We Need Your Help to Protect the Endangered Species Act!

Please read this Action Alert from Ontario Nature.

Sign the petition to the Ontario government here.

Pictured to the left: The Spotted Turtle is one of many Endangered species in Ontario that relies on legislated habitat protection for its survival.

The primary threat to most Species at Risk – and most wildlife in general – is habitat loss. Outright habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, and habitat degradation (from pollution, invasive species, and altered natural processes) not only cause wildlife to die, but also prevent surviving species from being able to thrive and deny declining species the space and features they need to recover.

Southern Ontario – which includes Ottawa – has already lost 75% of its original wetlands and over 80% of its forest cover since the beginning of modern settlement. Intact stands of old growth forest are virtually nonexistent. Across much of Southern Ontario’s populous regions, habitat exists, but in small parcels separated from one another that face increasing threats. This is why Ontario has more Species at Risk than any other region of Canada.

The Ontario Endangered Species Act (ESA) protects Species at Risk, and for Threatened and Endangered wildlife, the ESA also protects their habitat – which only makes sense, because the species need their habitats to survive. The ESA also mandates that a recovery plan be developed and implemented – which also makes sense, as we want to prevent the loss of wildlife from the province, and protecting biodiversity keeps ecosystems healthy.

The ESA is far from perfect – there are too many exemptions and exceptions that erode protections, not all species that need protection have been assessed, and it doesn’t help keep common species common in the first place – but it is an effective tool for wildlife in dire straights. This is the conservation equivalent of a hospital ER – if a species is Threatened or Endangered, it needs serious protections, STAT!

Unfortunately, Bill 5, currently before the provincial legislature, aims to completely eliminate the ESA. In its place, a “Species Conservation Act” would protect individual Species at Risk and their “dens”, but nothing more. This proposed replacement would end habitat protection and eliminate the need to develop a recovery plan. Bill 5 also proposes sweeping exemptions for areas designated as “special economic zones”.

Please see Ontario Nature’s article here for more information.

How will rare species survive, let alone recover, without habitat protection?

Protecting Endangered Species is about more than just bearing witness to their demise.

The supposed aim of Bill 5 is to advance strategic natural resource development – critical minerals – in the name of provincial economic security and Canadian sovereignty. This is not at odds with wildlife conservation. We can do both. We are more than capable of doing things the right way, the smart way, the responsible way. In fact, we need to protect our natural heritage more than ever. Saving biodiversity – protecting one species ultimately protects many – is key to saving healthy ecosystems. We need these to help mitigate climate change and create resiliency to its effects. We need clean water for drinking and swimming and fishing – and protection from droughts and floods. We need clean air – and carbon sequestration. We need healthy pollinators – and the food they help us grow, rather than import. We need healthy greenspaces to visit, for ourselves to recharge. We lose this when we fail to conserve wildlife and protect habitat. Moreover, if we lose our natural heritage, it is never coming back. We can’t count on another country to save it – we have to do it ourselves.

If, in the name of defending Ontario, we destroy our landscape and lose our wildlife and the nature that keeps it beautiful, do we still win?

Please read Ontario Nature’s post and make your voice heard.