Order Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act - Peregrine Falcon and 16 other species

A review of the potential environmental impacts of amendments to the list of species at risk under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) published in the Canada Gazette.

The Order Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (the Order) will contribute to the protection, recovery or conservation of 17 species at risk by adding them or by modifying their status on the List of Species at Risk. One species will be removed from the List as it is no longer considered at risk. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) reassesses species every 10 years, which is one of the ways to monitor the health of the species.  Monitoring will also be done through the recovery plans or management plans to be developed for the species and reassessed every 5 years.

The SARA provides protections to species at risk by:

• preventing wildlife species from being extirpated or becoming extinct
• providing for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity 
• managing species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened

Species can be added to the List of Species at Risk (Schedule 1 of SARA) under various designations depending on the severity of the risk of disappearance from the wild in Canada. Following listing, species designated as threatened, endangered or extirpated benefit from SARA’s general prohibitions, including protections against killing, harming or harassing individuals of the species and against damaging or destroying their residences (i.e. nests, burrows, etc.). SARA also requires recovery planning efforts to address threats to the survival or recovery of these listed species, in the form of recovery strategies or action plans.

A special concern status in Schedule 1 of SARA does not trigger the general prohibitions, but requires a management plan be developed. This plan includes conservation measures to preserve the wildlife species and avoid a future decline of its populations.

Table 1: Additions or modifications to Schedule 1 of SARA

Common species name	Range	Listing
		Action	Old status	New status
Harris’s Sparrow	AB, ON, MB, NT, NU, SASK	New addition	No status	Special concern
Mottled Duskywing – Boreal population	MB	New addition	No status	Endangered
Muttled Duskywing – Great Lakes Plains population	ON, QC	New addition	No status	Endangered
Nuttall’s sheep moth	BC	New addition	No status	Endangered
Nine-spotted Lady Beetle	AB, BC, MB, ON, QC, SK	New addition	No status	Endangered
Oregon Branded Skipper	BC	New addition	No status	Endangered
Downy Yellow False Foxglove	ON	New addition	No status	Endangered
Fern-leaved Yellow False Foxglove	ON	New addition	No status	Threatened
Smooth Yellow False Foxglove	ON	New addition	No status	Threatened
Silky Beach Pea	BC	New addition	No status	Threatened
Smoker’s Lung Lichen	BC	New addition	No status	Threatened
Striped Whitelip	ON	New addition	No status	Endangered
Western Yellow-bellied Racer	BC	Reclassification	Special concern	Threatened
Blue Ash	ON	Reclassification	Special concern	Threatened
Common Nighthawk	Everywhere in CA	Reclassification	Threatened	Special concern
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Everywhere in CA	Reclassification	Threatened	Special concern
Peregrine Falcon anatum/tundrius	AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NT, NS, NU, ON, QC, SK, YK	De-listing	Special concern	Not at Risk

The economic impacts of making these additions or modifications have been assessed and it was determined that they will have a low socio-economic impact.

Protecting species at risk in Canada helps to maintain biodiversity and can help maintain ecosystem function and services, such as natural pest control, pollination, temperature regulation and carbon fixing. Ecosystem functions and services in turn are important to the health of Canadians and have important ties to Canada’s economy. Small changes in an ecosystem can result in the loss of individuals and species, which can lead to irreversible and wide-ranging effects.

The Order supports the following 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) goals:

• Healthy wildlife populations: by providing protection for species at risk
• Effective action on climate change: by supporting conservation, since many ecosystems play a key role in mitigating the impacts of climate change

It also supports the United Nation's Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) SDG 15- Life on Land and SDG 13- Climate Action.