Species at Risk Guide

Introduction

Many species in Ontario are in trouble. This guide provides information for species at risk which live, at least part of the year, in northern Ontario (from Algonquin Park and the French River northwards). Ontario Nature published the first edition of this guidebook in 2017 to raise awareness of species at risk, and since then, 10 new species have been listed as “at risk” in the northern parts of the province.

The United Nations released their report on the state of biodiversity in 2019 with many distressing statistics. Globally, 47 percent of the world’s natural ecosystems have declined and over 1 million species are at risk of extinction.

The extinction crisis is playing out in Ontario as well. Without meaningful action from governments, industries, and individuals around the province, many species will become less common, impacting ecosystem function and putting them at risk of extinction. Ontario Nature, along with our members and partnering organizations, will continue to advocate for the protection of wild species and wild spaces in Ontario. You can learn more at: ontarionature.org/endangered-species.

Endangered | Threatened | Special Concern | Extirpated

Read the digital version of the Species At Risk in Northern Ontario.

Endangered

The species lives in the wild in Ontario but is facing imminent extinction or extirpation.

Endangered species and their habitat are protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007. However, that protection has been significantly weakened since it was enacted.

Threatened

The species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered, but is likely to become endangered if steps are not taken to address factors threatening it.

Threatened species and their habitat are protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007. However, that protection has been significantly weakened since it was enacted.

**Woodland Caribou** Boreal Population
(*Rangifer tarandus caribou*)

**American White Pelican**
(*Pelecanus erythrorhynchos*)

**Eastern Meadowlark** (*Sturnella magna*)

**Eastern Whip-poor-will**
(*Antrostomus vociferus*)

**Hudsonian Godwit** (*Limosa haemastica*)

**Blanding’s Turtle** Great Lakes –
St. Lawrence Population (*Emydoidea blandingii*)

**Shortjaw Cisco** (*Coregonus zenithicus*)

**Pale Showy Goldenrod**
(*Solidago pallida*)

**Pitcher’s Thistle** (*Cirsium pitcheri*)

**Small-flowered Lipocarpha**
(*Cyperus subsquarrosus*)

**Lake Huron Grasshopper**
(*Trimerotropis huroniana*)

Special Concern

The species lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Special Concern species and their habitats do not receive protection under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 or under the Species at Risk Act.

**Beluga** Western Hudson Bay Population
(*Delphinapterus leucas*)

**Bald Eagle** *(Haliaeetus leucocephalus*)

**Canada Warbler** (*Cardellina canadensis*)

**Common Nighthawk** (*Chordeiles minor*)

**Eastern Wood-pewee**
(*Contopus virens*)

**Evening Grosbeak**
(*Coccothraustes vespertinus*)

**Golden-winged Warbler**
(*Vermivora chrysoptera*)

**Olive-sided Flycatcher**
(*Contopus cooperi*)

**Peregrine Falcon**
(*Falco peregrinus anatum/tundrius*)

**Red-necked Phalarope**
(*Phalarope lobatus*)

**Rusty Blackbird** (*Euphagus carolinus*)

**Wood Thrush** (*Hylocichla mustelina*)

**Yellow Rail** (*Coturnicops noveboracensis*)

**Eastern Milksnake**
(*Lampropeltis triangulum*)

**Northern Map Turtle**
(*Graptemys geographica)*

**Snapping Turtle**
(*Chelydra serpentina*)

**Deepwater Sculpin**
Great Lakes – Western St. Lawrence Populations
(*Myoxocephalus thompsonii*)

**Kiyi** Upper Great Lakes Population
(*Coregonus kiyi kiyi*)

**Northern Brook Lamprey**
(*Ichthyomyzon fossor*)

**Silver Lamprey** (*Ichthyomyzon unicuspis*)

**Monarch Butterfly** (*Danaus plexippus*)

**Yellow-banded Bumble Bee**
(*Bombus terricola*)

Extirpated

The species lives somewhere in the world and at one time lived in the wild in Ontario, but no longer lives in the wild in Ontario.

While extirpated species are protected under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act, 2007, their habitat is not, unless prescribed by another regulation.

**Greater Prairie-chicken**
(*Tympanuchus cupido*)

Resources

Original authors: Mallory Vanier, Dr. Julee Boan, Amy Stachejczuk and Dr. Anne Bell

Update author: Jake Guggenheimer

Contributor: Noah Cole

Funding: We are grateful for the support of FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation.

4 Comments

Carolyn Waddell

October 12, 2017 - 6:00 pm

How / where do I buy a copy of the species at risk brochure?
ON Nature Author

October 16, 2017 - 7:40 pm

Hi Carolyn,

We don’t sell the guide, but you can download a free printable PDF of the guide or read the digital version here: https://view.publitas.com/on-nature/species-at-risk-in-northern-ontario-guide

ON Noah
Nadine

December 6, 2022 - 4:16 pm

Is the most recent published list from 2008?
ON Nature Author

December 20, 2022 - 6:50 pm

Hi Nadine,

The Northern Species at Risk Guide was originally published in 2008 then updated in 2015. The most recent update is from September 2022: https://view.publitas.com/on-nature/species-at-risk-in-northern-ontario-guide.

Kind regards,

Noah