October 18, 2023 The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
200 Sacré-Coeur Boulevard
Gatineau, Québec K1A 0H3 Please find enclosed the 2022-2023 Annual Report of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), which I respectfully submit to you and to the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council (CESCC). The submission of this report fulfills COSEWIC’s obligations under Section 26 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA), which requires that COSEWIC submit a report on its activities to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and members of CESCC annually. This Annual Report will also be available online through the SARA Public Registry. As you know, COSEWIC’s role is to assess the conservation status of wildlife species in Canada. Under Item III, Wildlife Species Status Assessments, of the Annual Report, you will find information on how to obtain a copy of the status assignments for the wildlife species assessed in 2022-2023, the applicable criteria and the reasons for the status designation. The Status Reports containing the information used in the assessments are provided in the accompanying email. The reports will also be provided to CESCC members and will be available on the Public Registry. Over the past year COSEWIC assessed a total of 43 wildlife species. Of these 43, COSEWIC re-examined the status of 32 wildlife species; of these, the majority (94%) were reassessed at the same or lower level of risk. To date and with the submission of this report, COSEWIC’s assessments now include 846 wildlife species in various risk categories including 373 Endangered, 197 Threatened, 255 Special Concern, and 21 Extirpated (i.e. no longer found in the wild in Canada). In addition, 23 wildlife species have been assessed as Extinct, 61 wildlife species have been designated as Data Deficient, and 202 have been assessed as Not at Risk. The submission of this information fulfills COSEWIC’s obligations under Section 25 of SARA, which requires that COSEWIC provide the Minister of the Environment and the CESCC with a copy of the status assessments and the reasons for the assessments. It also fulfills our obligations under Section 24, which requires that COSEWIC review the classification of wildlife species at risk at least once every 10 years. On behalf of the committee, I would again like to thank you for your continuing support for our work and the commitment of your ministry to the conservation and protection of Canada’s biodiversity. Yours sincerely,
David Lee, Chair, COSEWIC c.c. – Aura Pantieras, Director General, Wildlife Assessment and Information, Canadian Wildlife Service
Under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA), the foremost function of COSEWIC is to “assess the status of each wildlife species considered by COSEWIC to be at risk and, as part of the assessment, identify existing and potential threats to the wildlife species”.
Since uplifting the COVID-19 pandemic related travel restrictions in the spring of 2022, COSEWIC has once again been able to hold its regular face-to-face Wildlife Species Assessment Meetings during the 2022-2023 reporting period.
As usual, COSEWIC held two Wildlife Species Assessment Meetings in this reporting year (October 1, 2022, to September 30, 2023). One meeting was from November 28 to December 3, 2022, and the other one was from April 30 to May 5, 2023. During this reporting period, COSEWIC assessed the status or reviewed the classification of 43 wildlife species.
The wildlife species assessment results for the 2022-2023 reporting period include the following:
Extinct: 0
Extirpated: 7
Endangered: 17
Threatened: 7
Special Concern: 11
Data Deficient: 1
Not at Risk: 0
Total: 43
Of the 43 wildlife species examined, COSEWIC reviewed the classification of 32 wildlife species that had been assessed previously. The review of classification for 27 of those wildlife species resulted in a confirmation of the same risk status as the previous assessment (see Table 1a).
In December 2022, COSEWIC did not assess any wildlife species as Data Deficient or Not at Risk.
Provancher’s Fleabane was assessed as Data Deficient in May 2023. This wildlife species was assessed previously by COSEWIC as Special Concern (April 1992) and is currently listed as Special Concern on Schedule 3 of SARA. There were no Not at Risk designations in May 2023.
Special Note: Riverine Clubtail was previously assessed as 3 populations; Boreal population (Data Deficient), Great Lakes Plains population (Endangered), and Prairie population (Data Deficient). In May 2023, these 3 populations of Riverine Clubtail were assessed as one unit across Canada as Special Concern (Table 1b), and all 3 previous populations were de-activated. The Great Lakes Plains population is currently listed as Endangered on Schedule 1 of SARA.
Special Note: Great Blue Heron fannini subspecies was previously assessed as Special Concern by COSEWIC. In December 2022, COSEWIC de-activated this designation as it was concluded that this wildlife species is ineligible for assessment. This wildlife species is currently listed as Special Concern on Schedule 1 of SARA.
