Project title: Restoring Grasslands, Weaving Knowledge, and Empowering Communities: A Pathway for Bumble Bee Species at Risk Conservation
Recipient: Oldman Watershed Council
Approved funding: $302,849
Project description: This five-year project will survey at-risk bumble bees; restore bumble bee habitat in the Oldman Watershed, including traditional lands of the Kainai Nation/Blood Tribe, in southern Alberta; and educate the watershed community on conservation and stewardship measures for these at-risk bumble bees. The surveys will focus on the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, the Western Bumble Bee, and the Suckley's Cuckoo Bumble Bee. The surveys will be conducted alongside restoration activities in areas where the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee's critical habitat is known and in areas within these bumble bees' historical range.
Project title: Alberta Native Bee Monitoring and Stewardship Program
Recipient: Alberta Native Bee Council
Approved funding: $365,000
Project description: This five-year project will conduct a collaborative, province-wide, native bee-monitoring program throughout Alberta. The project will assess the presence, abundance, and distribution of at-risk bees, focusing surveys on several at-risk native bee species, including the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumble Bee, the Western Bumble Bee, the Yellow-banded Bumble Bee, the Suckley's Cuckoo Bumble Bee, and the Macropis Cuckoo Bee. This information will serve as the foundation to develop resources and programs aimed at raising awareness of native bees and encouraging Albertans to adopt stewardship practices that will aid in the recovery of at-risk bees.
Project title: Habitat Protection and Conservation of Multiple Species
Recipient: Alberta Conservation Association
Approved funding: $103,000
Project description: This project will build on previous work to implement the Species Habitat Assessments and Ranching Partnership (SHARP) program. Activities include creating and distributing outreach and educational materials, conducting surveys for multiple at-risk grassland species to plan habitat enhancements in the North Saskatchewan River Watershed, monitoring and implementing projects to safeguard Piping Plover habitat in south and central Alberta, and creating site-specific habitat conservation strategies with landowners to improve at-risk species' habitats using data from targeted surveys.
Project title: Advancing Alberta Bat Conservation Through Outreach, Education, and Improved Management
Recipient: Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Approved funding: $305,000
Project description: This five-year project will contribute to the recovery of at-risk migratory bats by surveying for hibernation spaces and migration routes, developing targeted outreach and best management practices' tools for public and industry awareness and training, and by implementing stewardship activities and threat mitigation. Hibernacula surveys will occur in western and northern Alberta and focus on the Little Brown Myotis and the Northern Myotis. Migration route surveys will occur in central Alberta and focus on the Silver-haired Bat, the Hoary Bat, and the Eastern Red Bat.
British Columbia
Project title: Connectivity and Habitat Protection for Stein-Nahatlatch Grizzly Bears in Southwestern British Columbia
Recipient: Splitrock Environmental Sekw'el'was
Approved funding: $25,000
Project description: This project builds on ongoing efforts to secure important habitat for the Stein-Nahatlatch Grizzly Bear population, including connectivity corridors to promote genetic diversity and decrease road deaths in Lillooet, St'át'imc Nation Traditional Territory, British Columbia. This extended project will also monitor human access into key bear habitat, collaborate with neighboring First Nations on managing critical areas, and continue education efforts led by Sekw'el'was in the Texas Creek area.
Project title: Western Screech-owl Kennicottii Subspecies Monitoring and Habitat Restoration in the Campbell River Watershed
Recipient: We Wai Kai Nation
Approved funding: $20,000
Project description: This project builds on ongoing efforts to protect the Western Screech-owl in the Campbell River Watershed, British Columbia. This project, led by We Wai Kai Nation, protects habitat through building, installing, and maintaining nest boxes; creating a nesting habitat model; and collaborating with the We Wai Kai Guardians to set-up a multi-year conservation program.
Project title: Using Corridor Management to Reconnect Isolated, At-Risk Populations of Caribou and Grizzly Bear
Recipient: Nikanese Wah tzee Stewardship Society
Approved funding: $440,000
Project description: This five-year project aims to protect the Woodland Caribou and the Grizzly Bear in Chetwynd, British Columbia, by restoring up to 10 kilometres of habitat per year in the Pine Pass area. This restoration project will improve population connectivity and decrease road deaths of these at-risk species. This area has profound spiritual significance and traditional use value for Indigenous peoples, and this Indigenous-led initiative will be guided by the First Nations communities of West Moberly First Nations and Saulteau First Nations.
