Environmental Trends 2002

Species at Risk

Where are Species at Risk Found?

Total Number of Red and Blue Listed Species in Each Ecoprovince in British Columbia (selected animals and vascular plants)

SOURCE: Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, Conservation Data Centre, 2001. NOTES: Circled numbers indicate the total number of Red and Blue listed vertebrate animals, dragonflies, butterflies, and vascular plant species and sub-species. Since the release of Environmental Trends in British Columbia 1998, a significant improvement in regional tracking has resulted in increased numbers of total species at risk for most ecoprovinces. The delineations on the map represent ecoprovinces, as described in Ecoregions of British Columbia, D. Demarchi 1993.

Where are species at risk found?

• The Southern Interior ecoprovince has the largest number of species at risk (319), followed by the Southern Interior Mountains (276), Coast and Mountains (256), and the Georgia Depression (253).

• In these ecoprovinces, regions of high biodiversity coincide with areas of rapid human expansion resulting in loss of critical habitat for these species.

• Species at risk in the Southern Interior include the Grasshopper Sparrow and the Night Snake. Both species are threatened by habitat disturbance and loss from urban and agriculture development.

• Species at risk in the Georgia Depression include the Pacific Water Shrew and the Oregon Spotted Frog. These species are threatened by urban development and loss of riparian and wetland habitat.

For detailed information, including graph data, see In-Depth report [pdf].