Manitoba Conservation Data Centre

Manitoba Endangered Species Act

Proclaimed in 1990 and amended in 1993, The Endangered Species Act was enacted: (1) to ensure the protection and survival of endangered and threatened species in the province; (2) to enable the reintroduction of extirpated species into the province; and (3) to designate species as endangered, threatened, extinct or extirpated. Additions or deletions to list of species under each designation are recommended by the Endangered Species Advisory Committee.

Declaring a species threatened is intended to ensure the protection and enhance the survival of a native species before it becomes endangered. Limited distribution, low numbers and dependence on specialized habitats are the qualifying factors for threatened status.

Declaring a species endangered is intended to ensure the protection and enhance the survival of a native species before it is extirpated. Limited distribution, low numbers, and the danger of a significant reduction within its range are the qualifying factors for endangered status.

Designating a species as extirpated is intended to enable the eventual reintroduction of native species, to ensure their protection and enhance their survival if naturally or artificially reintroduced, and to prevent the introduction of specimens of questionable genetic integrity or subspecies that are not indigenous to the province.

Manitoba Endangered Species Act (MBESA) Status Categories:

Category	Definition
Threatened	A species indigenous to Manitoba, which is likely to become endangered; or is, because of low or declining numbers in Manitoba, particularly at risk if the factors affecting its vulnerability do not become reversed.
Endangered	A species indigenous to Manitoba, which is threatened with imminent extinction or with extirpation throughout all or a significant portion of its Manitoba range.
Extirpated	A species formerly indigenous to Manitoba, which no longer exists in the wild in Manitoba but exists elsewhere.
Extinct	A species formerly indigenous to Manitoba, which no longer exists in Manitoba or elsewhere.

For more information, please consult The Endangered Species Act and The Endangered Species Amendment Act. Copies of these Acts and regulations can be obtained from the Queen's Printer, 200 Vaughn Street, Winnipeg MB R3C 1T5, telephone (204) 945-0606.

Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife In Canada (COSEWIC)

The primary mandate of COSEWIC is to develop a national listing of Canadian species at risk, based on the best scientific evidence available, for vertebrates, invertebrates (only molluscs and lepidoptera), plants and lichens. Species are listed in the following categories: extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened and vulnerable. As a consequence of the listing process, species that have been examined and found to be not at risk are also listed as are species for which there is insufficient information on which to make a status determination.

The Committee consists of representatives from the wildlife departments of all 12 Canadian provincial and territorial governments; federal departments and corporations concerned with wildlife, including the Canadian Wildlife Service (which provides the secretariat for COSEWIC), Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Museum of Nature; and three national non-governmental conservation organizations, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Canadian Nature Federation and World Wildlife Fund Canada.

COSEWIC Status Categories:

Category	Definition
Vulnerable	A species of special concern because of characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to human activities or natural events.
Threatened	A species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.
Endangered	A species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.
Extirpated	A species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.
Extinct	A species that no longer exists.
Not at Risk	A species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk.
Indeterminate	A species for which there is insufficient scientific information to support status designation.

For more information, see COSEWIC