
- Unavailable
- Section
- List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order
- Comment deadline
- Unavailable
- Effective date
- September 1, 2021
- Publication part
- Part II
Summary
Summary#
The Government of Canada issued the List of Wildlife Species at Risk (referral back to COSEWIC) Order: SI/2021-58 on September 1, 2021. The order sends the assessment of the Rusty Cord-moss (Entosthodon rubiginosus) back to COSEWIC for more information after new survey data raised concerns about recent population declines.
What it does#
- Refers the species’ status assessment back to COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) so it can reconsider the 2017 reassessment.
- Requires the Minister of the Environment to post a statement explaining the reasons for the referral on the Species at Risk Public Registry.
- The referral responds to recent field surveys (from 2018–2020) and expert comments that suggest big changes since the last COSEWIC report in 2017.
Who's affected#
- COSEWIC, which will re-examine the evidence and may change its recommendation.
- The Department of the Environment, which manages the public registry and coordinates the next steps.
- Researchers and species experts who study the moss and its habitat.
- Sites and communities where the moss is known to occur, notably locations in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
- It is unclear from the order whether and how local landowners or Indigenous groups will be directly affected; the order itself does not describe further consultation.
Why it matters#
- A reassessment could change the moss’s official risk category. That can affect what protections, recovery actions, or land-management measures follow.
- The referral was prompted by new survey results showing dramatic losses at some sites: declines of about 93–96% near Riske Creek (BC) and 100% at White Lake (BC). The expert who reported these losses pointed to a large 2017 wildfire and spreading invasive grass as likely causes.
- Sending the assessment back to COSEWIC means decisions about listing or reclassifying the species will wait until that scientific review is complete, so conservation planning and any regulatory changes may be delayed.
Key topics
Source: Canada Gazette