Buffalograss (Buchloë dactyloides) recovery strategy

Official title: Recovery Strategy for the Buffalograss (Buchloë dactyloides) in Canada [Final Version]

Buffalograss

Buffalograss Illustration. © Candace Neufeld.

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 SARAoutline 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:

Environment Canada. 2007. Recovery Strategy for the Buffalograss (Buchloë dactyloides) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada, Ottawa. vi + 30 pp.



Additional copies:

Additional copies can be downloaded from the SARA Public Registry.

Cover illustrations: Buffalograss by Candace Neufeld ©

Également disponible en français sous le titre :

« Programme de rétablissement de la buchloé faux-dactyle (Buchloë dactyloides) au Canada »

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, 2007. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-0-662-46829-5

Catalogue no. En3-4/25-2007E-PDF

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

Declaration

This recovery strategy has been prepared in cooperation with the jurisdictions responsible for the buffalograss. Environment Canada has reviewed and accepts this document as its recovery strategy for the buffalograss, as required under the Species at Risk Act. This recovery strategy also constitutes advice to other jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved in recovering the species.

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.

This recovery strategy will be the basis for one or more action plans that will provide details on specific recovery measures to be taken to support conservation and recovery of the species. The Minister of the Environment will report on progress within five years.

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 Environment Canada or any other jurisdiction alone. In the spirit of the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Minister of the Environment invites all responsible jurisdictions and Canadians to join Environment Canada in supporting and implementing this strategy for the benefit of the buffalograss and Canadian society as a whole.

Responsible Jurisdictions

  • Environment Canada
  • Government of Manitoba
  • Government of Saskatchewan

Authors

This strategy was prepared by Candace Neufeld and Darcy Henderson (Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada).

Acknolwedgements

The recovery strategy was prepared by Candace Neufeld and Darcy Henderson, in consultation with the Recovery Team for Plants at Risk in the Prairie Provinces. The Recovery Team for Plants at Risk in the Prairie Provinces provided valuable comments on the drafts of this document. Recovery team members, as of November 2006, include Darcy Henderson (Chair, Environment Canada), Candace Neufeld (Secretary, Environment Canada), Jason Greenall (Manitoba Conservation), Robin Gutsell (Alberta Sustainable Resource Development), Sue McAdam (Saskatchewan Environment), Chris Nykoluk (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration), and Peggy Strankman (Canadian Cattlemen's Association ). Recovery team participants, as of November, 2006, include Delaney Boyd (Department of National Defence, CFB-Suffield), Joel Nicholson (Alberta Sustainable Resource Development), Sherry Lynn Punak (Department of National Defence, CFB-Shilo), Cheryl Ann Beckles (Department of National Defence, CFB-Dundurn). Dean Nernberg (Environment Canada) was the recovery team chair until August 2005. Helpful comments were also provided by R. Décarie, D. Duncan C. Foster, R. Franken, and Jocelyne Lavallée. The Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre and the Manitoba Conservation Data Centre provided updated element occurrences for this species. Special thanks to C. Foster, Manitoba Conservation Data Centre, who spent countless hours providing us with current data from Manitoba. The authors would also like to thank all the landowners, lessees and land managers who granted access to their land to surveys. The cover illustration was provided by the co-author, Candace Neufeld.

Strategic Environmental Assessment Statement

A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is conducted on all SARA recovery planning documents, in accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals. The purpose of a 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 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. The results of the SEA are incorporated directly into the strategy itself, but are also summarized below.

This recovery strategy will clearly benefit the environment by promoting the recovery of the buffalograss. 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. The reader should refer to the following sections of the document in particular. Needs of Buffalograss; Threats; Recovery Objectives; Approaches Recommended to Meet Recovery Objectives and Effects on Other Species.

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 [Subsection 2(1)].

Preface

The Species at Risk Act (SARA, Section 37) requires the competent minister to prepare recovery strategies for listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species. Buffalograss was listed as threatened under SARA in June 2003. The Canadian Wildlife Service – Prairie and Northern Region, Environment Canada led the development of this recovery strategy. All responsible jurisdictions reviewed and approved the strategy. The strategy meets SARArequirements in terms of content and process (Sections 39-41). It was developed in cooperation or consultation with:

  • provincial jurisdictions in which the species occurs – Saskatchewan and Manitoba
  • industry stakeholders – Canadian Cattlemen's Association

This will be the first recovery strategy for buffalograss posted on the Public Registry.

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