| SARA Updates June 21st, 2024: On June 19th, an Order to amend Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) resulted in the following changes for two species occurring in Saskatchewan:
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| May 2024 COSEWIC Meetings May 16th, 2024: The Long-billed Curlew was reassessed from Special Concern to Threatened in the most recent Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) meetings. See the COSEWIC website for a summary of all wild species assessments. The SKCDC vertebrate species lists have been updated to reflect this change. | |
| Species List Updates February 6th, 2024: The SKCDC Provincial Species Lists have been updated and posted to the species list page. See the summary of updates for a detailed list of changes since they were last posted. | |
| December 2023 Species at Risk Act (SARA) Updates Orders Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (SARA) were published December 8th, 2023. For full details, see the Government of Canada Species at Risk Public Registry. The following amendments have been made for species within SK:
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| December 2023 COSEWIC Meetings The December 2023 Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) meetings reassessed two species that occur in Saskatchewan, the Horned Grebe and Yellow Rail. Both remain Special Concern. | |
| General Status of Wild Species in Canada Every five years, the National General Status of Species in Canada Working Group produces a report on the status of wild species in Canada. The SKCDC is a member of this working group and many of the species and ranks in our lists have been updated as a result of this ongoing project. 12,000 Saskatchewan species had ranks assigned in the 2020 report and the SKCDC has completed its incorporation of this information into our database. Work for the 2025 report is underway. |
| May 2023 COSEWIC Updates May 12th, 2023: The spring 2023 COSEWIC meeting has resulted in the following updates for SK: Great Plains Toad - Special Concern (no change); Eastern Red Bat - Endangered (new); Hoary Bat - Endangered (new); Silver-haired Bat - Endangered (new). For details, see the COSEWIC website. SKCDC Vertebrate Animal Species lists have been updated to reflect these changes, including adding the three bats to the SKCDC's tracking list. | |
| February 2023 Species at Risk Act Updates February 27th, 2023: Orders Amending Schedule 1 to the Species at Risk Act (SARA) were published in February, 2023. For full details, see the Government of Canada Species at Risk Public Registry (part 1 and part 2). The SKCDC's vertebrate and invertebrate animal species lists have been republished with the updates. The following amendments have been made for species within SK: | |
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| Species Lists Updated February 17th, 2023: The SKCDC Provincial Species Lists have been updated. Newly posted for this year is a spreadsheet with a summary of updates between the species lists that were posted in 2022 and the current lists (2023). Highlighted changes include the following scientific name updates for vascular plants: | |
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| November 2022 COSEWIC Updates December 27th, 2022: The fall 2022 COSEWIC meeting has resulted in the following updates for SK: Eastern Whip-poor-will - Special Concern (previously Threatened), Plains Sucker (Missouri population) - Threatened, Plains Sucker (Saskatchewan Nelson population) - Special Concern, Slender Mouse-ear-cress - Threatened (no change), and Small-flowered Sand-verbena - Special Concern (previously Endangered). For details, see the COSEWIC website. HABISask has been updated to reflect these changes, and new species lists will be posted to the SKCDC's website in early 2023. | |
| Staff Update December 27th, 2022: After a long career with the SKCDC, Jeff Keith has retired as SKCDC Coordinator. Congratulations, Jeff and welcome Jeanette Pepper - the SKCDC's new coordinator! Visit our staff page for staff bios or contact us page for contact information. | |
| May 2022 COSEWIC Updates May 30th, 2022: SKCDC's Vertebrate and Invertebrate Animal Species Lists have been updated to reflect the most recent COSEWIC wildlife species assessments. Updates for SK are as follows: Dusky Dune Moth - Threatened (previously Endangered), Bobolink - Special Concern (previously Threatened), and Brassy Minnow (Missouri population) - Special Concern. | |
| Species Lists Updated January 31, 2022: SKCDC's species lists have been updated. Read about some of the noteworthy updates here. A mail-out with this information has also been sent out to subscribers - please check your spam folders if you do not see it! Efforts are underway to reduce the amount of mail-outs ending up in spam. | |
| November 2021 COSEWIC Updates January 31, 2022: The SKCDC's species lists include COSEWIC statuses. In the November/December COSEWIC meetings, the following SK species were assessed: Black-footed Ferret (remains Extirpated), Greater Prairie-Chicken (remains Extirpated), Greater Sage-Grouse (remains Endangered), Mountain Plover (remains Endangered), and Sage Thrasher (remains Endangered). | |
| Species at Risk Act Amendments - August 2021 January 31, 2022: The SKCDC's species lists include Species at Risk Act (SARA) statuses current to the date they were created. In August, 2021, an order amending the Schedule 1 of SARA was published. Changes for SK included adding the Bullsnake and Transverse Lady Beetle as Special Concern. The Golden-eye Lichen (Prairie/Boreal population), recently discovered in SK, was also added as Special Concern. |
| COSEWIC and SARA Status Updates May 17, 2021: Five species that occur in SK were assessed/reassessed in the May 2021 COSEWIC assessment meetings. They are: Black Hills Mountainsnail - Endangered (Oreohelix cooperi); Short-eared Owl - Threatened (was Special Concern); Swift Fox - remains Threatened; Barn Swallow - Special Concern (was Threatened), and Ferruginous Hawk - Special Concern (was Threatened). Furthermore, the Red-headed Woodpecker has been reclassified in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) from threatened to endangered. See the Species at Risk Public Registry for more details. These status changes have been updated in the SKCDC's invertebrate and vertebrate taxa lists, as well as HABISask. | |
| Red Lily Beetle May 7th, 2021: The first reported 2021 sighting of the invasive Red Lily Beetle, Lilioceris lilii, has happened near Shellbrook. Time to be on the lookout for this invasive species. Please email records to: invasives.imap@gov.sk.ca and include a photo if possible, or consider getting an iMapInvasives Account to use the iMapInvasives Mobile Field Application to report them and other invasive species directly. See here for detailed reporting guidelines. | |
| Species List Updates February 2nd, 2021: Species lists have been updated and posted to our species list page. Ranking updates are a result of the 2020 program on the General Status of Species in Canada. See here for a summary of some of the changes. |
| COSEWIC November 2020 Wildlife Species Assessments December 9th, 2020: A summary of the COSEWIC wildlife species assessments for the November, 2020 meeting has been posted. In SK, the following species were assessed/reassessed: Lesser Yellowlegs - Threatened (new - will be added to SKCDC tracking list); Aweme Borer - Data Deficient (previously Endangered); Canada Warbler - Special Concern (previously Threatened). Red Knot rufa subspecies has been split into three populations that may be found in the province: Northeastern South America wintering population is now Special Concern; Southeastern USA / Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean wintering population and Tierra del Fuego / Patagonia wintering population remain Endangered. | |
| NatureServe Canada EBAR Range Mapping September 14th, 2020: NatureServe Canada has published several Ecosystem-based automated range maps (EBAR) available for download as a PDF or a geospatial package. EBAR maps combine expert knowledge with species occurrence data to populate ecoshapes (i.e. landscape areas) with species presence information. The current focus has been on mapping species for the Canada Key Biodiversity Areas program (KBA) and for upcoming COSEWIC assessments. Learn more about this program here. | |
| Red Lily Beetle May 22nd, 2020: The first reported sightings of the invasive Red Lily Beetle, Lilioceris lilii, happened over the Victoria Long weekend in both Saskatoon and Prince Albert. Time to be on the lookout for this invasive species. Please email records to: invasives.imap@gov.sk.ca and include a photo if possible, or consider getting an iMapInvasives Account to use the iMapInvasives Mobile Field Application to report them and other invasive species directly. See here for detailed reporting guidelines. | |
| Vertebrate and Vascular Plant Species Lists Updated February 20th, 2020: Please see our Species Lists page for updated vertebrate and vascular plant lists, including the vascular plant accepted and synonym scientific names list and tracked species by ecoregion. |
| November COSEWIC Assessments December 5th, 2019: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) met in November, 2019. As a result, three species that occur in Saskatchewan have new or updated COSEWIC statuses. The Chestnut-collared Longspur has been reassessed from Threatened to Endangered. New to the list are Suckley's Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Threatened, and Plains Hog-nosed Snake, Special Concern. The summary of results can be found on the COSEWIC web site. | |
| Federal Species at Risk Act Amendments August 28th, 2019: On August 21, an Order to amend Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act for 31 freshwater species was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. In Saskatchewan, the Plains Minnow has been listed as threatened. The SKCDC vertebrate species lists and HABISask have been updated to reflect this change. | |
| NatureServe Canada Annual Report July 24th, 2019: Take a look at the 2018-19 NatureServe Canada Annual Report to learn about the projects NatureServe Canada and its member programs have been working on. Page 6 features an update from Saskatchewan on the Important Plant Areas program. The NatureServe Canada network consists of nine conservation data centres that cover all of the provinces and territories except Quebec. | |
| iMapInvasives 3.0 Email Alerts Are Now Live July 3rd, 2019: NatureServe is excited to announce the release of email alerts for iMapInvasives. With this new feature, you can now create custom alerts (e.g., by species or location) and opt in or out of standard alerts. For instructions on how to use the alerts, please see the help documentation. | |
| iMap Invasives 3.0 is Here! April 25th, 2019: As of April 19th, the new iMapInvasives platform (iMapInvasives 3.0) was launched and is now LIVE! Please login or sign up using your email and password (existing users will need to reset their password). Remember to update your bookmarks and download the new mobile app! If you require further assistance or have questions consult the Help Documents or contact imap.invasives@gov.sk.ca. | |
| Sask. Important Plant Areas Program March 25th, 2019: The Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan (NPSS) and Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre, on behalf of the Botanical Assessment Working Group, are pleased to announce the Vern Harms Important Plant Areas (IPA) of Saskatchewan program. The IPA program is an international effort to identify and conserve a region’s most important places for wild plant and fungal diversity. | |
Eight sites in Saskatchewan have already been designated, and information on these will be available in the spring. Anyone can nominate a site, provided it meets certain criteria. More information on the program, site criteria, and how to nominate a site can be found on the NPSS website. Nominations will be adjudicated twice a year in April and October (next intake is for October 2019). Although an IPA designation is not legally binding, partners hope that such a designation will afford the sites extra avoidance/mitigation consideration should they ever be subject to a development, and will spur land managers to make decisions with outcomes that will benefit plant species of concern, plant diversity and sensitive habitats. Although locations of privately owned IPAs will not necessarily be available to the public, they will be made available on the Ministry of Environment’s HABISask application to users with data sharing agreements (e.g. only visible to those who login). Questions about the IPA program can be directed to the NPSS or SKCDC. Please help us spread the word! | |
| Coming Soon: iMapInvasives 3.0 March 18th, 2019: The iMapInvasives Network is excited to announce that the iMapInvasives platform is undergoing major changes this year, leading to a new and greatly improved iMapInvasives 3.0! Current iMapInvasives users will transition to the new platform in Spring 2019. See the iMapInvasives website for details and timelines! Please note that iMapInvasives will be offline from April 1st until the new platform is launched on April 15th. If you have further questions please contact imap.invasives@gov.sk.ca. | |
| Species Lists have been Updated February 13th, 2019: All of our species lists have been updated and posted to our Species List page. Notable changes are to birds which have been updated to better match the latest Check-list of North American Birds from the American Ornithological Society. Four letter codes have also been added to the vertebrate list in Excel. Furthermore, vascular and non-vascular plant lists by ecoregion have been updated with more recent data. |
