Species of Conservation Concern

Introduction

Assessing the biodiversity in a region includes an evaluation of species that are naturally rare or that have demonstrated a signiﬁcant decline in abundance.

These species are generally referred to as “species at risk” or “species of conservation concern” because future declines in abundance or habitat may result in the loss of the species from an area.

In this section, we report on the species of conservation concern detected by the ABMI in Tolko’s Northern Operating Area. Along with occurrence information, Biodiversity Intactness scores are included for 29 species that were detected at enough sites to calculate.

Brittneythebotanist

As part of stewardship reporting in the Northern Operating Area, one objective in the Forest Management Plan is to maintain habitat for high-value species, which include the following species of conservation concern^[1,2]:

Wood Bison

Natalia Lifshitz

Free-ranging Wood Bison in the region are listed as Threatened federally and provincially; their most imminent threat is livestock-transmitted diseases.

Woodland Caribou

Nancy S

Woodland Caribou are listed as Threatened federally and provincially; population declines are linked to human activity on the landscape.

Barred Owl

Megan Lorenz

Barred Owl is a Species of Special Concern in Alberta, and is directly impacted by timber harvest.

Songbirds

Migratory songbirds, including Canada Warbler (shown), Brown Creeper, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler, are all species of conservation concern in Alberta and are associated with old forests.

Results

Summary of Species of Conservation Concern

The number of species of conservation concern detected in Tolko’s Northern Operating Area is 58, including:

At Risk

14

Species

Federally (SARA/ COSEWIC) and/or provincially (Wildlife Act/ESCC) listed as Endangered, Threatened, Special Concern.

May Be At Risk

5

Species

Provincially ranked as May Be At Risk under the General Status of Alberta Wild Species (2020).

Sensitive

34

Species

Provincially ranked as Sensitive under the General Status of Alberta Wild Species (2020).

Rare or Vulnerable

Bottlebrush Frost Lichen (Physconia detersa).

5

Species

Ranked as S1 or S2 under the Alberta Conservation Information System (ACIMS).

Highlights

Of the 28 species that are common enough to allow for the calculation of intactness scores, habitat suitability was reduced as a result of human footprint for 66% of species (82% to 98% intact), and improved for 21% of species (92% to 99% intact).
For old-forest associated bird species such as Brown Creeper (82% intact) and Bay-breasted Warbler (83% intact), habitat suitability was reduced by forest harvest activities. For all moss species and almost all lichen species, habitat suitability was predicted to be lower as a result of human footprint compared to intact reference conditions with no human footprint.
In general, the species showing increased habitat suitability tend to be associated with young naturally occurring or harvested stands (e.g., Canada Lynx; 93% intact), or wetlands (and are therefore rare in forested areas). For example, the Common Nighthawk (99% intact) and Rusty Blackbird (95% intact) are rare in forested areas, but are associated with young stands where they do occur.
Although these species are not at risk, the Forest Management Plan for the Northern Operating Area also includes an objective to maintain habitat for the following high-value species: Marten, Moose, and Ovenbird^[2].
Note that intactness is a measure of the predicted effects of local human footprint on habitat suitability; it is not a measure of population trend. Further, the ABMI cannot assess the status of all species of conservation concern in Tolko’s Northern Operating Area for several reasons. First, by virtue of their rarity, some species of conservation concern were simply not detected or were not detected with enough frequency to adequately assess their status. Second, the ABMI monitoring protocols are not designed to monitor some species groups, such as owls, waterfowl, and bats, that include some species of conservation concern.

Gerald A DeBoer

Bay-breasted Warbler

ESCC–Special Concern | General Status–Sensitive

Habitat suitability decreased for Bay-breasted Warbler (83% intact), which requires mature forest stands and is sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation. The ESCC ranks this species as Special Concern, and it has a general status rank of Sensitive.

Geoffrey Kuchera

Wolverine

SARA, COSEWIC–Special Concern | ESCC–Data Deficient | General Status–May Be At Risk

Wolverine (93% intact; habitat suitability decreased) was detected at 35% of ABMI sites in the Northern Operating Area. Wolverine is sensitive to human disturbance, requiring large areas of remote habitat to maintain populations, and is listed federally as Special Concern.

Chris Kolaczan

Common Yellowthroat

General Status–Sensitive

While habitat for the Common Yellowthroat (92% intact, habitat suitability increased) improved in the Northern Operating Area, threats to habitat in other areas of the species’ range and a declining population overall have led to a general status of Sensitive for this species provincially.

Species of Conservation Concern. Summary of species of conservation concern including per cent occurrence (% detection at ABMI sites that were surveyed for that taxonomic group) and, where applicable, intactness in Tolko’s Northern Operating Area. Threat categories for tracked species of conservation concern are: listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA) as Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern; listed under Alberta’s Wildlife Act (AB) as Endangered or Threatened; identified by Canada's Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) or by Alberta’s Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC) as Endangered, Threatened, or Special Concern; ranked as At Risk, May Be At Risk or Sensitive in the Alberta Wild Species General Status Listing—2020 (GS); ranked by the Alberta Conservation Information System (ACIMS) as S1 or S2. Click on a species to view available ABMI monitoring data and results for Alberta.

**Tolko’s Northern Operating Area overlaps with five Wildlife Management Units (where Bison are managed provincially): 528, 536, 539, 540, and 541.

References

1.

Tolko Industries Ltd., Norbord Inc., and La Crete Sawmills Ltd. 2017. Forest management plan. Forest management plan submitted to Alberta Agriculture and Forestry December 2017 for FMU26. 375 pp.

2.

La Crete Sawmills Ltd., Tolko Industries Ltd., and West Fraser. 2023. F26 stewardship report 2017–2022. Report developed with Silvacom. 117 pp.

We are grateful for the support of the ABMI's delivery partners.