Definition
Regionally important wildlife are native, regularly occurring taxa that are not considered at risk provincially, but are affected by forest or range practices and require specific habitat management prescriptions in order to maintain regional populations.
Background
The regionally important wildlife list was developed by BC Environment in order to support the maintenance of biodiversity in British Columbia. Under the Forest Practices Code red (endangered and threatened) and blue listed (vulnerable) taxa affected by forest or range practices are provided special management because they are considered to be at risk provincially. However, some species that are not at risk provincially are considered to be vulnerable to habitat alteration associated with forest and range practices. These species may also be of concern based on current status and status trend. Those species that are of concern and may not be adequately addressed by general forest and biodiversity provisions of the Forest Practices Code are listed as regionally important. In this way these species are identified as a management concern.
Regionally important wildlife may be provided special management within the Forest Practices Code as are red and blue listed species if they are designated as Identified Wildlife. Identified Wildlife are those species and plant communities that have been approved by the chief forester and deputy minister of Environment, Lands and Parks or designate as requiring special management. Two taxa are currently listed as Identified Wildlife: Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis atricapillus) and Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus). Management recommendations for these species are provided in the Forest Practices Code document, General Wildlife Measures for Identified Wildlife. These management strategies focus on critical or limiting habitats and when necessary also provide recommendations for landuse planning.
In order to accommodate regional variation and allow regions to set local priorities, species are listed by BC Environment Resource Management Regions, (see map attached). In total, 46 taxa are listed which breaks down to 3 fish, 5 amphibians, 0 reptiles, 23 birds and 15 mammals. For more information on these species, please contact regional or provincial Endangered Species Specialist.
Regionally Important Wildlife by Environment Region (June 1997)
|
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
MELP Regions |
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|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
||
|
Fish |
|||||||||
|
Arctic Grayling |
Thymallus arcticus |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Dolly Varden |
Salvelinus malma |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Cutthroat Trout |
Oncorhynchus clarki clarki |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|||
|
Amphibians |
|||||||||
|
Northwestern Salamander |
Ambystoma gracile |
x |
x |
x |
|||||
|
Clouded Salamander |
Aneides ferreus |
x |
|||||||
|
Western Toad |
Bufo boreas |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Red-legged Frog |
Rana aurora |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Spotted Frog |
Rana pretiosa |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Birds |
|||||||||
|
Bald Eagle |
Haliaeetus leucocephalus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Barrow's Goldeneye |
Bucephala islandica |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
Black Tern |
Chlidonias niger |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Blue Grouse |
Dendragapus canadensis |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|||
|
Boreal Owl |
Aegolius funereus |
x |
x |
x |
|||||
|
Brown Creeper |
Certhia americana |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Common Goldeneye |
Bucephala clangula |
x |
|||||||
|
Eared Grebe |
Podiceps grisegena |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|||
|
Golden Eagle |
Aquila chrysaetos |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|||
|
Great Gray Owl |
Strix nebulosa |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||||
|
Harlequin Duck |
Histrionicus histrionicus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Long-eared Owl |
Asio otus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||||
|
Merlin |
Falco columbarius suckleyi |
x |
|||||||
|
Northern Goshawk |
Accipiter gentilis atricapillus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
Olive-sided Flycatcher |
Contopus bortealis |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Osprey |
Pandion haliaetus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Pileated Woodpecker |
Dryocopus pileatus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Pygmy Nuthatch |
Sitta pygmaea |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
Pheucticus melanocephalus |
x |
|||||||
|
Sharp-shinned Hawk |
Accipiter striatus perobscurus |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Sharp-tailed Grouse |
Tympanuchus phasianellus caurus |
x |
|||||||
|
Vaux's Swift |
Chaetura vauxi |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Wood Duck |
Aix sponsa |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Mammals |
|||||||||
|
Big Brown Bat |
Eptesicus fuscus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
Silver-haired Bat |
Lasionycteris noctivagans |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Hoary Bat |
Lasiurus cinereus |
x |
X |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
California Myotis |
Myotis californicus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
|
Western Long-eared Myotis |
Myotis evotis |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Little Brown Myotis |
Myotis lucifugus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Long-legged Myotis |
Myotis volans |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Yuma Myotis |
Myotis yumanensis |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||
|
Lynx |
Lynx canadensis |
x |
x |
x |
x |
||||
|
Bobcat |
Lynx rufus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|||
|
River Otter |
Lontra canadensis |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Marten |
Martes americana |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Kermode Black Bear |
Ursus americanus kermodei |
x |
x |
||||||
|
Mountain Goat |
Oreamnos americanus |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
Caribou - northern pop. |
Rangifer tarandus |
x |
x |
x |
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