Soapweed (Yucca glauca) COSEWIC assessment and status report 2013: chapter 5
Soapweed was assessed by COSEWIC in 1985 (Fairbarns 1985) and in 2000 (Csotonyi and Hurlburt 2000). Since 2000, there has been considerable research on the population biology and ecology of Soapweed in Alberta and in the closest Montana populations. In the last 10 years, our knowledge of Soapweed demography, intra- and inter-annual variation in reproduction, and the interactions of Soapweed, its Yucca Moth pollinator (Tegeticula yuccasella) and its other associates (Non-pollinating Yucca Moth (T. corruptrix), Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth (Prodoxus quinquepunctellus), ants and aphids) have been greatly enhanced. COSEWIC assessed the Yucca Moth in 2002 (COSEWIC 2002), Five-spotted Bogus Moth in 2006 (COSEWIC 2006a) and Non-pollinating Yucca Moth in 2006 (COSEWIC 2006b).
A provincial recovery team was struck for the Soapweed and the Yucca Moth (ASYMRT 2006), and a national recovery strategy that includes identification of critical habitat at Onefour and Pinhorn was finalized in 2011 (Environment Canada 2011). Significant strides in mitigating the impacts of human disturbance at the Onefour Research Substation and herbivory at the Pinhorn Grazing Reserve have been made since the last update status report (Environment Canada 2011). No mortality or recruitment of new clones has been documented since 1998. The occurrence of 6 clones near Rockglen, SK has been evaluated and this occurrence is now considered part of the wildlife species in Canada.
This status report on Soapweed is one of two produced in 2011-12 as an experiment in bundling associated species. The second report combines three species of yucca moths, Yucca Moth (Tegeticula yuccasella), Non-pollinating Yucca Moth (T. corruptrix) and Five-spotted Bogus Yucca Moth (Prodoxus quinquepunctellus) into a single report.
Note: Throughout the text, Yucca Moth is capitalized when it refers to Tegeticula yuccasella. If yucca moth or yucca is not capitalized it refers more generally to the entire group of organisms. A similar naming convention is used throughout the text with all common names for consistency.
COSEWIC History
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process.
COSEWIC Mandate
The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens.
COSEWIC Membership
COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal entities (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government science members and the co-chairs of the species specialist subcommittees and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittee. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.
Definitions (2013)
Wildlife Species
A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.
Extinct (X)
A wildlife species that no longer exists.
Extirpated (XT)
A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.
Endangered (E)
A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.
Threatened (T)
A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.
Special Concern (SC)*
A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.
Not at Risk (NAR)**
A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.
Data Deficient (DD)***
A category that applies when the available information is insufficient (a) to resolve a species’ eligibility for assessment or (b) to permit an assessment of the species’ risk of extinction.
*
Formerly described as "Vulnerable" from 1990 to 1999, or "Rare" prior to 1990.
**
Formerly described as "Not In Any Category", or "No Designation Required."
***
Formerly described as "Indeterminate" from 1994 to 1999 or "ISIBD" (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994. Definition of the (DD) category revised in 2006.
The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat.
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