Four Alberta species at risk

Damselfly, rattler, swift, bee reassessed

CALGARY — A damselfly that lives around spring-fed streams, a bird that nests on high cliff faces in the mountains, the bumble bee and a venomous snake in the grasslands of southern Alberta have all been deemed species at risk by wildlife experts.

The four species were reassessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada at a meeting in Wendake, Que., this spring.

The committee, which meets twice a year, provides the federal government with assessments based on scientific, community and aboriginal traditional knowledge.

The committee’s latest list includes seven endangered species, five threatened species and seven species of special concern.

Four of the species are found in southern Alberta — including the vivid dancer damselfly, black swift, prairie rattlesnake and yellow-banded bumble bee.

The vivid dancer damselfly, found in southern British Columbia and Banff National Park, has been assessed as a species of special concern because of habitat loss and degradation.

Much of its range is restricted to thermal springs, but it’s also found in cooler, spring-fed creeks.

The black swift is also found in Banff National Park.

The bird is considered endangered, meaning it faces imminent extinction.

“In the early 1980s, before I started looking at these birds, a person could go into Johnston’s Canyon and see a dozen active nests,” said biologist Jason Rogers, noting they nest at high altitudes near waterfalls. “Today, it’s closer to one.” Further east, the prairie rattlesnake is considered of special concern, having undergone a decline since the 1930s because of habitat loss and road deaths, according to the committee.

The venomous snakes are found close to rivers and coulees, farm fields and pastures, and stony outcrops in Alberta’s grasslands.

The yellow-banded bumble bee has also been assessed as a species of special concern.

The bees are found across Canada, including Alberta.

All of the assessments are submitted to the federal environment minister for consideration for legal listing under the Species at Risk Act.

A decision to include a species may take a long time.