Critical Habitat Interdepartmental Program

The call for proposals for the 2025-2026 fiscal year is now open.

Overview

The Critical Habitat Interdepartmental Program (CHIP) is a directed funding program that was established in 2020. The CHIP is managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and is the only program that provides funding to federal organizations specifically for projects dedicated to the recovery of Canada’s species at risk through the restoration and conservation of their critical habitat on federally owned and/or administered lands. Critical habitat refers to the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species (S.C. 2002, c. 29). The CHIP was created to encourage action towards the recovery of species at risk in accordance with the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and partnerships between federal organizations, stakeholders and/or Indigenous peoples to contribute towards the protection of Canada’s biodiversity.

Objectives

The objectives of the program are to:

conserve and recover species at risk through maintaining or improving their habitat, mainly on federally owned and/or administered lands;
gather valuable data on species at risk and their critical habitat to support and help meet the recovery goals, as stated in recovery documents for the species;
support federal organizations in meeting the SARA legal requirements to protect species at risk's critical habitat on federal lands, by mainly focusing on projects involving species at risk that require a s.58 protection order (see the CHIP specific SARA guidance document in the Related Links section for more information);
support conservation work by focusing on targeted species-specific activities for internally prioritized species; and
promote partnerships between federal organizations, provincial and territorial governments, universities, various stakeholders, and Indigenous peoples.

Expected results

The expected benefits of CHIP are:

Canada’s wildlife is conserved through the active management of species at risk and their critical habitat.
Canada’s species at risk are recovered and the amount and quality of critical habitat is improved.
initiatives to conserve, recover and contribute towards the protection of species at risk critical habitat are proactive and based on recovery documents for the species.
Awareness of federal organization’s role to conserve and recover species at risk and their critical habitat and compliance to SARA on federal lands are increased.
Species at risk's critical habitat knowledge is improved, and
Partnerships between federal organizations, stakeholders and Indigenous peoples are increased.

Eligible recipients

The following are eligible recipients of CHIP funding:

Federal departments and agencies (Excluding ECCC, the Parks Canada Agency and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans)
Federal Crown corporations

Geographic location

Project activities must take place on:

federal lands across Canada;
lands that are administered by federal organizations;
other adjacent/neighboring lands on which the species and/or its habitat are found, as long as the project occurs on at least one federal or federally-administered property. Please note that applicants require the necessary authorizations to do work outside of federal or federally-administered lands. These authorizations, communications or supporting documents must be provided to the CHIP Secretariat and mentioned in the section to that effect in the Project proposal.

Eligible projects

The CHIP offers two project types:

Regular CHIP projects

Examples of eligible projects include:

Species at risk population and/or habitat surveys
Implementation of conservation and recovery measures
Research on the biology and ecology of species at risk and/or their critical habitat
Community outreach and projects in accordance with SARA
Species at risk habitat conservation and restoration
Direct mitigation of threats to species at risk

Other Internally Prioritized Species (OIPS) CHIP projects

Additional CHIP funds may be available for projects targeting OIPS. OIPS CHIP projects must target one or multiple OIPS, and targeted activities must follow the top priority work determined based on the species’ recovery documents. Please consult the CHIP OIPS project guidance document (PDF) for the OIPS list and top priority work determined for each species or category. All eligibility criteria below apply to OIPS CHIP projects, in addition to the guidelines in the CHIP OIPS guidance document.

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria below apply to both CHIP project types.

Mandatory criteria

The project must:

take place on one or many federal lands on which species at risk and/or their habitat is found;
for regular CHIP projects: target at least one CHIP Priority Species;
for OIPS CHIP projects: target at least one OIPS for which species-specific targeted actions are planned based on the established top priority work required for the species;
demonstrate a clear benefit to species at risk and their critical habitat, and
include all required SARA permits (when applicable) – applicants are responsible for reaching out to their regional office in order to assess needs for a SARA permit. It is the applicants’ responsibility to ensure all required SARA permits are obtained prior to the start of their project. CHIP funding for chosen projects will only be transferred if all necessary SARA permits are obtained and valid

Additional criteria

The project can:

include non-federal adjacent lands as long as it mainly takes place on at least one federal or federally-administered property;
for regular CHIP projects: target multiple species at risk and demonstrate a particular focus on ecosystem-based recovery initiatives;
implement high priority activities described in established recovery documents and/or wildlife and/or habitat conservation plans;
mitigate one or more key threats as indicated in the species at risk recovery documents;
occur in one or more Priority Places as identified in the Pan-Canadian approach to transforming species at risk conservation in Canada;
include a cost-share or in-kind support approach with other programs and/or stakeholders. The responsible organization and its partners must contribute at least 20% of the total costs of the proposed project, be it financially and/or in-kind;
demonstrate collaboration among multiple partners with priority being given to projects that involve a greater number of confirmed partners, especially Indigenous peoples.

