COSEWIC assessments acknowledged for 14 species

Summary#

This is the Order Acknowledging Receipt of the Assessments Done Pursuant to Subsection 23(1) of the Act, published September 2, 2020 and registered as P.C. 2020-575 on August 23, 2020. It records that COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) has delivered scientific assessments under the Species at Risk Act for 14 wildlife species. The order starts the federal decision process about whether those species will be added to the official list of species at risk.

What it does#

• Acknowledges that COSEWIC has completed and submitted assessments for the species named in the order.
• Lists the species and the status categories COSEWIC assigned (as shown in the order):
  • Endangered: streaked horned lark; coastal vesper sparrow; red‑headed woodpecker; Allegheny Mountain dusky salamander (Appalachian population); false‑foxglove sun moth; Quebec rockcress; acuteleaf small limestone moss.
  • Threatened: spoon‑leaved moss.
  • Special concern: prairie skink; eastern painted turtle; midland painted turtle; red‑tailed leafhopper (Great Lakes Plains and Prairie populations); Yukon wild buckwheat.
• Notes that initial public and stakeholder consultations were held between January 2019 and May 2019 for most of the species.
• Starts the clock on federal decision-making options (explained below).

Who's affected#

• Federal officials who decide whether to add species to the SARA list, including the Minister of the Environment and the Governor in Council.
• Conservation groups, researchers and wildlife managers working on the identified species.
• Landowners, developers, and local governments in places where these species live, because future listing decisions could lead to new restrictions or recovery actions on land use.
• Indigenous groups and wildlife management boards that have roles under land‑claims or wildlife agreements (the order notes these groups should be consulted as part of later decision steps).

Why it matters#

• Once the government formally acknowledges COSEWIC’s assessments, it has options to accept, reject, reclassify, or ask for more information. Those decisions normally happen within nine months of the acknowledgement.
• If a species is added to the official List of Wildlife Species at Risk (Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act), that can trigger legal protections, recovery planning, and sometimes limits on activities that harm the species or its habitat.
• For the public, that means this order is an early step that could lead to stronger protections or management measures for the 14 species named.