MORE SPECIES GET PROTECTION IN ONTARIO

For Immediate Release
February 24, 2009

MORE SPECIES GET PROTECTION IN ONTARIO
McGuinty Government Acts To Implement Scientific Committee’s Recommendations

NEWS

One bird, one aquatic species and two plant species are being added to Ontario’s endangered species list.

The province is acting on a report from the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario to add the four new species, remove two species, and reclassify four species on the Species at Risk in Ontario List.  

Of note, the committee has determined that:

• Ontario’s population of American white pelican is now stable enough to be changed from endangered to threatened.
• The Karner blue butterfly, which hasn’t been reliably reported in the province since the late 1980s, remains protected on the list but was reclassified from endangered to extirpated.
• Eastern Flowering Dogwood, Ogden’s Pondweed, Eastern Pondmussel and a subspecies of Red Knot should be added to the list as endangered.

Species can be classified as extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened or of special concern.  Under the terms of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007, all species newly designated as endangered and threatened are automatically protected, along with their habitat.

The committee also released a prioritized list of 53 species to be reviewed and the criteria for classification.

QUOTE

“The encouraging news about the American white pelican – and the success we’ve had in the past restoring other species like the peregrine falcon – shows us that getting on the species at risk list can be the first step to recovery for many of Ontario’s threatened or endangered species and their habitats,” said Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield.

QUICK FACTS

• Ontario is home to more than 30,000 species, of which more than 180 are currently identified as being at risk.
• The American white pelican’s nesting colony on Lake of the Woods is one of the largest in the world.
• Ontario’s new Endangered Species Act took effect on June 30, 2008, making the province a North American leader in species at risk protection and recovery.

LEARN MORE

• Find out how species get on the Species at Risk in Ontario list, what biologists are doing to help protect and recover them, and what Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield has to say.
• See the information notice regarding changes to the Species at Risk in Ontario list on the Environmental Registry  (ontario.ca/environmentalregistry), Registry Number 010-5632.
• Learn how you can protect species at risk in Ontario  (ontario.ca/speciesatrisk).

For More Information

Ivan Langrish, Minister’s Office, 416-314-2212

Media Desk, Communications Services Branch, 416-314-2106

General Enquiries

Natural Resources Information Centre
1-800-667-1940
TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)