Proposed Protected and Conservation Areas in the NWT

Established Protected and Conservation Areas in the NWT

Ecologically Based Landscape Classification Data

This dataset displays the geographic areas within which critical habitat (CH) for terrestrial species at risk, listed on Schedule 1 of the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), occurs in Canada. Note that this includes only terrestrial species and species for which Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Parks Canada Agency (PCA) lead. Under SARA, critical habitat is “the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species and that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in the recovery strategy or action plan for the species.” To precisely define what constitutes critical habitat for a particular species it is essential that this geospatial information be considered in conjunction with complementary information provided in a species’ recovery document. Recovery documents are available from the Species at Risk (SAR) Public Registry (https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html) for two posting stages (proposed and final posting). The recovery documents contain important information about the interpretation of the geospatial information, especially regarding the biological and environmental features (“biophysical attributes”) that complete the definition of a species’ critical habitat. Within any defined critical habitat geospatial boundary, not all of the area is necessarily critical habitat. It is important to note that recovery planning documents (and, therefore, critical habitat) may be amended from time to time as new information becomes available, which may occur after a document has been posted as proposed or final on the SAR Public Registry. The SAR Public Registry should always be considered as the main source for critical habitat information. In cases where the data are sensitive, the geographic area within which critical habitat occurs may be represented as grids. These are coarse grids (1, 10, 50 or 100 square kilometres) that serve as indicators to locate critical habitat in the recovery planning document. More detailed information on critical habitat may be made available on a need-to-know basis by contacting Environment and Climate Change Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service at ec.planificationduretablissement-recoveryplanning.ec@canada.ca. The data is current as of the date of the most recent revision.

The Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database (CPCAD) is the authoritative source of data on protected and conserved areas in Canada. The database consists of the most up-to-date spatial and attribute data on marine and terrestrial protected areas in all governance categories recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as well as Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs, or conserved areas) across the country. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are also included if they are recognized as protected or conserved areas. CPCAD adheres to national reporting standards and is freely available to the public. CPCAD is compiled and managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), in collaboration with federal, provincial, territorial, and other reporting authorities that provide the data. The database contains combined data from all these Canadian reporting authorities, who have determined that their areas meet the Canadian criteria as protected or conserved areas. CPCAD is used by a wide range of organizations, including governments, environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), academia, land managers, industry, and the general public. CPCAD supports many of the Government of Canada’s priorities including Canada’s national reporting on protected areas, Canada’s international reporting on protected areas as a result of Canada’s commitments under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and Canada’s protected areas program by providing baseline information. More detailed information on CPCAD is available by downloading the User Manual. The data is current as of the date of the most recent revision. For prior years, please reach out to scf-geocarto-cws-geomapping@ec.gc.ca.

A database of verified tornado occurrences across Canada has been created covering the 30-year period from 1980 to 2009. The tornado data have undergone a number of quality control checks and represent the most current knowledge of past tornado events over the period. However, updates may be made to the database as new or more accurate information becomes available. The data have been converted to a geo-referenced mapping file that can be viewed and manipulated using GIS software.

