Endangered Species Act regulatory proposal: Enabling the Species at Risk Conservation Fund
The Province of Ontario provides protections for species at risk (SAR) and their habitats through the Endangered Species Act (ESA) which is administered by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP). Currently, proponents may seek an “overall benefit permit” (also known as a “C permit”) from the MECP to perform an activity that is not otherwise allowed under the ESA, such as altering or destroying habitat for Threatened and Endangered species. An overall benefit permit authorizes a proponent to perform the activity so long as they provide an overall benefit to the impacted SAR in Ontario. This may, for example, require creating new habitat and performing effectiveness monitoring. In this process, the proponent would determine the overall benefit actions in consultation with the MECP but is responsible for carrying out the beneficial actions themselves.
The Province recognizes that proponents may not have the expertise to carry out beneficial actions and that doing this work on a case-by-case basis, by different proponents at different sites, is not always the most effective way to protect and recover SAR. The Province is therefore proposing to create a new provincial agency (the Species at Risk Conservation Trust) that would provide proponents with the option of paying experts of the agency to implement beneficial actions for eligible “conservation fund species”. This proposed approach is intended to maximize benefits for select SAR by implementing large-scale, long-term, strategic, and coordinated protection and recovery activities. It also has the potential to shorten authorization timelines and reduce burdens and increase certainty for proponents.
The following six species are proposed as eligible conservation fund species: Butternut, Barn Swallow, Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Whip-poor-will, and populations of Blanding’s Turtle within the Canadian Shield region.
The funds owed to the Species at Risk Conservation Trust would be similar to those incurred by proponents carrying out beneficial actions themselves and would consider the degree of impact to the species and its habitat. Proponents opting to pay into the Species at Risk Conservation Fund would still need to consider alternatives to avoid impacting SAR and take action to minimize impacts on SAR and their habitats, as required by law.
Contact Katie Black for more information!
Email: kblack@kilgourassociates.com