They’re endangered, threatened, and vulnerable — but you can help
A guide to the newly-listed species in N.L.
Earlier this month, the provincial government announced the addition of seven new species to its list of endangered, threatened and vulnerable wildlife.
While studying, listing, and managing these species is the work of scientists, government, and organizations, everyone can help protect them.
“Everybody has a role to play with respect to recovery,” said Shelley Moores, senior manager of wildlife research with the provincial wildlife division, in a telephone interview with Saltwire Network.
Christine Campbell, chair of the Special Status Advisory Committee (SSAC) — the group which assesses species at risk in the province — told Saltwire Network the first thing people should do is simply become aware of the species.
Readers can learn more about them, including what they look like, where they’re found, and what’s threatening them, in the list on Page 2.
Once people know more about the species, they can avoid degrading or destroying their habitat.
“Some of the general issues for most species at risk for why they’re initially assessed or why they’re listed, in most cases, involves habitat loss, (and) concerns around climate change,” said Moores.
“Simple things, like local cleanups — making sure if you’re doing a beach cleanup that you’ve contacted experts to make sure that your activities are not going to impact species, like piping plover — that they’re going to be beneficial to them,” she said.
Piping plover is a previously listed species which nests on beaches.
She said listening to advice from scientists also helps. That includes following guidance such as when to hang bird feeders to limit the spread of frounce, and the current advisories not to feed birds due to the spread of avian flu.
DATA DEFICIENCIES
The number of species on the list has continued to grow since the Endangered Species Act came into effect in 2001, largely due to a broadening understanding of lesserknown wildlife.
Still, there’s a lot of work to be done.
“For many species, particularly in Labrador, we do not have good information as to how many individuals there are, how widely dispersed they are, or even if there is a decline in population numbers,” said Campbell.
One way people can help address this data deficiency is by participating in citizen science projects in which people take note of where and when they see particular wildlife. To participate in a project, email endangeredspecies@gov.nl.ca.
“We really want to increase the information available in order to make the assessments, so that’s where the push is now because we felt that there’s species out there that we should look at, but without sufficient data, it wasn’t going to lead to an assessment that would have any basis in science,” said Campbell.