Multiple species of freshwater mussel recovery strategy

Official title: Recovery Strategy for the Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean in Canada (Final)

Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean

Clockwise from upper left: male Northern Riffleshell, male Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel, male Rayed Bean (centre). Images courtesy of Environment Canada.

About the Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series

What is the Species at Risk Act (SARA)?

SARA is the Act developed by the federal government as a key contribution to the common national effort to protect and conserve species at risk in Canada. SARA came into force in 2003 and one of its purposes is "to provide for the recovery of wildlife species that are extirpated, endangered or threatened as a result of human activity."

What is recovery?

In the context of species at risk conservation, recovery is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed and threats are removed or reduced to improve the likelihood of the species’ persistence in the wild. A species will be considered recovered when its long-term persistence in the wild has been secured.

What is a recovery strategy?

A recovery strategy is a planning document that identifies what needs to be done to arrest or reverse the decline of a species. It sets goals and objectives and identifies the main areas of activities to be undertaken. Detailed planning is done at the action plan stage.

Recovery strategy development is a commitment of all provinces and territories and of three federal agencies -- Environment Canada, Parks Canada Agency, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada -- under the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk. Sections 37–46 of SARA outline both the required content and the process for developing recovery strategies published in this series.

Depending on the status of the species and when it was assessed, a recovery strategy has to be developed within one to two years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. Three to four years is allowed for those species that were automatically listed when SARA came into force.

What’s next?

In most cases, one or more action plans will be developed to define and guide implementation of the recovery strategy. Nevertheless, directions set in the recovery strategy are sufficient to begin involving communities, land users, and conservationists in recovery implementation. Cost-effective measures to prevent the reduction or loss of the species should not be postponed for lack of full scientific certainty.

The series

This series presents the recovery strategies prepared or adopted by the federal government under SARA. New documents will be added regularly as species get listed and as strategies are updated.

To learn more

To learn more about the Species at Risk Act and recovery initiatives, please consult the SARA Public Registry and the Web site of the Recovery Secretariat (http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/recovery/).

Recommended citation:

Morris, T. J. and M. Burridge. 2006. Recovery Strategy for Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa, x + 76 pp.


Additional copies:

You can download additional copies from the SARA Public Registry.

Cover illustration: Clockwise from upper left: male Northern Riffleshell, male Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel, male Rayed Bean (centre). Images courtesy of Environment Canada.

Également disponible en français sous le titre :

« Programme de rétablissement de la dysnomie ventrue jaune, l'épioblasme tricorne, le pleurobème écarlate, la mulette du Necturus et la villeuse haricot au Canada »

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, 2006. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-662-44850-1

Cat. no. En3-4/16-2007E-PDF

Content (excluding the cover illustration) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

Declaration

This recovery strategy for the Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean has been prepared in cooperation with the jurisdictions described in the Preface. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has reviewed and accepts this document as its recovery strategy for the Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean as required by the Species at Risk Act. This recovery strategy also constitutes advice to other jurisdictions and organizations on the recovery goals, approaches and objectives that are recommended to protect and recover the species.

Success in the recovery of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this strategy and will not be achieved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or any other jurisdiction alone. In the spirit of the National Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans invites all Canadians to join Fisheries and Oceans Canada in supporting and implementing this strategy for the benefit of the Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Round Pigtoe, Mudpuppy Mussel, Rayed Bean and Canadian society as a whole. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will support implementation of this strategy to the extent possible, given available resources and its overall responsibility for species at risk conservation. Implementation of the strategy by other participating jurisdictions and organizations is subject to their respective policies, appropriations, priorities, and budgetary constraints.

The goals, objectives and recovery approaches identified in the strategy are based on the best existing knowledge and are subject to modifications resulting from new findings and revised objectives. The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans will report on progress within five years.

This strategy will be complemented by one or more action plans that will provide details on specific recovery measures to be taken to support conservation of these species. The Minister will take steps to ensure that, to the extent possible, Canadians interested in or affected by these measures will be consulted.

Responsible Jurisdictions

The responsible jurisdiction for these five species is Fisheries and Oceans Canada. These mussels occur only in Ontario, and the government of Ontario cooperated in the production of this recovery strategy.

Authors

This document was prepared by Todd J. Morris and Mary Burridge on behalf of the Ontario Freshwater Mussel Recovery Team.

Acknowledgements

The Ontario Freshwater Mussel Recovery Team would like to thank the following organizations for their support in the development of this recovery strategy: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, University of Guelph, University of Toronto/Royal Ontario Museum, McMaster University, Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority, Grand River Conservation Authority, Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, Lower Thames valley Conservation Authority and the Walpole Island Heritage Information Centre.

Strategic Environmental Assessment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, the purpose of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is to incorporate environmental considerations into the development of public policies, plans, and program proposals to support environmentally-sound decision making.

Recovery planning is intended to benefit species at risk and biodiversity in general. However, it is recognized that strategies may also inadvertently lead to environmental effects beyond the intended benefits. The recovery planning process based on national guidelines directly incorporates consideration of all environmental effects, with a particular focus on possible impacts on non-target species or habitats.

This recovery strategy will clearly benefit the environment by promoting the recovery of five Endangered mussel species. The potential for the strategy to inadvertently lead to adverse effects on other species was considered. The SEA concluded that this strategy will clearly benefit the environment and will not entail any significant adverse effects.

Residence

SARA defines residence as:

“a dwelling-place, such as a den, nest or other similar area or place, that is occupied or habitually occupied by one or more individuals during all or part of their life cycles, including breeding, rearing, staging, wintering, feeding or hibernating” [SARA S2(1)].

Preface

These five freshwater mussel species are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. The Species at Risk Act (SARA, Section 37) requires the competent minister to prepare recovery strategies for listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species. The Northern Riffleshell, Snuffbox, Mudpuppy Mussel and Rayed Bean were listed as Endangered under SARA in June 2003 while the Round Pigtoe was listed as Endangered in July 2005. Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Central and Arctic Region led the development of this recovery strategy. The proposed strategy meets SARA requirements in terms of content and process (Sections 39-41). It was developed in cooperation or consultation with:

  • Jurisdictions – Environment Canada, Province of Ontario
  • Aboriginal groups – Chippewa of Kettle and Stoney Point, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, Moravia of the Thames First Nation, Chippewa of the Thames, Oneida, Munsee-Delaware First Nation, Southern First Nation Secretariate, Mississauga of New Credit First Nation, Six Nations of the Grand, Walpole Island First Nation, Metis Nation of Ontario.
  • Environmental non-government groups – Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority, Grand River Conservation Authority, Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, McMaster University, University of Guelph, University of Toronto/Royal Ontario Museum.

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