Species at Risk Update

As a wildlife management authority, the WRRB has responsibilities for all species in Wek’èezhìı, including species at risk. At its last Board meeting in March 2013, Donna Bigelow from Environment Canada met with the WRRB to discuss two species, both found in Wek’èezhìı's boreal forests:  the Grizzly Bear, (sahcho in Tłįcho) Western population (also found above the tree line) and the Rusty Blackbird. Follow the links to read more about each of these wildlife species.

Safeguarding species at risk like the Rusty Blackbird and Grizzly Bear is also helping protect the habitats that are vital to their survival—and to everyone’s wellbeing.

Fact Box

• There is a federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) and a territorial Species at Risk Act (NWT).  These Acts are separate but complement each other.  Each has a committee of experts that assesses which wildlife species either in Canada (under SARA) or in the NWT [under the Species at Risk Act (NWT)], are at risk. 
• COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) is a group of experts who review the best available information and decide which wild species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada.
• A species of "special concern" is a species that may become a threatened or endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.
• The "special concern" classification is the lowest risk category for species at risk.
• Under SARA, a management plan has to be developed within three years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. 
   

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