Navigating the Migratory Birds Convention Act and Species at Risk Act, with Methods, Tools and Data from the BC Conservation Data Centre
- Start Date: April 13, 2023
- End Date: April 13, 2023
- Time: 9am - 1:30pm Pacific
- City: Online
- Venue: Zoom
- Instructor: See below
Workshop description
Migratory birds are declining across North America, resulting in a great need for conservation of both common and rare species. The federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and corresponding Regulations are one set of tools to help protect migratory birds. This workshop will provide an overview of the Act and recent changes to the Migratory Birds Regulations (updated in 2022), as well as a review of activities likely to harm migratory birds and guidance on how to avoid harm to migratory birds.
Habitat loss and modification are leading causes of population decline in many rare and endangered species. The federal Species At Risk Act (SARA) describes Critical Habitat (CH) as the habitat that is necessary for the survival or recovery of a listed wildlife species (schedule 1), and that is identified as the species’ critical habitat in a recovery strategy or in an action plan for the species. Many projects now require screening for critical habitat (CH) as part of the impact assessment process. This workshop will provide tools and methods for screening for CH, including how to obtain CH mapping information; how to determine if one has the most current CH information for a given species; how Species at Risk (SAR) legislation is applied (for example, in the case of migratory birds that are also species at risk); and how to determine if a SAR permit is required. Participants will learn about the different jurisdictional issues affecting federal versus non-federal lands.
The BC Conservation Data Centre (CDC) will give an overview of CDC methods and data and will demonstrate ways to access CH and CDC data using BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the BC Data Catalogue and CDC iMap, with an introduction to EcoAtlas BC, soon to be replacing CDC iMap and Habitat Wizard. CWS will provide information on SAR protections and permitting, as well as how to potentially access candidate critical habitat information.
A workshop outline is available upon request: email office@cmiae.org
Workshop leaders
Chloe Boynton, Migratory Bird Biologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Delta, BC)
Chloe is a Migratory Bird Biologist and has worked with the Canadian Wildlife Service in the Pacific region since 2018. She has extensive experience working with the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Migratory Birds Regulations over this period, including reviewing permits, working with stakeholders and the public to understand the regulations and providing presentations and workshops. She completed a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Queen’s University and a Master of Science degree from Simon Fraser University, focusing on avian ecology. Throughout her career she has worked with a variety of songbirds, from mapping territories of forest birds in Ontario and monitoring nests of grassland birds in Alberta, to studying aerial insectivores in BC.
Undiné Thompson, Sr Species at Risk Integration and Consultation Biologist, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Nanaimo, BC)
Undiné (un-dean-eh) Thompson is the Senior Consultation and Species at Risk Integration Biologist for the Pacific Region of the Canadian Wildlife Service, a branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada. She has worked with the federal government since 2013 leading on consultation and engagement on species at risk recovery documents and working on inclusion of Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in those efforts. She was born and raised on the South Coast of BC, studied at SFU for her undergraduate degree in environmental geography and biology, and completed a Masters of Environment in Impact Assessment at Concordia University. Her graduate thesis emphasized the importance of Garry Oak ecosystem conservation for regional adaptation to climate change and was based on field work completed on Retreat Island, BC.
Katrina Stipec, BC Conservation Data Centre, Knowledge Management Branch, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Victoria, BC)
Katrina Stipec, BC Conservation Data Centre, Knowledge Management Branch, Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Katrina completed her BSc in Geography from University of Victoria and worked with non-profit organisations, regional, provincial and federal government before joining the BC Conservation Data Centre’s Data Management Unit in 2005. As the Species and Ecosystems at Risk Information Specialist, Katrina has a passion for client service and helping people access the species and ecosystems data and information they need to make informed decisions. Katrina can be reached at cdcdata@gov.bc.ca
Requirements & Preparation
- A strong internet connection and a virtual workshop capable computer
- Latest version of Zoom downloaded and ready to go
- Before the workshop, you may want to check out the two tools that will be demonstrated:
- Check out iMap and/or CDC iMap
- Check out BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer
Registration
CMI member: $45
Non member: $65
A recording of this session will be available to registrants for 2 weeks time.
Registration now closed.
All registrants can expect their Zoom link via email by May 12th. If you haven’t received this be sure to contact Hailey: office@cmiae.org