Eligible activities

Proposed activities aiming at the conservation and recovery of species at risk and the protection and restoration of their critical habitat must derive from a recovery strategy or a proposed or final action plan published on the species at risk public registry, or from a draft recovery plan. Provincial recovery plans can be used as a reference on a case-by-case basis to a proposed activity only if no other recovery document exists.

The activity categories eligible for CHIP funding are listed below. Under each category are examples of eligible activities. Please note that for OIPS CHIP projects, the priority work is provided in the reference document for each eligible species.

Technical and scientific

critical habitat identification and scale refinement surveys and mapping
species at risk surveys and population trend research
research and implementation of invasive species related activities
research on biology or ecology of the species, with respect to its habitat needs
monitoring to determine short to long-term impacts of project activity(ies) on species at risk recovery

Outreach and education

direct community outreach regarding species at risk and critical habitat awareness
signage and other means of spreading awareness in areas in which threats are known
creation and installation of information boards and modules to inform the public
production and distribution of printed material or workshops pertaining to species at risk
development of web tools to educate and inform on species at risk and critical habitat

Operational

direct mitigation of threats to the species at risk
conservation, recovery and protection of critical habitat
invasive species removal, and native species re-introduction to damaged ecosystems
species at risk reintroduction or repopulation in critical habitat zones
improvement of critical habitat quality

CHIP priority species

CHIP prioritizes threatened and endangered species for which SARA s.58 critical habitat protection orders are in place or upcoming. The table below indicates the eligible species, the region(s) and priority places in which they are found.

Other Internally Prioritized Species (OIPS) are eligible for potential CHIP funding for projects targeting them through species-specific targeted actions only. To see all eligible OIPS and top priority work associated with them, refer to the CHIP OIPS project guidance document (PDF) available in the section “Related links”. Should it be determined that your project targets only eligible OIPS through species-specific targeted actions, please follow the OIPS CHIP project path described in the guidance document. If these species are targeted in the context of ecosystem-based initiatives, please follow the regular CHIP project type path.

Table: CHIP Priority Species, in alphabetical order.

