Species At Risk in BC's Grasslands

Species at Risk

Grasslands cover only a fraction of a province that is dominated by trees. Unfortunately, large areas of grasslands have been converted to towns and cities, or to agricultural fields, orchards and vineyards. The grasslands that do remain (less than one percent of the province's area) have been altered by livestock grazing, recreational activities, the invasion of non-native invasive plants, and encroaching trees. As grasslands have been lost or altered, so has the habitat for the species that lived there.

The grasslands of British Columbia are a northern extension of the grasslands of the Great Basin of the Western United States, different from the prairie grasslands found east of the Rocky Mountains. The plants and animals found in BC's grasslands live in the northern limit of their habitat, and they are adapted to survive in harsh climatic conditions. Scientists are now finding that these uniquely adapted species are particularly important in terms of continental and global conservation, which makes BC's grasslands especially important.

Species at risk are those species that are small in number, limited in their range, and/or associated with habitats that have been drastically reduced or are in danger of being lost completely. Our grasslands are now home to over 30 percent of the species at risk in BC.

More species at risk are found in the grasslands of the South Okanagan than in any other area of Canada. Many of the species are found nowhere else in Canada, and a few are found nowhere else in the world. The special conditions found in BC's grasslands, those of hotter, drier summers and milder winters, allow many special species to survive. Unfortunately, grassland habitats are very restricted in narrow, lowland valleys, 90 percent of which have already been converted to urban development, agricultural land, or infrastructure such as highways.

Keeping Track of Species at Risk

Species at risk are tracked in a number of ways: provincially, nationally, and internationally. Click on the links below to find out more.

The British Columbia Conservation Data Centre (CDC) was established in 1991 to collect and disseminate data about the rare plants, animals, and plant communities in the province. This information is compiled and maintained in a computerized database that provides a centralized scientific source of information on the status, locations, and levels of protection of rare organisms and ecosystems.

The CDC is part of the Registries and Resource Information Division in the British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. It is also part of NatureServe, an international organiziation of conservation data centres and natural heritage programs all using the same methodology to gather and exchange information on the threatened elements of biodiversity.

Provincial Red and Blue Lists

Red List:
This list includes any indigenous species or subspecies that have, or are candidates for extirpated, endangered, or threatened status in British Columbia. Extirpated taxa no longer exist in the wild in British Columbia, but do occur elsewhere. Endangered taxa are facing imminent extirpateion or extinction. Threatened taza are likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed. Not all red-listed taxa will necessarily become formally designated. Placing taxa on these lists flags them as being at risk and requiring investigation.

Blue List:
This list included any indigenous species or subspecies considered to be vulnerable in British Columbia. Vulnerable taxa are of special concern because of characteristics that make them particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events. Blue-listed taxa are at risk, but are not extirpated, endangered, or threatened.

Relationship of Red and Blue Lists to CDC Ranks
Species are assigned to the red or blue list on the basis of the provincial Conservation Status Rank (SRANK) assigned by the Conservation Data Centre.

Purpose of the Red and Blue Lists
The red and blue lists serve two purposes:

To provide a list of species for consideration for more formal designation as endangered or threatened, either provincially under the British Columbia Wildlife Act, or nationally by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
As a method of assigning conservation priorities for species considered at risk in British Columbia.

The rankings highlight species that face particular threats, suffer declining population trends, or have restricted distributions that indicate that they require special attention. These lists serve as a practical method to assist in making conservation and land-use decisions and prioritize research, inventory, management, and protection activities. For example, Operational Planning Regulations in the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act uses the red and blue lists in the development of the list of Identified Wildlife.

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) determines the national status of wild Canadian species, subspecies and populations suspected of being at risk. COSEWIC bases its decisions on the best up-to-date scientific information and Aboriginal traditional knowledge available. All native mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, molluscs, lepidopterans (butterflies and moths), vascular plants, mosses, and lichens are included in its current mandate.

Three lists are maintained:

Species at Risk: species designated in the extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened, or special concern categories;
Species Not at Risk: species that have been evaluated and found to be not at risk;
Data Deficient: species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support a risk or not at risk designation.

Terms and risk categories:

Species: any indigenous species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of wild fauna and flora

Extinct: a species that no longer exists

Extirpated: a species that no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but occurs elsewhere

Endangered: a species facing imminent extirpation or extinction

Threatened: a species that is likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed

Special Concern: a species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events

Not at Risk: a species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk

Data Deficient: a species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation