Hello and welcome to our small section of the blogosphere!
Our names are Asfa and Shane, and we are Conservation Biology students at Memorial University of Newfoundland. We will be using this blog to chronicle our findings as we learn more about historical and current applications of conservation biology here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
In this blog, you will find scientific
information and our thoughts on the recovery planning aspect of
terrestrial endangered species management (don't worry, it's not quite as complicated as it sounds!). We will also be looking at how this
is approached in other provinces and across the globe, so that we
will be able to see just how Newfoundland and Labrador compares to the rest of the
world.
Before we can get into that, there is something we need to address. What exactly is recovery planning?
In its most basic form, a recovery plan is something put into place to prevent a species at-risk from going extinct. It accomplishes this by defining a set of specific criteria which must be met to reduce threats to the species (Foin, et al., 1998). Recovery planning is aimed at reversing the decline of a species and minimising threats to the species. Recovery can range from maintaining current population sizes, to fully restoring species to viable, self-sustaining populations.
Before we can get into that, there is something we need to address. What exactly is recovery planning?
In its most basic form, a recovery plan is something put into place to prevent a species at-risk from going extinct. It accomplishes this by defining a set of specific criteria which must be met to reduce threats to the species (Foin, et al., 1998). Recovery planning is aimed at reversing the decline of a species and minimising threats to the species. Recovery can range from maintaining current population sizes, to fully restoring species to viable, self-sustaining populations.
Ok, so
it helps “at risk” species, but what are they? In Canada, there
are several government organisations involved in determining which
species are at risk of extinction. The major powers in assessing this are the Species at Risk Act (SARA), and the
Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
There is a huge amount of work that goes into appraising different
species, and you can learn more about this on another blog from our
class.
So how big of an issue is recovery
planning here in our little province? We're sure you can think of a
few species that are probably at risk, if you really try. Maybe
you've heard about the pine marten?
Or what about the red knot
? These are both at risk species (or “threatened” and
“endangered,” respectively, if you want to get technical about
it) and they both have recovery plans.
 |
| Source: Department of Environment and Conservation |
The number of species at risk in the province just might be higher than you think. There are actually 35 different species, subspecies, and populations listed which are considered at risk. We will be looking at the recovery plans for several of these species over the coming weeks, but for now, you can learn more about them here.
The final question
today is why should we care about this?
Our province is home to many
different types of species, and these species are being threatened by
a variety of different things, including habitat loss from
development, and decrease in habitat quality from pollution. If
recovery planning measures are not taken, we can lose these unique
species forever.
It is important to note that we are in no way
experts in this field. We hope that as we read through the scientific
literature on this topic, we will learn a great deal more, and hope to
translate our knowledge into this blog.
If you feel a topic has been misaddressed, have suggestions for other potential topics, or have any other type of general comment, just leave us a note below and we'll get right back to you about it!
Keep on conserving!
-Asfa and Shane
[Endangered Species'
Groupies]
References
Foin, T., Riley, S., Pawley, A., Ayres, D., Carlsen, T., Hodum, P., & Switzer, P. (1998). Improving recovery planning for threatened and endangered species. BioScience 48.3, 177-184
Interesting and informative first blog. I know the focus of your blog is on Recovery Strategies, but have you thought of perhaps defining the differences between a recovery strategy and action plans or management plans? Under SARA there are distinct differences between different species management approaches depending on the degree of endangerment of the species and the plans overall objective. The SARA registry provides great information about the act, and its obligation to the protection and recovery threatened species (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/default_e.cfm).
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point! Like you said SARA has three different designations to approaches to species recovery: recovery strategies, action plans, and management plans.
DeleteRecovery strategies are what most people think of when they think of recovery planning. These are the reports which emphasize the short-term specific objectives, as well as the long-term goals.
Action plans, as the name implies, are much more action oriented. While recovery strategies explain the goals, action plans summarize what must be done to actually meet them.
In a way, management plans are a combination of the two, as the feature both goals, and action that can be taken. However, a key difference between management plans and the other two is that while management plans look at how to sustain a population, the species is not actually considered at risk of going extinct (yet). It would be great if there could be management plans for all species, but there is obviously a lack of funds and time for that. [Source:http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/faq/faq-eng.htm]
Thanks for the comment!