This data set includes the locations of all known seabird colonies along the coast of British Columbia, and provides a compilation of the population estimates of seabirds breeding at those colonies since 1980, and historical estimates prior to 1980 for some colonies. It does not include an estimate of the numbers of juvenile birds or non-breeders in the population. The rationale for developing this inventory was the recognized need for a product that could assist with: coastal zone and conservation area planning; emergency response to environmental emergencies and identifying areas of potential interactions between seabirds and anthropogenic activities. In addition, the data used to develop the document provides a baseline to compare with future seabird population estimates in order to measure the impacts of shifts in composition, abundance and/or distribution of prey, and climatic and oceanographic changes. The database is not a substitute for on-site surveys usually required for environmental assessment. Here we present data on the breeding colony population estimates of the 17 species of seabirds (including two storm petrels, three cormorants, one gull, and eight alcids) and one shorebird (Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani) that breed on the coast of British Columbia. Over 5.5 million colonial birds are currently estimated to nest at 649 sites (Rodway et al. 2024). Five species (Cassin's Auklets Ptychoramphus aleuticus, Fork-tailed Storm-petrels (Hydrobates fucatus), Rhinoceros Auklets Cerorhinca monocerata, Ancient Murrelets Synthliboramphus antiquus, and Leach's Storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous), comprise the vast majority of that population, although Black Oystercatchers (Haematopus bachmani), Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba), and Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens), nest at the most sites. Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus), which nest on the mossy limbs of mature and old-growth trees within the coastal forests, are not included in this database, due to their dispersed nesting habit. The population estimates presented in this database are compiled from the results of several surveys. Many of the seabird breeding colonies in British Columbia have been known for more than 50 years, but because of the remoteness of the sites, visits to them have been rare. The majority of the data are the results of comprehensive inventories of colonial nesting seabirds along the British Columbia coastline conducted between 1974 and 1977 by the British Columbia Provincial Museum (BCPM; now Royal British Columbia Museum ) and between 1980 and 1989 by the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada (CWS). The goal of the BCPM surveys was to explore the entire BC coast to identify seabird nesting sites. Reliable, quantitative data were gathered on the breeding populations of all surface-nesting seabird species and rough estimates of population sizes were made for burrow-nesting species. The goal of the CWS survey program was to establish baseline estimates of breeding populations of burrow-nesting species in BC using standardized survey techniques to allow future comparisons and monitoring of those populations. During the 1980s, repeat surveys of surface-nesting species were also conducted by CWS in most regions of the BC coast. A few colonies on small remote islands were not visited during those surveys. Therefore, for some colonies the most current population estimates are from the first complete survey of the BC coastline, carried out by the Royal British Columbia Museum in the mid 1970’s. Since 1989, surveys have been conducted by CWS on some alcid, cormorant and gull colonies along the BC coast, and results have been included in the dataset (data entry ongoing). As well as data from CWS surveys, we have attempted to obtain recent data from all other sources including Parks Canada, Transport Canada, the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, the City of Vancouver, the Bamfield Marine Station, and the Laskeek Bay Conservation Society. Since 2000, inventories of nesting Black Oystercatchers have been conducted in some regions of the coast by Parks Canada and partners (Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, and Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve) and results have been included in the dataset (data entry ongoing). A long time series of nesting Black Oystercatcher data collected by Laskeek Bay Conservation Society in the Laskeek Bay area of the East Coast of Moresby Island has also been included in this dataset.

Fire History

This national dataset contains geographic range data for 488 Species at risk based on NatureServe data, SAR recovery strategies, Environment Canada resources and COSEWIC status reports.

This dataset displays the Canadian geographic ranges of the priority species identified under the Pan-Canadian Approach for Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada (“Pan-Canadian Approach”). These species include Barren-ground Caribou (including the Dolphin and Union population); Greater Sage-Grouse; Peary Caribou; Wood Bison; Caribou, Boreal population (“Boreal Caribou”); and Woodland Caribou, Southern Mountain population (“Southern Mountain Caribou”). The priority species were chosen following a number of criteria and considerations in collaboration with federal, provincial, and territorial partners. These include, but were not limited to, the species' ecological role on a regional or national scale, their conservation status and achievability of conservation outcomes, their social and cultural value (particularly to Indigenous peoples), and the leadership/partnership opportunities that they present. Delivering conservation outcomes for targeted priority species can have significant co-benefits for other species at risk, and wildlife in general. For more information on the Pan-Canadian Approach and the priority species, see https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/wildlife-plants-species/species-risk/pan-canadian-approach.html. This dataset includes: 1) the range for the Boreal Caribou (see https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/2253); 2) the local populations for the Southern Mountain Caribou (see https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/1309); 3) the range for the Greater Sage-Grouse (see https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/1458); 4) local populations for the Peary Caribou (see https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/3657); 5) range for the Barren-ground Caribou (see https://www.maps.geomatics.gov.nt.ca/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=NWT_SHV English only); 6) range for the Barren-ground Caribou, Dolphin and Union population (https://www.maps.geomatics.gov.nt.ca/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=NWT_SHV English only); 7) range for the Wood Bison (see https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/consultations/2914).