Badger CREDIT: John Pitcher

• Home
  • Protect
    • Protect Wild Species and Wild Spaces
    • Habitat
      • Greenway Initiative
        • Grey-Bruce Greenway Initiative
        • Frontenac Arch Greenway
        • Green Energy Act
      • Nature Reserves
        • Protection Priorities
        • Ways to Conserve Land
        • A Gift of Land
        • Stewardship
        • Land Trusts
      • Trees in Trust
      • Wetlands Conference
    • Species
      • Reptiles at Risk
      • Ontario's Reptile and Amphibian Atlas
        • Reptiles and Amphibians of Ontario
        • Policies and Procedures
        • Survey Guidelines
        • Tips for Finding Ontario's Reptiles and Amphibians
        • Atlas FAQs
        • Threats to Reptiles and Amphibians in Ontario
        • Legal Protection for Ontario's Reptiles and Amphibians
        • Reptile and Amphibian Stewardship
      • Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas
    • Campaigns
      • Biodiversity
        • 20/20 Vision
        • Celebrate Biodiversity
        • Biodiversity Watch List
        • Biodiversity Hot Spots
        • Protect Malcolm Bluff Shores
      • Boreal Forest
        • A Globally Significant Ecosystem
        • What the Boreal Forest Does for Us
        • Threats to the Boreal Forest
        • First Nations Communities
      • Endangered Species
        • Woodland Caribou
        • Snapping Turtle
        • Redside Dace
        • Bobolink
        • Butler's Gartersnake
        • Stewardship Agreements
      • Mining Act
        • Ring of Fire
          • Urgent: Ring of Fire in the Far North
          • A Letter from our Boreal Office
      • Birds and Buildings
      • Moraine Can't Wait

Endangered Species

Ontario is a vast province, nearly 900,000 square kilometres, which is bigger than France and Spain combined, and it is rich in biodiversity. But the province also contains almost 200 plant and animal species that are at-risk, meaning that these species are in danger of extinction or of disappearing from the province. This number is growing every year. In response, Ontario Nature is actively involved in research, public education and policy work on behalf of species at risk.

Ontario Nature is continually working on ways to provide the greatest protection possible for at-risk species. Currently, we are working towards the conservation of these species:

• woodland caribou
• snapping turtle
• redside dace
• bobolink
• butler’s gartersnake

Research

Ontario Nature collaborates with a variety of stakeholders on species at-risk research including government, farmers, naturalists and private landowners to encourage stewardship agreements under the Endangered Species Act. We produce publications that inform conservation strategies for endangered wildlife and habitats. As well, we continue to support citizen-science through our Reptile and Amphibian Atlas that will inform how best to safeguard sensitive habitat for these imperiled species.

Policy

For decades Ontario Nature has been at the forefront of efforts to protect species at risk through strong legislation, regulations and policy. The result is Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (ESA), a promising law that sets a new, high standard for species at risk legislation in Canada. Its strengths include the scientific listing of endangered species, mandatory habitat protection, mandatory recovery plans and funding for stewardship.

However, the real test of the legislation is in its implementation. We are working with the Province to make sure that the policies and regulations that support the ESA are carried out in a timely way and truly safeguard wildlife and the ecosystems that plants and animals depend on.

Public Education

Ontario Nature promotes public awareness of and engagement in the conservation of all wildlife, including species at risk. We make public presentations, hold workshops and produce outreach materials. Click here to read the June 2009 publication by Save our Species entitled: Ontario's Endangered Species Act Report Card.

Through our Action Alerts, we notify our supporters of opportunities to participate in public consultations and to comment on draft policies. We also provide opportunities for volunteers to be involved in direct, hands-on citizen science initiatives through projects like the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario and the newly launched Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas project.

You can find more information about threatened and endangered species and Ontario’s Endangered Species Act on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.

Back to top