Project title: Williams Lake First Nation Grassland Habitat Restoration
Recipient: Williams Lake First Nation
Approved funding: $25,000
Project description: This project builds on ongoing efforts to protect the American Badger and the Lewis's Woodpecker by restoring critical grassland and open woodland habitat in Williams Lake, British Columbia. This will be done through prescribed, cultural burns conducted by Williams Lake First Nation and will reduce the potential of high-intensity wildfires in summer, as well as tree encroachment onto grasslands.
Project title: Strengthening Indigenous Fire Stewardship: Impact on Species at Risk in British Columbia's Dry Interior
Recipient: Gathering Voices Society
Approved funding: $441,000
Project description: This five-year project will use cultural burning to conserve and recover Grizzly Bears in Yunesit'in First Nation caretaker areas, in Stone Reserve, British Columbia. Cultural burning in mixed forests and grasslands will improve the range and habitat for this at-risk species by controlling invasive species and encouraging growth of native vegetation and food sources. Interviews and community workshops will be held with Yunesit'in Knowledge Keepers to assess the project's success.
Project title: Skeetchestn Species at Risk Ecopassage Initiative
Recipient: Skeetchestn Natural Resources Corporation
Approved funding: $353,600
Project description: This five-year project will install five ecopassages under Deadman Vidette Road to decrease road deaths of species at risk in Skeetchestn Territory, Savona, British Columbia. Skeetchestn First Nation aims to conserve at-risk species in line with tmicw, or "all our relatives", which encompasses the land, water, wildlife, fish, and all living beings in Secwépemc ull'ecw.
Project title: Protecting Old-Growth Ecosystems of Trembling Aspen, Paper Birch, and Black Cottonwood in North-Central British Columbia
Recipient: The Society for Ecosystem Restoration in Northern British Columbia
Approved funding: $33,000
Project description: This one-year project aims to establish permanent reserves to safeguard old-growth ecosystems of Trembling Aspen, Paper Birch, and Black Cottonwood in north-central British Columbia. These reserves will protect these species from human-related threats like logging, land clearing, and regeneration challenges due to vegetation control or livestock browsing.
Project title: Identifying and Protecting Wildlife, Trees, and Forest Patches Used by Northern Myotis
Recipient: Wildlife Conservation Society Canada
Approved funding: $42,185
Project description: This one-year project aims to conserve the Northern Myotis and protect their habitats by identifying where they live within old-growth forests, researching their presence in these areas, and using these findings to inform forestry practices in southern British Columbia.
New Brunswick
Project title: Conserving and Stewarding Lichen Species at Risk Habitat within the Skutik River Watershed, New Brunswick
Recipient: The Nature Trust of New Brunswick
Approved funding: $187,500
Project description: This project builds on ongoing work to recover at-risk lichens within the Skutik River Watershed, New Brunswick, by engaging with landowners who have cyanolichen habitats and surveying forests with suitable habitats. This new funding will help to expand project locations, refine habitat data, extend the project by two years, continue engagement with the public and landowners for conservation efforts, protect 450 hectares of lichen habitat on private lands, and collaborate with Indigenous and government partners for at-risk lichen species recovery.
Project title: Mitigating the Spread of Invasive Phragmites throughout New Brunswick and Nova Scotia: A Strategic Management Approach to Protecting Species at Risk
Recipient: Canadian Council on Invasive Species
Approved funding: $99,634
Project description: This two-year project will study how Invasive Phragmites threaten five at-risk species: the Blanding's Turtle, the Eastern Painted Turtle, the Wood Turtle, the Piping Plover, the Least Bittern, and their habitats, in the Maritime provinces.
Northwest Territories
Project title: Using Traditional Knowledge and Wildlife Camera-Trapping to Understand the Relationship between Boreal Caribou and Deninu Kue First Nation in Response to a Changing Environment
Recipient: Deninu Kue First Nation
Approved funding: $399,875
Project description: This three-year project will use Indigenous Knowledge to understand how human-induced changes and disturbances affect Boreal Caribou habitat and their behaviour. These responses will be monitored using wildlife cameras.
