© — Telegram file photo
Environment Minister Tom Hedderson
Environment and Conservation Minister Tom Hedderson has announced that eight species of rare plants and one lichen have been added to the province’s Endangered Species Act as either endangered or threatened.
Assessments were made on the new listings by the Species Status Advisory Committee and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
“Species listed as endangered are in imminent risk of extinction and those listed as threatened are species likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse the factors limiting their survival,” said Hedderson. “I’d like to acknowledge the dedication of the committees involved in this process who were instrumental in ensuring the protection of the identified rare species as we conserve biodiversity for future generations.”
The nine species added to the act are:
• The Graceful Felt Lichen/ Vole Ears (Erioderma mollissimum);
• Alaska Rein Orchid (Platanthera foetida);
• Cutleaf Fleabane (Erigeron compositus);
• Oval-leaved Creeping Spearwort (Ranunculus flammula var. ovalis);
• Rock Dwelling Sedge (Carex petricosa var. misandroides);
• Feathery False Solomon’s Seal (Maianthemum racemosum subsp. racemosum);
• Lindley’s Aster (Symphyotrichum ciliolatum);
• Vreeland’s Striped Coralroot (Corallorhiza striata var. vreelandii);
• Bodin's Milkvetch (Astragalus bodinii).
The total number of species, subspecies and populations listed under the province’s Endangered Species Act is currently 44, including 21 endangered, 10 threatened and 13 vulnerable species.