GoatGuy
06-01-2010, 03:21 PM
Banff’s Mountain Caribou versus Spring Snails
Conservation Biology
Volume 24, No. 2, 2010
Hebblewhite et al. (2010) recently revisited Berger’s
(2003) question of whether it is acceptable for a species
in a national park to be allowed to go extinct.On the same
day the Banff National Park (BNP), Alberta, Canada, population
of threatened mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus
caribou) was extirpated in an avalanche in April
2009, they state that environmental groups (Ecojustice
2009) touted the Banff Springs snail (Physella johnsoni)
as the only Canadian species to have full protection under
the Species at Risk Act (SARA; Government of Canada
2002). Hebblewhite et al. suggest inertia was a major factor
in the jurisdictional authority (Environment Canada)
not following the provisions of SARA. They also present
ideas on how to prevent other species from following
the same road to oblivion. Finally, they ask, “. . . why
the Banff Springs snail (for which Parks Canada was the
designated federal agency under SARA), and not caribou,
received sufficient recovery dollars.” Although it could
be argued strenuously that “sufficient recovery dollars”
have never been available for the snail, other factors contributed
to the contrast between the two species’ roads to
recovery.
First, the Banff Springs snail is an endangered, endemic
species confined to a handful of thermal springs
within BNP (COSEWIC 2008). The total habitat occupied
by the species is only 595.4 m2 (COSEWIC 2008).
This small area has been designated critical habitat by
Parks Canada Agency (2008) under SARA. Although we
do not believe the area of occupancy was calculated for
the wide-ranging mountain caribou population of Banff,
it probably was a few orders of magnitude larger.
Second, as Hebblewhite et al. noted, the Parks Canada
Agency was the sole jurisdictional authority to ensure
the continued existence of the snail. In anticipation of
the passage of SARA in 2002, a resource management
plan for recovery of the species (Lepitzki et al. 2002) was
approved by Parks Canada. Once SARA passed, the Committee
on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC) assessed endangered snail was listed automatically
under SARA, as were other species on the
COSEWIC list at that time. Finalization of the recovery
strategy and action plan (Lepitzki & Pacas 2007) continued
under the direction of a recovery team. This team was
Conservation Biology
Volume 24, No. 2, 2010
Hebblewhite et al. (2010) recently revisited Berger’s
(2003) question of whether it is acceptable for a species
in a national park to be allowed to go extinct.On the same
day the Banff National Park (BNP), Alberta, Canada, population
of threatened mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus
caribou) was extirpated in an avalanche in April
2009, they state that environmental groups (Ecojustice
2009) touted the Banff Springs snail (Physella johnsoni)
as the only Canadian species to have full protection under
the Species at Risk Act (SARA; Government of Canada
2002). Hebblewhite et al. suggest inertia was a major factor
in the jurisdictional authority (Environment Canada)
not following the provisions of SARA. They also present
ideas on how to prevent other species from following
the same road to oblivion. Finally, they ask, “. . . why
the Banff Springs snail (for which Parks Canada was the
designated federal agency under SARA), and not caribou,
received sufficient recovery dollars.” Although it could
be argued strenuously that “sufficient recovery dollars”
have never been available for the snail, other factors contributed
to the contrast between the two species’ roads to
recovery.
First, the Banff Springs snail is an endangered, endemic
species confined to a handful of thermal springs
within BNP (COSEWIC 2008). The total habitat occupied
by the species is only 595.4 m2 (COSEWIC 2008).
This small area has been designated critical habitat by
Parks Canada Agency (2008) under SARA. Although we
do not believe the area of occupancy was calculated for
the wide-ranging mountain caribou population of Banff,
it probably was a few orders of magnitude larger.
Second, as Hebblewhite et al. noted, the Parks Canada
Agency was the sole jurisdictional authority to ensure
the continued existence of the snail. In anticipation of
the passage of SARA in 2002, a resource management
plan for recovery of the species (Lepitzki et al. 2002) was
approved by Parks Canada. Once SARA passed, the Committee
on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada
(COSEWIC) assessed endangered snail was listed automatically
under SARA, as were other species on the
COSEWIC list at that time. Finalization of the recovery
strategy and action plan (Lepitzki & Pacas 2007) continued
under the direction of a recovery team. This team was