Special Note: Half-moon Hairstreak was previously assessed by COSEWIC as Endangered (currently Schedule 1 of SARA); in December 2022, this original unit was split into two populations. The Okanagan-Similkameen population was designated Threatened, and the Waterton Lakes population was designated as Endangered (Table 1b).
Special Note: The Mountain Sucker was previously assessed by COSEWIC as 3 populations: "Milk River populations" unit (Threatened, Schedule 1 SARA), "Pacific populations" unit (Special Concern, Schedule 1 SARA), and "Saskatchewan-Nelson River populations" unit (Not at Risk). In December 2022, the species formerly considered Mountain Sucker was split into two separate species, Plains Sucker (2 populations) and Cordilleran Sucker (all 3 in Table 1b). The original 2010 "Pacific populations' unit of Mountain Sucker is now known as Cordilleran Sucker and was designated Threatened in December 2022 (Table 1b).
With the transmission of this report, COSEWIC provides assessments (see Table 1b) of 15 wildlife species newly classified as Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, and of Special Concern to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to consider whether to recommend to the Governor in Council (GIC) that they be added to Schedule 1 of SARA.
Information pertaining to the wildlife species assessed since the last annual report can be found on the SARA Public Registry website at the following address: Species at Risk Registry - Species search
A copy of the assessment details for these wildlife species, including status assigned, reasons for designation (including uncertainties if applicable), and COSEWIC criteria with alphanumeric codes can be found on the COSEWIC website at the following address: COSEWIC wildlife species assessment
Status reports containing information on COSEWIC’s status assessments will be available on the SARA Public Registry at the following address: Status reports
As of May 2023, COSEWIC’s assessments include 846 wildlife species in various risk categories, including 373 Endangered, 197 Threatened, 255 Special Concern, and 21 Extirpated (i.e., no longer found in the wild in Canada). In addition, 23 wildlife species have been assessed as Extinct.
As of May 2023, 61 wildlife species have been designated as Data Deficient and 202 have been assessed and assigned Not at Risk status.
Section 27 of SARA states that the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by order amend the List in accordance with subsections (1.1) and (1.2) by adding a wildlife species, by reclassifying a listed wildlife species or by removing a listed wildlife species, and the Minister may, by order, amend the List in a similar fashion in accordance with subsection (3).
During the period covered in the report, COSEWIC did not inform the Minister about any details related to status assessments.
Provancher’s Fleabane was assessed as Data Deficient in May 2023. This wildlife species was assessed previously by COSEWIC as Special Concern (April 1992) and is currently listed as Special Concern on Schedule 3 of SARA. As such, an amendment to Schedule 3 of SARA can be considered.
The Great Blue Heron fannini subspecies was previously assessed as Special Concern by COSEWIC. In December 2022, COSEWIC de-activated this designation as it was concluded that this wildlife species is ineligible for assessment. This wildlife species is currently listed as Special Concern on Schedule 1 of SARA. As such, an amendment to Schedule 1 of SARA can be considered.
Section 29 of SARA provides for the listing of a wildlife species based on an imminent threat to the survival of the wildlife species under an emergency basis. Section 30 (1) of SARA states that COSEWIC is to prepare a status report on the wildlife species and, within one year after the making of the order, COSEWIC must, in a report in writing to the Minister, (a) confirm the classification of the species; (b) recommend to the Minister that the species be reclassified; or (c) recommend to the Minister that the species be removed from the List.
No emergency assessments were conducted during the 2022-2023 reporting period.
Section 27 (1.1) (c) of SARA provides for the Governor in Council to, on the recommendation of the Minister, refer an assessment of the status of a species back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration.
No wildlife species were referred back to COSEWIC for further consideration during this reporting period.
Section 15.1 (b) of SARA states that one of the functions of COSEWIC is to “determine when wildlife species are to be assessed, with priority given to those more likely to become extinct”.
