by: Bob Bancroft
SPRING 1990
Why care about plants and other animals? I remember one spring day when seven bears were sunning themselves on a field after a long, cold winter. A voice on the telephone was angrily insisting that I bring a gun. "What good are they?" it demanded. "What good are we to the bears?" I thought in reply. Wild animals and plants share this province with us. Collectively we make it a more interesting and special place. Whether or not we preserve other living things is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. When humans reduce the number of species on this planet, we undermine the same natural systems that support us. Put another way, removing rivets from an aluminum boat on a lake doesn't make much difference at first. Sooner or later a sinking feeling changes that perspective.
"Endangered" is a term used to describe wild animals and plants that are in some kind of peril. Humans are by definition associated with this danger, because we disturb wildlife and alter its habitats. On a smaller scale, beavers were Canada's original habitat "managers". Then, 200 years ago, fur trading for the European market almost eliminated the beaver, demonstrating a need for wildlife management at a time when conservation programs did not exist. Fortunately, a shift in fashion put beaver hats out of style, and the demand for their fur fell. Some beavers survived, and populations became gradually abundant again.
In Nova Scotia many government and private agencies are combining their resources to restore or maintain habitats or individual species. Special protection of areas with endangered plants and feeding reserves for migrating shorebirds are two examples of work being done.
Peregrine falcons and pine martens are being re-introduced. Whaling has been banned. Programs to alert the public to the plight of species like the piping plover and roseate tern are in place. "Special Places" are being identified, and inventories of habitats and species on land and underwater are being undertaken.
The success of these programs depends to a large extent on the people of Nova Scotia. For example, the piping plover program has not stopped human disturbances that cause plover nest failures on our beaches. Plover populations continue to decline. too often, signs asking visitors to walk along the water's edge are ignored.
No list of "endangered" species - such as the one opposite - is all-encompassing, and many additions could be made from differing Nova Scotian perspectives. Favourite species of concern to individuals may be omitted due to oversight or the fact that the animal or plant is considered "safe" elsewhere. Lake trout (not speckled trout in lakes) appear to be very rare here. Fisheries biologists are unsure whether these fish were introduced.
Pine marten, fisher and lynx are uncommon. Like woodland caribou, they are unlisted because they exist elsewhere. Caribou vanished from our mainland by 1905 and from Cape Breton by 1912. Whether eastern cougar exist here remains a subject of hot debate.
Birds are a particular problem. Their mobility means that many could be listed, because faraway species stray into Nova Scotia. Most "birders" could cite unlisted species they have seen. For example, I have seen Ross' gull, golden eagle, sooty tern, house wren, vultures, white pelican... and others that are uncommon. Birds on this list fall into several categories.
Occasionally common barn owls, least bitterns and red-shouldered hawks - more common in the United States - stray into this province. Breeding may even occur, but these species have never been abundant here. A host of other birds qualifies for this category, and could be added to the table, producing a very different looking situation on paper.
The Ipswich sparrow, once considered a separate species, is now classified as a lighter coloured race of the savannah sparrow. The world population of Ipswich sparrows spends its breeding season in parts of Nova Scotia.
Roseate terns exist here at very low population levels. With exploding numbers of garbage-fed herring and great black-backed gulls taking over and eliminating colonies of common, arctic and roseate terns, all of our tern breeding colonies may soon be at risk.
Longs bulrush and piping plover are examples of species threatened globally. The Acadian whitefish is endangered, with the world population located in a few Nova Scotian watersheds. The short-tailed swallowtail butterfly is thriving in Cape Breton, but is listed since that is the sole place where one can find them.
Since 1977 a group called the committee on the Status of endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has been set up by an organization known as the federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference. This committee, which represents government and private agencies, reviews scientific reports on species found across Canada. Wild plants and animals suspected of being in danger are defined in one of five categories:
Rare species are few in number or found only in very restricted areas; although not in immediate danger, they could be at any time.
Threatened species are likely to become endangered if the pressures from human or natural causes that make them vulnerable are not reversed.
Endangered species are threatened with immediate extinction or extirpation because of human actions.
Extirpated species are no longer found in the wild of Canada, although they exist elsewhere.
Extinct species no longer exist anywhere.
COSEWIC's role is to identify the plants and animals at risk. Taking appropriate action is left to federal, provincial and non-government agencies and organizations. Today's growing public concern with the environment should help these efforts.
The table with this article is based, with a few additions, on the 1989 COSEWIC status list of endangered wildlife in Canada.
It's time to learn more about our endangered plants and animals, and to support efforts to save them. This means conserving habitats essential for survival. With most of our province in private hands, problems can surface quickly. For a landowner or developer, three examples will illustrate the issue:
- Should ecologically unique sites with endangered plants become suburbs that no longer have them? This is happening now.
- Will wetlands continue to be drained or landfilled to create agriculture or building sites? Ducks Unlimited (more aptly called Wetlands Unlimited) endures a lot of competition maintaining these vital habitats.
- Which is more important - a house or cottage lot near the water, or the eagle pair nesting there? Eagles seldom win that decision.
These land-use questions are just a sample. who should determine the nature of future habitat alterations? Current decisions are often made by landowners, developers or others involved in "zoning". Often they are unaware of the situation, or reluctant to alter plans and halt local"progress". for wild plants and animals like the Longs bulrush, Acadian whitefish, terns or piping plover, time is no longer nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once. Nova Scotians may be unwittingly pushing them into extinction.