Ontario
Project title: Assisting Landowners in Grassland Habitat and Enhancement Projects for Grasshopper Sparrows and Other Grassland-Dependent Species at Risk
Recipient: Rural Lambton Stewardship Network
Approved funding: $362,500
Project description: This project builds on ongoing work to recover the Monarch and the Grasshopper Sparrow in southwestern Ontario by creating an additional 116 hectares of tallgrass prairie to be used as foraging and breeding habitat.
Project title: Restoration of Breeding and Migratory Habitat for Monarchs
Recipient: Canadian Wildlife Federation
Approved funding: $258,583
Project description: This three-year project will help restore Monarch populations in urban and rural areas near the southern Great Lakes. It will create habitats for Monarchs to breed, feed, and rest in several municipalities and townships in southwestern Ontario.
Project title: Increasing Western Chorus Frog Habitat Availability and Connectivity in the Greater Toronto Area
Recipient: Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
Approved funding: $67,000
Project description: This project will build on ongoing work to recover a population of Western Chorus Frog (Great Lakes / St. Lawrence - Canadian Shield population) in the Claireville Conservation Area, Brampton, Ontario, by improving habitat connectivity and creating seasonal wetlands used for breeding and overwintering.
Project title: Piping Plover Recovery in Wasaga Beach
Recipient: Wasaga Beach Provincial Park
Approved funding: $70,000
Project description: This two-year project will conserve and recover Piping Plovers by protecting individuals and nests from natural and human-based disturbances within Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, Ontario. The Lake Huron shoreline within Wasaga Beach Provincial Park is one of the most productive breeding sites for Piping Plovers in the Great Lakes region and is critical habitat.
Project title: Habitat Improvement and Species Recovery for Hairy Valerian
Recipient: Huron Stewardship Council
Approved funding: $123,040
Project description: This three-year project aims to protect and restore the Hairy Valerian in Goderich and Brantford, Ontario, by managing woody and invasive species in its habitat. This project will also collaborate with private landowners in these areas to quantify, manage, and steward these subpopulations effectively.
Project title: Stewardship Actions to Conserve and Recover Virginia Goat's-rue and Bird's-foot Violet near Turkey Point, Ontario
Recipient: St. Williams Conservation Reserve Community Council
Approved funding: $90,000
Project description: This three-year project aims to recover the Virginia Goat's-rue and the Bird's-foot Violet in the St. Williams Conservation Reserve, in Turkey Point, Ontario, by enhancing their critical habitats. Efforts will include prescribed burns and invasive species management to improve habitat quality and connectivity. This project will also explore best practices for outplanting and propagating the Virginia Goat's-rue to support existing populations and re-establish it in southern Ontario.
Project title: Multi-Pronged Programming Directly Mitigating Threats (Including Road Mortality) to At-Risk Turtles Across Ontario
Recipient: Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre
Approved funding: $50,000
Project description: This one-year project aims to conserve and recover Ontario's at-risk turtles, including the Blanding's Turtle, the Spiny Softshell, the Spotted Turtle, and several other species by reducing road deaths. Efforts include rehabilitating and releasing turtles at the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre and raising public awareness about the dangers to turtles such as roads, illegal collection, predators, and invasive species.
Project title: Fieldwork and Community Engagement Efforts for Blanding's Turtle Conservation in the Kawartha Lakes and Surrounding Areas
Recipient: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Canada
Approved funding: $79,275
Project description: This one-year project aims to conserve and recover the Blanding's Turtle, as well as several other at-risk turtle species, by reducing road deaths within the Kawartha Lakes Region of south-central Ontario. These efforts include organizing community reporting to help transport injured turtles and turtle nests for incubation, identifying areas with the most road deaths to help with municipal planning and prevention, and surveying new and historic Blanding's Turtle locations to ensure protection under Ontario's Endangered Species Act.
Project title: Save Matchedash Bay from Phragmites for the Survival of Species at Risk, Wetlands, and Our Water
Recipient: Georgian Bay Forever
Approved funding: $76,672
Project description: This one-year project will support the recovery of the Blanding's Turtle by removing invasive species, like the Common Reed, and improving habitat quality by creating suitable living spaces in Matchedash Bay, a wetland of international importance.
