The links below provide up-to-date federal and provincial information on Species at Risk, including official listings, recovery efforts, habitat protection, and recent conservation initiatives.
| LINK | Description |
|---|---|
| https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry.html | The official federal registry for Species at Risk in Canada, including species listings, recovery strategies, action plans, and related conservation documents. |
| https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2024/06/government-of-canada-announces-funding-for-indigenous-communities-to-protect-species-at-risk-and-their-habitats.html | Information on the identification and protection of critical habitat for Species at Risk under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. |
| https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/publications-news.html | Government of Canada news releases and funding announcements related to Species at Risk conservation initiatives. |
| https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk | British Columbia government overview of species and ecosystems at risk, including provincial conservation programs and policy context. |
About This Resource
This table highlights selected extirpated and endangered species in British Columbia, with known or potential occurrences aligned to BC Nature member club regions, biogeoclimatic zones, and habitat types. Note that club members are highly unlikely to find any of these creatures, because the extirpated ones are, in the opinion of experts, already gone from BC and the endangered ones are nearly so.
The purpose of this resource is twofold:
- to encourage citizen science, whereby naturalists learn to identify, and be watchful for, species that are very rare, and
- to encourage naturalists to report suspected sightings of supposedly extirpated or endangered species to the BC Conservation Data Centre so that reported sightings can be investigated and hopefully confirmed.
If an “extirpated” species is confirmed to still exist in BC, that would make headlines. If an endangered species was confirmed outside of its known range, that would be ecologically exciting news.
Be aware that clubs listed below for each creature create a wider net than in reality; the “core” clubs that include known locations are identified, but so are adjacent club areas that have never yet had an occurrence (but might).
Where Species at Risk Occur in BC Table
| Species (Common Name) | Status | BCN Member Clubs (Potential Occurrence) | Biogeoclimatic Zone | Habitat Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sage Grouse | Extirpated / Endangered | Central Okanagan, Kamloops, Oliver–Osoyoos, Nicola, Lillooet, South Okanagan | BG | Very dry valley bottoms in the southern interior (Chilcotin, Fraser, lower Thompson, Nicola, Similkameen, lower Kettle, Okanagan Lake) |
| Pacific Gophersnake | Endangered | Nanaimo, Salt Spring | CDF, CWH | Rock outcrops and sparsely vegetated rocky habitats |
| Pygmy Short-horned Lizard | Endangered | South Okanagan | BG | Semi-arid plains to high mountains; sagebrush, bunchgrass, open pine woodland with sparse ground cover |
| Island Marble Butterfly | Endangered | Victoria | CDF Grasslands | Sand dunes, coastal lagoons, upland prairie-like habitat; larvae depend on mustard plants |
| Puget Oregonian Snail | Endangered | Cowichan, Victoria | CDF (Bigleaf Maple) | Moist old-growth and late-successional forests below 200 m; dependent on bigleaf maple |
| American Badger | Endangered | Oliver/Osoyoos, Central & North Okanagan, Rocky Mountain, Lillooet, Nicola, South Okanagan | BG | Grasslands, shrublands, pasture |
| Hadley Lake Stickleback | Endangered | Lasqueti Island | CDF | Freshwater lake habitat |
| Eastern Red Bat | Endangered | Penticton | BG | Grasslands and prairies |
| Hoary Bat | Endangered | Oliver/Osoyoos, Central & North Okanagan, Rocky Mountain, Lillooet, Nicola, South Okanagan, Vermillion, Kamloops, West Kootenay | — | Lakes, wetlands, riparian areas |
| Silver-haired Bat | Endangered | Multiple regions incl. Vancouver Island, Lower Mainland, Interior | — | Forest and grassland habitats up to 1,220 m |
| Central Mountain Caribou | Endangered | Dawson Creek, Fort St. John | — | High-elevation forests with Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, cedar, hemlock; closed-canopy old forests |
| Southern Mountain Caribou | Endangered | Rocky Mountain, West Kootenay | — | Old forests |
| Vancouver Island Marmot | Endangered | Alberni, Arrowsmith, Comox, Nanaimo, Cowichan | — | Restricted to subalpine areas |
| Townsend’s Mole | Endangered | Abbotsford, Chilliwack | — | Pastures, prairies, shrub habitats, floodplains; heavy soils with moderate moisture |
| Western Harvest Mouse | Endangered | Central, North & South Okanagan, Oliver/Osoyoos | — | Hedgerows, old fields, grasslands, shrubby grasslands, sagebrush steppe |
| Northern Myotis Bat | Endangered | Mackenzie, Prince George, Timberline, Williams Lake | — | Interior old-growth forests (100+ years), intact forest structure with snags and woody debris |
| Pacific Water Shrew | Endangered | Abbotsford/Mission, Burke Mountain, Delta, Langley, Chilliwack, Vancouver, White Rock | CDF | Low-elevation floodplains, riparian zones, wetlands |
| Northern abalone | Alberni | Vancouver Island | CDF, CWH | Rocky intertidal and subtidal habitats along the open coast, from fairly sheltered bays to exposed coastlines on hard substrate of bedrock and/or boulders, with secondary substrate of sediment, sand, mud or shell. Occur at depths of less than 10m with good water exchange. |
| Oregon forestsnail | Victoria, Cowichan, Vancouver, Abbotsford-Mission, Burke Mountain, Delta, Langley, Chilliwack, White Rock and Surrey | Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island | CDF, CWH, MH | Mixed wood and deciduous forests, typically dominated by bigleaf maple, with coarse woody debris, copious leaf litter, and both living and decaying vegetation. |
| Shortface lanx (snail) | West Kootenay | Kootenay | ICH | In unpolluted, swift-flowing, highly oxygenated cold water on stable, boulder-gravel substrates, often near rapids in small to large rivers. Prefer attaching themselves to hard surfaces in high velocities to avoid competition with other snail species. |
| Rocky mountain ridged mussel | Central Okanagan, North Okanagan, South Okanagan, Oliver/Osoyoos | Thompson Okanagan Shuswap | BG, IDF, PP | In creeks and rivers in shallow water (typically < 3 m deep), in well-oxygenated substrates varying from gravel to firm mud; rarely found in lakes or reservoirs. |
| Hotwater physa (snail) | Timberline (?) | Northern BC | BWBS | In warm water springs and pools, with average temperatures of 23-36 C. |
How to proceed if you believe you may have observed one of these species? The BC Conservation Data Centre (CDC) relies on environmental professionals and knowledgeable naturalists to help build its database of the locations of species and ecological communities at risk in B.C. Thus, if on those creatures on the list is observed, that will be great news. The observer should send an email to the CDC team even if they just think they might have spotted one on their field trips and wanderings. Once reported, experts will be able to come in and look for them. Good luck, and happy hunting!