| November 2018 COSEWIC Assessments December 21st, 2018: In the most recent COSEWIC meeting, Greater Short-horned Lizard and Pale Yellow Dune Moth were two Saskatchewan species that were reassessed. The Pale Yellow Dune Moth remains at Special Concern, while the Greater Short-horned Lizard has changed from a COSEWIC status of Endangered to Special Concern. The vertebrate species lists have been updated to reflect this change. Refer to the Government of Canada's COSEWIC web page for details. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NatureServe Canada Annual Report October 4th, 2018: Find out what NatureServe Canada and its network have been up to, including how the SKCDC has been building species information for national parks in Saskatchewan on page 9. The NatureServe Canada Network consists of Conservation Data Centres across Canada and works to develop, manage, and distribute authoritative knowledge regarding Canada’s wild species and ecosystems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Species Lists Updated with SARA Additions August 13th, 2018: An Order to amend Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act for 13 terrestrial species was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on June 13th, 2018. The SKCDC's vertebrate and invertebrate lists have been updated to reflect these changes. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Saskatchewan species added to Schedule 1 of SARA
For details, refer to the Species at Risk Public Registry. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Invasive Mussel Monitoring May 22nd, 2018: The new Adult Invasive Mussel Monitoring (AIMM) reporting system is ready for use. Please read the AIMM User Guide for details on how to report using Survey123. First download the Survey 123 for ArcGIS field app to your mobile device from Google Play or the Apple Store. Then download the AIMM survey using the link provided in the AIMM User Guide. Once downloaded you can use your mobile device to fill the survey form out in the field and submit it when you are back in WiFi/cell service. More details can be found on the AIMM tab of our Invasives page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessments May 17th, 2018: The SKCDC's species lists and HABISask have been updated to reflect the April, 2018 Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessments. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of assessments to species in Saskatchewan
For details, refer to the Government of Canada's COSEWIC webpage and review their COSEWIC Wildlife Species Assessments (detailed version), April 2018 document. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Cinquefoil in Saskatchewan May 17th, 2018: Potentilla hudsonii Ertter is a recently described species that occurs in Saskatchewan. Dr. Barbara Ertter of the University of California has been investigating the entity for some time and visited Saskatchewan in 2015 to study plants in the field. She recently published the description of this species, which she named after Saskatchewan’s own John Hudson. P. hudsonii is most morphologically similar to P. rubricaulis and P. hookeriana (see Ertter 2018 for a key) and can be found in grassland sites that have sandy, rocky or thin soils. It’s currently known Saskatchewan distribution is centered in the Saskatoon, Prince Albert and North Battleford areas (see figure). The SKCDC has ranked this species as an S2S3 tracked species. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flowering Rush and Invasive Species Information Cards May 11th, 2018: As part of Aquatic Invasives Species Awareness Week the SKCDC- iMapInvasives program is posting a Flowering Rush Alert for the province as well as updated Invasive Species Information Cards. The confirmed report of Flowering Rush in the South Saskatchewan River has highlighted the need to raise awareness about the invasive nature of this species. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volunteers Needed for Ferruginous Hawk Surveys March 12th, 2018: The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, with funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada, is conducting a province-wide inventory of ferruginous hawks in 2018. If you are a keen observer, want to learn something new and are available during the last week or weekend of April/beginning of May, see poster for details and contact bea.prieto@gov.sk.ca | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Order Amending Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act February 21, 2018: An Order to amend Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) for 31 species including 7 in Saskatchewan has been published in the Canada Gazette, Part II. For details, see the Species at Risk Public Registry website. SARA statuses have been updated accordingly in the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (SKCDC) vertebrate and invertebrate species lists and within HABISask. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Changes/Additions to Species at Risk in Saskatchewan:
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| Updates to Plant Species Lists February 15, 2018: Species lists, synonym lists, and tracked species lists by ecoregion for vascular and non-vascular plants have been updated on our Species Lists webpage. These updates mostly reflect taxonomic updates and not S-rank changes. The lists by ecoregion contain a great deal of updated information: the Tracked Vascular Plant Species by Ecoregion document contains approximately 600 new entries. |