Following COSEWIC's process for prioritizing new wildlife species for assessment, 15 (including putative designatable units) wildlife species from COSEWIC's Species Specialist Subcommittees’ candidate lists were chosen by the Committee for status report commissioning in 2022. The following is a list of those prioritized candidate wildlife species:
| Taxonomic group | Common name/population name | Scientific name |
|---|---|---|
| Arthropods | Valley Grasshopper | Oedaleontus enigma |
| Arthropods | Leadplant Flower Moth | Schinia luscens |
| Arthropods | [a darkling beetle] | Ephalus latimanus |
| Arthropods | Large-lipped Sand Beetle | Omophron labiatum |
| Arthropods | Sable Island Bordered Apamea | Apamea sordens sableana |
| Arthropods | Sable Island Borer | Papaipema sp. |
| Arthropods | Sable Island Cutworm Moth | Agrotis arenarius |
| Arthropods | Sable Island Eucosma | Eucosma sableana |
| Arthropods | Sable Island Leaf Beetle | Tricholochmaea sablensis |
| Arthropods | White-marked Tussock Moth (Sable Island spp.) | Orgyia leucostigma sablensis |
| Molluscs | Ashy Pebblesnail | Fluminicola fuscus |
| Molluscs | Boreal Awningclam | Solemya borealis |
| Molluscs | Bronze Pinecone | Strobilops aeneus |
| Molluscs | Globose Dome | Ventridens ligera |
| Molluscs | Pyramid Dome | Ventridens intertextus |
Section 18 (1) of SARA requires COSEWIC to establish subcommittees of specialists to assist in the preparation and review of status reports on wildlife species considered to be at risk, including subcommittees specializing in groups of wildlife species and a subcommittee specializing in Aboriginal traditional knowledge.
COSEWIC’s Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee is responsible for ensuring that Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge (ATK) is integrated appropriately in COSEWIC’s assessment process. The Subcommittee consists of members appointed by the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change. The Co-chairs of the ATK Subcommittee are members of COSEWIC and provide COSEWIC with their expertise on ATK.
The following is a summary of activities over this past year:
In 2022, ATK Subcommittee-related activities were limited, including planned ATK reports that were not advanced, due to perceived conflict of interest and a delay in legal review of the ATK contract IP clauses. This included ongoing work to prioritize and select wildlife species for ATK reports as well as the integration of ATK in the COSEWIC status report on Grizzly Bear.
COSEWIC extends its sincere gratitude to the members of the ATK Subcommittee for their ongoing commitment to ensuring that COSEWIC assessments are informed by the best available information.
COSEWIC’s Species Specialists Subcommittees provide taxonomic expertise to the Committee. Each Species Specialist Subcommittee is led by two volunteer Co-chairs, and typically 10-12 members who are recognized Canadian experts in the taxonomic group in question, demonstrate high standards of education, experience, and expertise and have a demonstrated knowledge of wildlife conservation. These volunteer members are drawn from universities, provincial wildlife agencies, museums, Conservation Data Centres, and other sources of expertise on Canadian wildlife species. They support the Co-chairs in developing candidate lists of wildlife species to be considered for assessment, commissioning status reports for priority wildlife species, reviewing reports for scientific accuracy and completeness, and proposing to COSEWIC a status for each wildlife species. Currently, COSEWIC has 10 Species Specialist Subcommittees: Amphibians and Reptiles, Arthropods, Birds, Freshwater Fishes, Marine Fishes, Marine Mammals, Molluscs, Mosses and Lichens, Terrestrial Mammals, and Vascular Plants.
For more information please see: COSEWIC subcommittees
Species Specialist Subcommittee meetings typically take place annually in different locations in Canada. Since uplifting the COVID-19 pandemic related travel restrictions, meetings have returned to in-person. Observers were once again able to attend public information sessions for Species Specialist Subcommittees.
In addition to their continued work to ensure that high quality status reports are brought to each COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting, Species Specialist Subcommittees also periodically undertake special projects aimed at assisting their work.
COSEWIC is extremely grateful for the important work of the Species Specialist Subcommittee members who provide their time and expertise on a volunteer basis.
Section 19 of SARA states that COSEWIC “may make rules respecting the holding of meetings and the general conduct of its activities.”
COSEWIC is guided in its activities by an Operations & Procedures Manual that is reviewed annually by COSEWIC’s Operations and Procedures Subcommittee, which recommends any changes to the Committee for its approval. During this reporting period, the COSEWIC Operations and Procedures Manual was updated to reflect changes in COSEWIC’s procedures. The most notable changes are as follows:
Section 18 (1) of SARA also allows COSEWIC to establish subcommittees to advise it or to exercise or perform any of its functions.