CHIP Priority Species	Province / Territory	SARA Status	Priority Place #
American Badger (jeffersonii subspecies), Western and Eastern populations	BC	Endangered	9
American Ginseng	QC, ON	Endangered	4; 5
Bank Swallow	All provinces and territories	Threatened	1; 2; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11
Barn Owl, Western population	BC	Threatened	9; 10
Barrens Willow	NL	Endangered	-
Batwing Vinyl Lichen	BC	Endangered	10
Bear’s Foot Sanicle	BC	Threatened	10
Behr's Hairstreak	BC	Endangered	9
Bicknell’s Thrush	QC, NB, NS, PE	Threatened	2
Black-footed Ferret	AB, SK	Extirpated	7
Blanding's Turtle, Great Lakes / St. Lawrence population	QC, ON	Endangered	3; 4
Blue-grey Taildropper	BC	Threatened	10
Bluehearts	ON	Endangered	-
Blue Racer	ON	Endangered	-
Blunt-lobed Woodsia	QC, ON	Threatened	-
Branched Bartonia	ON	Threatened	-
Burrowing Owl	BC, AB, SK, MB	Endangered	6; 7; 8; 9
Butler's Gartersnake	ON	Endangered	-
Caribou, Atlantic-Gaspésie population	QC	Endangered	-
Caribou, Boreal population	AB, BC, MB, NL, NT, ON, QC, SK, YT	Threatened	-
Cerulean Warbler	MB, ON, QC	Endangered	4; 5
Chestnut-collared Longspur	AB, SK, MB	Threatened (Under consideration for status change)	6; 7; 8
Chimney Swift	NU, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE, NL	Threatened	1; 2; 4; 5; 6
Coast Microseris	BC	Endangered	10
Coastal Giant Salamander	BC	Threatened	10
Coastal Scouler’s Catchfly	BC	Endangered	10
Coastal Vesper Sparrow	BC	Endangered	10
Crumpled Tarpaper Lichen	BC	Threatened	-
Dense Spike-primrose	BC	Endangered	10
Dense-flowered Lupine	BC	Endangered	10
Desert Nightsnake	BC	Endangered	9
Dun Skipper (vestris subspecies)	BC	Threatened	9; 10
Dusky Dune Moth	AB, SK, MB	Endangered	6; 8
Dwarf Hackberry	ON	Threatened	-
Dwarf Sandwort	BC	Endangered	10
Eastern Flowering Dogwood	ON	Endangered	5
Eastern Foxsnake, Carolinian population	ON	Endangered	5
Eastern Foxsnake, Great Lakes / St. Lawrence population	ON, QC	Endangered	-
Eastern Ribbonsnake, Atlantic population	NS	Endangered	1
Eastern Waterfan	NB, NS, QC	Threatened	-
Eastern Whip-poor-will	AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, PE	Threatened	1; 2; 4; 5
Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer	AB, SK	Threatened	7; 8
Edwards' Beach Moth	BC	Endangered	10
False Hop Sedge	QC, ON	Endangered	4
Fernald's Braya	NL	Endangered	-
Forked Three-awned Grass	QC, ON	Endangered	4
Fowler’s Toad	ON	Endangered	5
Gattinger's Agalinis	MB, ON	Endangered	-
Gold-edged Gem	AB, SK, MB	Endangered	6; 8
Golden Paintbrush	BC	Endangered	10
Golden-winged Warbler	MB, ON, QC	Threatened	4; 5
Gray Ratsnake, Great Lakes / St.Lawrence population	ON	Threatened	-
Great Basin Gophersnake	BC	Threatened	9
Great Basin Spadefoot	BC	Threatened	9
Greater Sage-Grouse (urophasianus subspecies)	AB, SK	Endangered	7; 8
Gulf of St. Lawrence Aster	QC, NB, PE	Threatened	3
Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee	BC, AB, ON, QC, SK, MB, NB, NS, PE, NL, YT, NT	Endangered	1; 2; 4; 5; 6; 11
Half-moon Hairstreak	BC, AB	Endangered	8; 9
Heart-leaved Plantain	ON	Endangered	-
Hill’s Thistle	ON	Threatened	-
Horned Grebe, Magdalen Islands population	QC	Endangered	-
Ivory Gull	NU, NL, NT	Endangered	-
Jefferson Salamander	ON	Endangered	5
Kirtland's Warbler	ON	Endangered	-
Lakeside Daisy	ON	Threatened	-
Least Bittern	MB, ON, QC, NB, NS	Threatened	2; 4; 5; 6
Lewis's Woodpecker	BC	Threatened	9
Lindley's False Silverpuffs	BC	Endangered	10
Little Brown Myotis	AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NT, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT	Endangered	1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11
