By Bryce Hoye, CBC News Posted: Jul 06, 2016 5:00 AM CT Last Updated: Jul 06, 2016 5:01 AM CT
The deteriorating state of three Manitoba bird species has caught the federal government's attention, and it comes as a welcome change for some in the wildlife world who have been waiting for the additions for several years.
"We were hoping that it was inevitable that they would pass," said biologist Christian Artuso with Bird Studies Canada. "It's just that under the previous government these things seemed to get stalled out."
The Baird's sparrow, the horned grebe and the buff-breasted sandpiper were listed as species of special concern in June under the Species at Risk Act (SARA). Eight other wildlife species in other provinces were also added, while a handful of others that were already on the list received new designations.
The additions stem from recommendations made by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) over the past few years. The organization is made up of a group of wildlife experts who monitor species that are facing challenges staying alive in Canada.
COSEWIC makes these kinds of recommendations regularly. In an ideal world, Ottawa listens to those suggestions, which triggers the need for the Canadian Wildlife Service to come up with one-to-three year management strategies, depending on the status of the species, CWS species at risk biologist Ron Bazin said.
That hasn't exactly happened as planned recently; recommendations piled up under the Harper government.