Procedural working groups are essential to ensuring COSEWIC’s operations and procedures are efficient, effective and followed clearly, thus maintaining the quality and consistency of COSEWIC status assessments and processes.
This Working Group was active before and during each Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting on the production of each press release.
The Priority Setting Working Group decided at the December 2022 Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting to pause the prioritization process for 2023 so that SSCs could move forward with reports that have been delayed due to conflict of interest and contracting issues. Therefore, the working group did not ask SSCs for new wildlife species candidates at the Spring 2023 Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting, and instead presented a revised prioritization table for both new and reassessment species that would be used for the 2023 and 2024 call for bids. The working group also has been transitioning to a new timeline where new and reassessment species follow the same process and timeline as opposed to being prioritized separately. This work is aimed at finding solutions to COSEWIC’s growing list of backlogged reassessments while ensuring that COSEWIC targets highest priority species for assessment.
The updated status report template was finalized and implemented in 2022. The working group has fulfilled its mandate and it has been disbanded. In 2022-2023, COSEWIC members began developing a new process to further streamline status report production. While not yet approved and included in the Operations and Procedures Manual, trials of the new Review of Classification procedure began in 2023 and will continue in 2023-2024. The hopeful result will be a spreadsheet approach to review classification of wildlife species for which status is not expected to change.
This working group continues to assist Species Specialist Subcommittees with implementing the updated (2020) Guidelines for Determining Designatable Units. In 2022-2023, the working group initiated a review opportunity for COSEWIC’s jurisdictional partners through the Canadian Wildlife Directors Committee. Results would be compiled, and a response planned in early 2023-2024. Expanding the review input, in June 2023, the working group hosted two online meetings for interested representatives from the same jurisdictional partners. The meetings began with a presentation from a working group Co-chair, followed by a question and answer-style discussion using expertise of both working group members and invitees. Thirty-two jurisdictional representatives attended one or both sessions, along with seven working group members and COSEWIC staff. Jurisdictional representatives generally agreed that the updated guidelines were clearer and more rigorous, leading to better delineation of designatable units according to discreteness and evolutionary significance. This was seen as key to conserving biodiversity. Participants acknowledged the administrative and regulatory challenges associated with changing Designatable Unit divisions over time. Review participants also requested more guidance on using the precautionary principle when designating assessment units, on using “weight of evidence” and on interpreting specialized terminology.
This working group continues to review the Operations and Procedures Manual, Appendix F8 (Updated Guidelines Concerning Sensitive Information) of the Operations and Procedures Manual. They are also discussing details related to COSEWIC-related data with the aim of improving its accessibility to others. ECCC is planning on leading a contract to identify barriers to data sharing and provide recommendations for COSEWIC contracts in 2023-2024.
This working group is advancing its work to achieve diversified membership that is representative of the population we serve. An EDI consultant has delivered a report this year and recommendations were provided to the committee in November 2022 towards this goal. The working group has continued to provide the Committee with advice on operations and procedural changes on advertising membership positions and assessing membership applicants to strive for qualified diverse membership. COSEWIC has now achieved gender parity, and we are continuing to push for improvements in other axes of diversity. The working group will strive to implement certain recommendations by its EDI consultant in the coming months and years.
At the November 2022 COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessment meeting, Dave Fraser, Chair of the working group, gave a Criteria training workshop to all COSEWIC members. At its spring 2023 meeting, COSEWIC agreed with the recommendation of the Criteria Working Group that Extent of Occurrence (EOO) should be calculated using a minimum convex polygon drawn around Canadian occurrences. The “instructions for Report Writers” will be updated after the fall 2023 meeting.
Revisions have been made to Appendix F13. Instructions on Completing IUCN Threats Calculators, and the working group presented as well as finalized those changes at the Fall 2022 Wildlife Species Assessment Meeting. These amendments more accurately reflect the threats assessment process and relevant guidance. The working group also created a 1-page guidance document for new participants to the threats assessment process. It is anticipated that relevant threat calculator training will be initiated for facilitators that lead various species threat assessments.
