Previous Page:
4.3 Species Spotlight: Arctic Grayling
Next Page:
4.5 Status of Non-native Vascular Plants

Scroll for more

Getting Started

Navigating this Report

 

This report consists of two companion reports—one for the Northern Operating Area and one for the Southern Operating Area. All the features necessary to navigate within each report as well as switch between reports are included in the bookmark on the left of the screen. These features include:

Main Menu

The main menu is accessed through the hamburger menu in the "bookmark" on the left-hand side of the page. This report is divided into five chapters. From this menu, you can access each of the main chapters and their sections from anywhere in the report.

Tip: The down arrowhead expands when you are viewing a chapter within the hamburger menu. You can quickly navigate to any section within a chapter by making a selection from the expanded menu.

North and South Reports

Click these icons to navigate between the reports for the Northern Operating Area and Southern Operating Area. 

 

Information Guide

Click on the "information" icon in the left menu to access the report navigation guide. You can access this at any time without leaving the page you’re on.

The "page turner" arrows at the bottom left of your screen will sequentially take you through the report, page by page. For example, press the right arrow to move from Section 2.1 to Section 2.2.

Tip: If you’re interested in the full report, we encourage you to start with the Introduction found in Chapter 1, and use the page turner function (arrows on the bottom left of the page) to sequentially navigate through the report.

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 Southern Operating Area. Along with occurrence information, Biodiversity Intactness scores are included for 34 species that were detected at enough sites to calculate.

Brittneythebotanist

As part of the Forest Management Plan for the Southern Operating Area, comprehensive management strategies were developed for species that include the following species of conservation concern[1]:

 
Grizzly Bear
Stephen Kull

Grizzly Bear is listed as Special Concern federally and Threatened provincially. It is highly sensitive to human disturbance and is subject to high mortality risk in areas of human activity and where roads create access.

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, which are all species of conservation concern in Alberta and are associated with old forests.

Trumpeter Swan
Steve Oehlenschlager

Trumpeter Swan is ranked Special Concern by Alberta's ESCC, and is sensitive to human activity in breeding areas.

Cold-water Fish
S Shankar

Cold-water fish including Arctic Grayling, which has experienced significant decreases in abundance and range over the past decades and is ranked as Special Concern.

Results

Summary of Species of Conservation Concern

The number of species of conservation concern detected in Tolko’s Southern Operating Area is 69, including:

At Risk

Common Nighthawk.
12
Species

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

May Be At Risk

Western Wood-Pewee.
15
Species

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

Sensitive

Spotted Coralroot.
39
Species

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

Rare or Vulnerable

Bottlebrush Frost Lichen (Physconia detersa).
3
Species

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

Highlights

  • Of the 34 species that are common enough to allow for the calculation of intactness scores, habitat suitability was reduced as a result of human footprint for 65% of species (70% to 98% intact), and improved for 24% of species (74% to 99% intact).
  • Many species with the lowest intactness values and largest decreases in habitat suitability are associated with old forest. For example, Black-throated Green Warbler (70% intact) and Alder Needles (95% intact) are both associated with old deciduous and mixedwood forests, while Fisher (96% intact) is associated with old conifer forests. Habitat suitability for these species is reduced by activities that impact their old forest habitat, such as forest harvesting. 
  • In general, the species showing increased habitat suitability tend to be associated with young stands originating from natural disturbance or harvested stands (e.g., Canada Lynx; 92% intact), or wetlands (and are therefore rare in forested areas). For example, the Common Nighthawk (95% intact) is rare in forested areas, but is associated with young stands where it does occur. Bird’s Claw Screw Moss (79% intact) is common in shrubby areas and harvested stands, and can also find suitable habitat in areas with human footprint.
  • Although these species are not at risk, the Forest Management Plan for the Southern Operating Area also includes management strategies for Moose and Marten[1].
  • 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 Southern Operating Area for one of two 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 (76% 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.

  Paul Reeves
Cape May Warbler

ESCC–Special Concern | General Status–Sensitive

Although Cape May Warbler (81% intact; habitat suitability decreased) was found at 45% of ABMI sites within Tolko’s Southern Operating Area, loss of old-forest habitat in its breeding range and loss of wintering habitat have led to an ESCC recommendation of Special Concern for this species.

  Paul Reeves
Rusty Blackbird

SARA, COSEWIC–Special Concern | General Status–Sensitive

While habitat suitability for Rusty Blackbird (89% intact) improved in Tolko’s Southern Operating Area, historical population declines and ongoing threats in the species’ breeding and wintering ranges have led to a federal status of Special Concern for this species and a general status of Sensitive 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 Southern 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.

References

1.

Tolko Industries Ltd., Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd., and West Fraser Mills Ltd. 2021. Lesser Slave Lake regional forest management plan. Prepared by FORCORP Solutions Inc.

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

InnoTech Alberta logo.
University of Alberta logo.
University of Calgary logo.