Assessing Species at Risk in the Waterton Biosphere Region
White Bark Pine
In 2014/15 the Waterton Biosphere Region (WBR) completed a review of species at risk (SAR): including westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, Rocky Mountain sculpin, northern leopard frog, western toad, grizzly bear, little brown myotis (bat), whitebark pine, limber pine, and other species.
Status reports, conservation management plans, recovery plans/strategies, and other relevant documents were reviewed for each of the SAR identified as potentially occurring in the WBR. Meetings or conference calls were held with representatives from a variety of federal and provincial government agencies, non-governmental organizations, as well as individuals, to compile information on current or recent SAR work being conducted in the WBR under the approaches of inventory and monitoring, research, management and regulations, stewardship and habitat improvement, education and community outreach, and reintroductions. The information gathered from report/plan reviews and meetings/conference calls helped identify gaps and opportunities for collaborative work that could be addressed by the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association (WBRA).
Working with the WBRA Board of Directors, four project concepts were identified and developed into an action plan for stewardship of SAR in the WBR. The following projects have been the focus of the SAR program in recent years, though work is underway to update the action plan and include additional species or species groups:
- Recovering Vulnerable Limber Pines (project page coming in winter 2024)
- Supporting Northern Leopard Frog Reintroductions (visit the Supporting Northern Leopard Frog Reintroductions project page)
- Building Resilience for Bats (visit the Building Resilience for Bats project page)
- Trumpeter Swan Stewardship (visit the Stewarding Trumpeter Swans Through the Seasons project page)
Read the Species at Risk Action Plan for Waterton Biosphere Reserve 2015-2018 and watch for updates on upcoming opportunities to get involved with stewardship of species at risk in the Waterton Biosphere Region.
Funders and Supporters:
The original Species at Risk Action Plan for Waterton Biosphere Region 2015-2018 and ongoing work to update the plan have been undertaken with the financial support of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