A tri-departmental working group consisting of SARA managers from Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada has approached COSEWIC in order to collaborate on the streamlining of the SARA process. An expert facilitator and consultant were hired in order to lead discussions between COSEWIC and the three federal departments responsible for SARA. In February 2023, a workshop was held to discuss areas of overlap and common priorities where efficiencies could be achieved in order to improve the conservation outcomes of species at risk in Canada. Areas for potential improvement and collaboration include enhanced communications, jurisdictional engagement, indigenous engagement, threats assessment and data sharing. A report with recommendations for areas of collaboration is pending and will be delivered in late 2023.
Insofar as resources allow, COSEWIC and its Chairs over the years have made every effort to inform governments and the public about the work of the Committee. Since uplifting the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions on October 1, 2022, the COSEWIC Chair has once again been able to attend the regular face-to-face meetings during the 2022-2023 reporting period.
During the current reporting period, COSEWIC produced two press releases outlining the results of the fall 2022 and the spring 2023 Wildlife Species Assessment Meetings. The links to the COSEWIC press releases can be found on the COSEWIC website: COSEWIC news and events
COSEWIC’s Twitter account informs Canadians about news on Canadian species at risk. The account can be found at @cosewic and now has nearly 2,000 followers.
The Chair of COSEWIC gave the following virtual and in-person presentations or meetings on the work of COSEWIC:
In addition, the Chair of COSEWIC had written correspondence or attended meetings regarding the following issues:
Section 16 of SARA states that (1) COSEWIC is to be composed of members appointed by the Minister after consultation with the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council and with any experts and expert bodies, such as the Royal Society of Canada, that the Minister considers to have relevant expertise. (2) Each member must have expertise drawn from a discipline such as conservation biology, population dynamics, taxonomy, systematics or genetics or from community knowledge or aboriginal traditional knowledge of the conservation of wildlife species. (3) The members are to be appointed to hold office for renewable terms of not more than four years.
For a current list of members on COSEWIC, please see the COSEWIC website. COSEWIC members
Members from the Federal, Provincial or Territorial jurisdictions are recommended to the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada by the jurisdiction.
The Co-chairs of the ATK Subcommittee are elected by the ATK Subcommittee members and recommended to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada for appointment to COSEWIC. The Co-chairs and all ATK Subcommittee members are nominated by National Aboriginal Organizations with the exception of two of its members who can be nominated by the ATK Subcommittee. Subcommittee members are appointed by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. There is currently one vacancy in the Co-chair position.
Species Specialist Subcommittee Co-chairs and Non-government Science Members are recommended to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada by COSEWIC following an in-depth review process.
A call for seven Species Specialist Subcommittee Co-chairs and one Non-Government Scientist was posted on the COSEWIC website between January 25 and February 22, 2023. Selection Committees composed of COSEWIC and Species Specialist Subcommittee members then evaluated the applications following procedures set out in COSEWIC’s Operations & Procedures Manual. The Chairs of each Selection Committee prepared reports summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of the applicants, which were discussed with COSEWIC during the in-person species assessment meeting on May 4, 2023. Selected candidates were confirmed by COSEWIC, and their names and CVs were provided by correspondence to the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change on May 17, 2023, for consideration of appointment. Members of CESCC were copied on this correspondence. COSEWIC was grateful for the Federal Minister of Environment’s appointment of all COSEWIC’s proposed nominees for membership in July 2023.
In accordance with Section 25(1) of SARA when COSEWIC completes an assessment of the status of a wildlife species, it must provide the Minister and the Canadian Endangered Species Conservation Council with a copy of the assessment and the reasons for it. A copy of the assessment must also be included on the public registry.
Information pertaining to the wildlife species assessed since the last annual report can be found on the SARA Public Registry website at the following address: Species at Risk Registry - Species search
The status reports will be available in English and French on the Public Registry at the following address: Status reports
In accordance with Section 25(2) of SARA, COSEWIC must annually prepare a complete list of every wildlife species it has assessed since the coming into force of that section and a copy of that list must be included in the public registry.
The Canadian Species at Risk publication is available on the Species at Risk Public Registry. COSEWIC List of wildlife species assessed
It includes all wildlife species assessed by COSEWIC since its inception up to and including October 2023.
