Pacific Region

Species at Risk Act (SARA) Consultation, Cooperation and Accommodation Project

Project Overview

This multi-year project will facilitate Indigenous communities’ and organizations’ participation in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) listing and recovery planning processes for terrestrial species as part of implementing the federal Species at Risk Act. CIER’s role is to support a range of activities between Indigenous communities and organizations and ECCC on developing recovery documents, sharing knowledge and language, addressing threats to terrestrial species at risk survival and recovery, and land use planning for species at risk on reserve lands and within traditional territories.

2020-2021 Pilot project:  Prior to the start of the multi-year project, the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) partnered with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to undertake a pilot project in British Columbia. This project facilitated Indigenous communities’ and organizations’ participation in federal recovery planning for seven terrestrial Species at Risk: Grizzly Bear, Southern Mountain Caribou, Bank Swallow, Western Screech-Owl, Oregon Forestsnail, American Badger, and Marbled Murrelet. The multi-year project is a continuation of this work. 

Species at Risk List

ECCC is continuously listing and reassessing the status of species under the Species at Risk Act and developing recovery documents for those that are listed as special concern, threatened or endangered. The focus of the SARA Consultation, Cooperation and Accommodation Project is on those species that are actively undergoing the listing process or recovery document development. The list below is subject to change over time.

Tables of species (PDF)

Additional Species at Risk as of July 7, 2024

Upcoming Events

Funding Support and Information Session: Recovery Planning of Terrestrial Species at Risk

January 15, 2025: 9:30 – 11:00 PT / 11:30 – 1:00 CT / 12:30 – 2:00 ET

We are inviting applications for funding to support Indigenous Nations’ participation in Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) listing and recovery planning processes for terrestrial species at risk. We are also holding an information session to provide an overview of this initiative and the funding available to support involvement in the different project components for the final year of the project. The information session will be held on January 15th from 9:30 – 11:00 PT/11:30 – 1:00 CT/12:30 – 2:00 ET. During this session, further explanation will be provided with opportunity for questions and discussion. To register for this session, please select the link below. 

Register for Zoom meeting


On this webpage you will find the materials shared at the sessions included in this project (e.g., SARA overview sessions, species specific workshops, training sessions, information sharing sessions, funding application forms). You will also find helpful species at risk related tools and resources. Click on the topic headings to see a drop-down list of the associated resources.

ECCC’s Regional and Sector Based Field Guides for Terrestrial Species at Risk:

In-Person Workshop Materials – January-March 2024 (3 regional, two-day workshops)

In-Person Workshop Graphic Recordings – Kelowna, BC: January 31 – February 1, 2024

In-Person Workshop Graphic Recordings – Edmonton, AB: February 14 – 15, 2024

In-Person Workshop Graphic Recordings – Prince George, BC: March 5 – 6, 2024

Workshop Materials – February/March 2023

Workshop Graphic Recordings – February/March 2023

Workshop Materials – November 2022

Workshop Graphic Recordings – November 2022

Workshop Materials – February/March 2021

Workshop Graphic Recordings – February/March 2021

  • Project Overview Session PPT (January 26th, 27th and February 2nd, 2021)
  • Project Overview Session Summary Report (January 26th, 27th and February 2nd, 2021)
  • Species Overview Session Grizzly Bear PPT (January 26th, 27th and February 2nd, 2021)
  • Species Overview Session Multi-Species PPT (January 26th, 27th and February 2nd2021)
  • Species Overview Session Southern Mountain Caribou PPT (January 26th, 27th and February 2nd, 2021)
  • Species Overview Session PPT (Nov 9th and 18th 2021) (PDF)

Graphic Recordings: Images by Sessions Date

Graphic Recordings: Images by Specific Sessions

SARA Legislation in B.C. (March 2, 2021 and May 6, 2021)

Legislation Session PPT Final
Legislation Session #2 Participant Report

Tools and Resources (March 3, 2021)

Speaker Presentations

​*To view a recording of the speaker presentations please visit CIER’s Youtube Channel.

Panel Events (May 11, 2021)

How to Obtain Critical Habitat Shapefiles

Thank you for your interest in accessing Species at Risk Critical Habitat data. Critical Habitat data for species whose recovery strategies are posted as proposed or final on the SARA Registry is publically available via the Government of Canada’ Open Data Portal.

For access to candidate Critical Habitat spatial data that has yet to be publically posted in a recovery document, Environment and Climate Change Canada require requesters to sign a data sharing agreement. Please contact the Canadian Wildlife Service Regulatory Affairs unit at: [email protected] and a Data Sharing Agreement will be made available so that shapefiles of Critical Habitat may be shared. 

Specific Species Information at the Species At Risk Public Registry

Camera-Trapping

Working Together: Protecting Species at Risk and their Habitat under the Species at Risk Act


Contact

Kat Hewitt, Project Manager, CIER ([email protected])
Kate Cave, Senior Project Manager, CIER ([email protected])
Jean Polfus, Southern Mountain Caribou Project Lead, ([email protected])
Undiné Thompson, Senior Consultation Biologist, ECCC-CWS for questions related to any other species ([email protected])