Loggerhead Shrike (Eastern subspecies)	ON, QC	Endangered	4
Loggerhead Shrike (Prairie subspecies)	AB, SK, MB	Threatened	6; 7; 8
Louisiana Waterthrush	ON, QC	Threatened	-
Macoun's Meadowfoam	BC	Threatened	10
Marbled Murrelet	BC	Threatened	10
Massasauga, Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population	ON	Threatened	-
Mexican Mosquito-fern	BC	Threatened	9
Mormon Metalmark, Southern Mountain population	BC	Endangered	9
Mountain Plover	AB, SK	Endangered	7; 8
Northern Goshawk (laingi subspecies)	BC	Threatened	10
Northern Leopard Frog, Rocky Mountain population	BC	Endangered	-
Northern Myotis	AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NT, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK, YT	Endangered	1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 9
Ord's Kangaroo Rat	AB, SK	Endangered	8
Oregon Forestsnail	BC	Endangered	10
Oregon Spotted Frog	BC	Endangered	10
Pacific Water Shrew	BC	Endangered	10
Pale-bellied Frost Lichen	ON, QC	Endangered	-
Pallid Bat	BC	Threatened	9
Peary Caribou	NT, NU	Threatened	-
Phantom Orchid	BC	Endangered	10
Piping Plover (circumcinctus subspecies)	AB, SK, MB, ON	Endangered	5; 6; 8
Piping Plover (melodus subspecies)	QC, NB, NS, PE, NL	Endangered	1
Purple Sanicle	BC	Threatened	10
Queensnake	ON	Endangered	5
Red Knot (rufa subspecies)	AB, MB, NB, NL, NT, NS, NU, ON, PE, QC, SK	Endangered	1; 2
Red-headed Woodpecker	BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC	Endangered	4; 5; 6; 7
Rigid Apple Moss	BC	Endangered	10
Roell's Brotherella Moss	BC	Endangered	10
Roseate Tern	QC, NB, NS	Endangered	1
Rusty Cord-moss	BC, SK	Endangered	7; 9
Sage Thrasher	BC, AB, SK	Endangered	7; 8; 9
Sand-verbena Moth	BC	Endangered	10
Seaside Birds-foot Lotus	BC	Endangered	10
Seaside Bone Lichen	BC	Threatened	10
Sharp-tailed Snake	BC	Endangered	10
Short-rayed Alkali Aster	BC	Endangered	9
Showy Phlox	BC	Threatened	9
Slender Mouse-ear-cress	AB, SK	Threatened	8
Small-flowered Lipocarpha	BC, ON	Endangered	9
Small-flowered Sand-verbena	AB, SK	Endangered	8
Smooth Goosefoot	AB, SK, MB	Threatened	6; 8
Spalding's Campion	BC	Endangered	-
Spiny Softshell	ON, QC	Endangered	4; 5
Spotted Turtle	ON, QC	Endangered	5
Sprague’s Pipit	AB, SK, MB	Threatened	6; 7; 8
Streambank Lupine	BC	Endangered	10
Swift Fox	AB, SK	Threatened	7; 8
Tall Bugbane	BC	Endangered	10
Tall Woolly-heads	BC	Endangered	10
Tiny Cryptantha	AB, SK	Threatened	8
Townsend's Mole	BC	Endangered	10
Tri-colored Bat	NB, NS, ON, QC	Endangered	1; 2; 4; 5
Victoria's Owl-clover	BC	Endangered	10
Victorin's Gentian	QC	Threatened	4
Water-plantain Buttercup	BC	Endangered	10
Western Chorus Frog, Great Lakes / St. Lawrence - Canadian Shield population	ON, QC	Endangered	4
Western Painted Turtle, Pacific Coast population	BC	Threatened	10
Western Rattlesnake	BC	Threatened	9
Western Silvery Aster	MB, ON	Threatened	-
Western Spiderwort	AB, SK, MB	Threatened	6; 8
Western Tiger Salamander, Southern Mountain population	BC	Endangered	9
Whip-poor-will	MB, ON, QC, NB, NS, SK	Threatened	1; 2; 4; 5
White Flower Moth	MB	Endangered	6
White Meconella	BC	Endangered	10
Whooping Crane	AB, MB, SK, NT	Endangered	-
Williamson’s Sapsucker	BC	Endangered	9
Wood Bison	YT, NT, BC, AB, MB	Threatened	11
Wood Turtle	NB, NS, ON, QC	Threatened	1; 2; 4
Woodland Caribou, Southern Mountain population	AB, BC	Threatened	-
Yellow Montane Violet (praemorsa subspecies)	BC	Endangered	10
Yellow-breasted Chat (auricollis subspecies), Southern Mountain population	BC	Endangered	9