Project title: Protecting and Enhancing Species at Risk Habitat in the Kawarthas
Recipient: Kawartha Land Trust
Approved funding: $50,000
Project description: This one-year project aims to protect and recover the Blanding's Turtle and the Eastern Whip-poor-will by purchasing and managing wetland and grassland habitats in the Kawartha Lakes Region of south-central Ontario. Forty hectares of habitat are expected to be permanently protected by buying the land and setting up conservation agreements. On Kawartha Land Trust properties, efforts also include managing invasive species, like the Common Reed, and thinning understory to improve tallgrass prairie and woodland habitat for the Eastern Whip-poor-will and other insect-eating birds.
Project title: Habitat Stewardship, Threat Abatement and Recovery of Grassland Species at Risk Habitats in the Rice Lake Plains
Recipient: Nature Conservancy of Canada
Approved funding: $54,444
Project description: This project builds on ongoing work to steward the Monarch, the Eastern Whip-poor-will, the Grasshopper Sparrow, and the Red-headed Woodpecker on Nature Conservancy of Canada properties. With this new funding, Nature Conservancy of Canada will steward an additional 6.2 hectares of species-at-risk habitat. The current project will be extended by one year to plan and conduct prescribed burns to increase native plant diversity and habitat complexity within forests, woodlands, and oak savannas.
Project title: The Highlands Corridor: Enhancing Connectivity for Species at Risk
Recipient: Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
Approved funding: $35,125
Project description: This project builds on ongoing efforts to protect and conserve the Blanding's Turtle, the Eastern Whip-poor-will, and the Western Chorus Frog within the Haliburton Highlands of south-central Ontario. This new funding will be used to survey private and public properties for species at risk and their habitats to ensure they meet Ontario's Endangered Species Act criteria.
Quebec
Project title: Threat Mitigation and Habitat Protection for the Chimney Swift and the Bank Swallow
Recipient: Regroupement QuébecOiseaux
Approved funding: $148,597
Project description: This project will build on ongoing work to conserve the nesting habitat of the Chimney Swift and the Bank Swallow, as well as field birds (the Bobolink, the Eastern Meadowlark, and the Upland Sandpiper), by 2029. It will also include efforts to gain knowledge about the distribution of the Least Bittern, a threatened species, and the preservation of its habitat, as well as extending the current project by one year.
Project title: Healthy Biodiversity of the Saint-Maurice River: Concerted Actions for the Recovery of the Wood Turtle and Bats at Risk 2024-2027
Recipient: Conseil régional de l'environnement Mauricie
Approved funding: $61,578
Project description: This three-year project aims to protect and contribute to the recovery of the Wood Turtle by educating the forestry and agricultural sectors, as well as landowners and land managers, about best practices for protecting this species' habitat.
Project title: Protection and Enhancement of the American Water-willow in the Protected Floristic Habitat of Rock Island, South of Montreal
Recipient: Héritage Laurentien
Approved funding: $94,645
Project description: This five-year project aims to protect and re-establish the American Water-willow on Rock Island by carrying out inventories; controlling invasive exotic species through habitat enhancement activities, including reducing or even eradicating the Phragmites australis; raising awareness and educating site users; mitigating threats by delimiting access to the site away from American Water-willow stands; and conservation planning by updating the conservation plan for the American Water-willow population of Rock Island.
Project title: Protect and Restore: The Stoke Mountain Spring Salamander Conservation Initiative
Recipient: Nature Cantons-de-l'Est
Approved funding: $114,276
Project description: This three-year project aims to reduce threats to the Spring Salamander, Adirondack and Appalachian Population, in the Stoke Mountains region of the Eastern Townships, Quebec. These activities will help conserve their habitat, as well as that of other species at risk, by carrying out inventories, identifying threats, and improving watercourses in forested areas through interventions. This project will also revise the conservation plan for the Stoke Mountains and produce an expert report on habitat restoration methods. Landowners and land managers will also be made aware of the presence and needs of Stream Salamanders in general and will be invited to commit to implementing conservation actions on their properties.
