Species at Risk

The Canadian federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), proclaimed in June 2003, was established to protect wildlife species at risk. SARA complements existing laws and agreements to provide for the legal protection of wildlife species and conservation of biological diversity, and partially fulfills Canada’s obligations under the international Convention on Biodiversity. The Act aims to prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct and to secure necessary actions for their recovery.

The white sturgeon species was listed as “endangered” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada in November 2003. Formal notice of listing under SARA occurred in August 2006. The UCWSRI partners are hopeful that formal recognition of white sturgeon as an endangered species will result in ongoing recovery support for the upper Columbia white sturgeon population.