Species at Risk Act (SARA)

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.

SpeciesListDec2024.pdf

VIDEO: Pe Metawe Consulting Community Engagement Workshop (October 21, 2025) 

The Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), with the financial support from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service (ECCC-CWS), has been hosting workshops and training sessions to support capacity building for Indigenous Nations and organizations included in the multi-year Species at Risk Act – Consultation, Cooperation and Accommodation (SARA-CCA) project, a partnership with ECCC-CWS.  

We thank David and Pe Metawe Consulting for their work and the opportunity to share the workshop with the broader CIER community. 

Community engagement is often at the forefront of SARA-CCA project activities and is frequently cited in project work.  In October 2025, David Plamondon of Pe Metawe Consulting led a discussion and training session focused on improving community engagement through an authentic Indigenous lens. This training focuses on different techniques and tools that can be used to drive engagement in addition to exploring how to motivate and engage community members, and how to ensure self-care to avoid burnout and frustration of both the community engagement facilitators, and the community.  

David Plamondon is a Cree professional and community advocate from Treaty 8 First Nations. David was raised in Slave Lake and Grouard, and has focused his career on supporting, uplifting and advocating for Indigenous Peoples throughout Turtle Island. With a background on both recruitment and employment supports, David has a unique perspective on how to properly engage with Indigenous Peoples, while upholding traditional and modern Indigenous values. 

Upcoming Events

TBA

Resources

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:

More Information About Grizzly Bear

Graphic Recordings

Anti-Indigenous Racism Discussion Sessions – February-March 2026 (8 virtual discussion sessions) 

As part of proactive communications and anti-racism and community safety efforts related to the Southern Mountain Caribou Recovery Strategy Amendment, we are working to support Indigenous communities in preparing for and responding to potential misinformation, disinformation, and anti-Indigenous racism. Building on previous discussions, this series of virtual sessions was offered to share updates, provide tools and resources, and support community-led approaches to safety planning and resilience. 

Addressing Anti-Indigenous Racism Workshops and Reports – October-December 2025 (2 virtual workshops)  

These sessions were held to discuss misinformation, disinformation, and anti-Indigenous racism that could arise when the Southern Mountain Caribou (SMC) Recovery Strategy Amendment is posted. 

Theme-Based Discussions Materials – October-November 2024 (3 virtual discussion sessions)

The three Theme-Based sessions provided a collaborative forum to discuss key issues and engage with experts. The sessions focused on how to define and map caribou historic range and explored how to incorporate sensory disturbance and biophysical attributes in critical habitat identification.

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

Graphic Recordings

Graphic Recordings

  • 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 2nd, 2021)
  • 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

Pacific Needs Assessment

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])