Project title: Protection and Conservation of the Habitat of Species at Risk in the Mont Saint-Hilaire Biosphere Reserve 2021-2029
Recipient: Centre de conservation de la Nature Mont Saint-Hilaire
Approved funding: $291,112
Project description: This project will be extended by four years to continue and expand its work in conserving Chimney Swift nesting habitats, recovering an endangered plant, monitoring at-risk bats, and seeking legal protection to further conserve habitats for many other at-risk species.
Project title: Protection and Management of Threatened Species and their Habitats in Haute-Yamaska and its Outskirts
Recipient: Fondation pour la sauvegarde des écosystèmes du territoire de la Haute-Yamaska
Approved funding: $150,300
Project description: This three-year project will contribute to the long-term preservation of the habitats of several species at risk: the Wood Turtle; the Wood Thrush; the Least Bittern; the Spring Salamander, Adirondack and Appalachian Population; the Eastern Whip-poor-will; the Tri-colored Bat; the Little Brown Bat; and the Monarch. The project will develop a conservation plan for natural environments in the Haute-Yamaska regional county municipality in the Montérégie region of Quebec, in collaboration with various regional partners. The project also aims to protect the habitats of species at risk through legal protection and involvement with private landowners and municipalities.
Project title: Threat Abatement Affecting Populations of Endangered Turtles in Quebec by Continuing the Activities of the Quebec Turtle Rehabilitation Center
Recipient: Éco-Nature
Approved funding: $80,000
Project description: This one-year project aims to mitigate threats to at-risk turtle populations. The Quebec Turtle Rehabilitation Centre will continue to care for injured turtles that are brought to them, with the goal of returning them to their natural environment once they have recovered. The causes of injuries will be compiled in a conservation plan that will help identify areas where threats to turtle populations are recurrent, as well as plan the conservation of turtles at risk.
Project title: Mitigation of Road Mortality of Turtles in Outaouais
Recipient: Conseil régional de l'environnement et du développement durable de l'Outaouais
Approved funding: $100,000
Project description: This four-year project aims to reduce the threat of road traffic to the region's three at-risk turtle species: the Blanding's Turtle, the Wood Turtle, and the Northern Map Turtle. The project includes creating inventories of turtles, as well as identifying the impact of road traffic on turtle mortality in the Outaouais region of Quebec. This project will also make it possible to take concrete actions to mitigate the threat, such as fencing off roads that have a high risk of mortality and posting signs encouraging drivers to reduce their speed. These measures will also be supported by public awareness campaigns.
Project title: Inventory of Populations and Threats to Habitats of the Spring Salamander Population of the Adirondack and Appalachian
Recipient: Le Groupe de concertation des bassins versants de la zone Bécancour (GROBEC)
Approved funding: $58,374
Project description: The aim of this two-year project is to create inventories of the Spring Salamander, Adirondack and Appalachian Population, as well as the threats posed to this threatened species, in order to halt the degradation of its habitat. These activities will be carried out along waterways in forested areas in the Chaudière-Appalaches region of Quebec. Landowners and land managers will be made aware of the presence of Stream Salamanders in general and their specific needs. Habitat improvement activities will also be carried out.
Project title: Continuation of Concrete Initiatives to Protect Habitat and Reduce Threats to Several Species at Risk in the St. Lawrence Lowlands
Recipient: Nature-Action Québec Inc.
Approved funding: $118,997
Project description: Between now and 2027, this project will enable us to continue improving and protecting the habitats of several species at risk in southern Quebec, as well as mitigating certain human threats (for example, illegal harvesting) or natural threats (for example, the fight against invasive exotic species).
Yukon
Project title: Human-Bear Conflict Management for Conservation: Implementing Community-Based Approaches and Understanding Outcomes of Bear Translocations in a Yukon Context
Recipient: Department of Environment, Government of Yukon
Approved funding: $508,200
Project description: This three-year project aims to help protect bears by conducting community-based workshops on human-bear conflict and by studying the success of bear translocation efforts. A project coordinator will work with community members, Renewable Resource Councils, First Nations, municipal representatives, and Government of Yukon biologists and conservation officers to implement short and long-term strategies based on the outcomes of the workshops.