Priority Places

Priority Places represent landscapes of significant conservation value, such as those with high occurrences and/or diversity of species at risk and migratory birds or those with important habitat for these species. These places have also been targeted as having existing conservation opportunities with active partners and stakeholders, which can be expanded on or leveraged through more targeted program funding to increase successful conservation outcomes.

Note that priority places are assigned at the regional level and, at this time, not all provinces/territories have priority places identified.

Kesputkwitk / Southwest Nova Scotia (Atlantic Region)
Wolastoq / St-John River Bioregion, New Brunswick (Atlantic Region)
Prince Edward Island Forested landscape (Atlantic Region)
St. Lawrence Lowlands of Quebec (Quebec Region)
Long Point Walsingham Forest in Ontario (Ontario Region)
Mixed Grass Prairie Manitoba (Prairie Region)
Milk River Watershed (South of Divide) Saskatchewan (Prairie Region)
South-Saskatchewan River Watershed (summit to sage) Alberta (Prairie Region)
Dry Interior of British Columbia (Pacific Region)
Southwest British Columbia (Pacific Region)
Southern Beringia, Yukon Territory (Northern Region)

To view priority places on a map, refer to the Pan-Canadian approach to transforming species at risk conservation in Canada page.

Range of funding

The minimum funding request suggested for new and multi-year projects is $5,000 and project annual funding usually ranges from $20,000 to $80,000 per project. Projects may extend over more than 1 year to a maximum of 5 years. Currently, one project proposal must be submitted per year, even for a continuation of a project. Please note that funding is not guaranteed for the full duration of a project.

Once a project ends, monitoring may be required. In this instance, applicants can re-apply for CHIP funding for monitoring results of their past project, but should indicate in their initial project that monitoring may be required once the initial project is completed. CHIP funding is not guaranteed for monitoring follow-ups, and funding for such follow-ups will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Call for proposals

A call for project proposals, in the form of an email, is sent to federal organizations in October/November of the ongoing fiscal year to gather proposals for the upcoming fiscal year. This email includes a two-part project proposal template, which includes the administrative and financial details and a template for a detailed project description. Once the project proposal has been received, the CHIP Secretariat will send an acknowledgement of receipt and may contact the applicant if there are any questions or if clarifications are required. In the instance that a specific government organization submits multiple projects for CHIP funding, we ask that this organization make a list of their submitted projects, in order of priority, and submits it to the CHIP Secretariat.

After the evaluation process is completed, applicants are notified by email that their project is either approved for CHIP funding or not. Participants will need to confirm, via email, that their project is going forward as proposed or with negotiated modifications proposed by the CHIP Secretariat and that they are accepting the CHIP funding. If, after submitting a project proposal to CHIP and before receiving confirmation of funding decision, your organization decides to use other sources of funding to replace CHIP funding, or postpone or cancel the project, the CHIP Secretariat needs to be promptly advised. This allows the CHIP Secretariat to consider other proposed projects to distribute the released funds to, and to avoid additional delays for other potential recipients.

Selection criteria

Projects will be selected based on the following criteria:

whether they meet all CHIP mandatory eligibility criteria
the extent to which they address additional criteria
the level to which they demonstrate benefits to the species and/or their critical habitat
whether they meet all the SARA permitting requirements as determined by CWS Wildlife Management Directorate SARI - Permitting team

Evaluation process

Each proposal undergoes a technical evaluation by the CHIP Secretariat to confirm that it meets CHIP mandatory eligibility criteria and the extent to which it meets the additional criteria.

The projects meeting mandatory criteria are then reviewed by the CHIP Review board to determine which projects demonstrate the most benefit to the species and/or its critical habitat. This board is comprised of CWS regional and CWS Wildlife Management Directorate representatives.

Representatives of the CWS Wildlife Management Branch Permitting Team ensure that activities that may require a SARA permit are assessed, that permit prerequisites are met in the event that an activity requires a SARA permit, and that permits can be obtained for project activities, if required. In the instance that an activity requires a permit, the project’s approval for funding consideration is dependent on the submission and approval of a SARA permit application, and the deliverance of a SARA permit prior to the start of the activities. The process of obtaining permits under SARA can take up to 90 days. Therefore, it is important to plan ahead to secure permits on time.

Projects deemed to have the most benefits to the species and/or their critical habitat are then selected to receive CHIP funding, based on funding availability. CHIP funding is guaranteed only once a Memorandum of Understanding is signed by ECCC and the governmental organization that submitted the proposal, and the required SARA permits are obtained.

Contact us

For general ECCC or Canadian Wildlife Service inquiries, please contact 1-800-668-6767 or ec.enviroinfo.ec@ec.gc.ca.

If you have any further questions about the CHIP, please contact us at ec.secretariatpihe-chipsecretariat.ec@ec.gc.ca.

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Date modified:: 2024-10-22

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