Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

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waterfowl habitat. The program is cooperative and community-based and relies on grassroots involvement to develop and implement conservation plans. As of March 2006, approximately 8,000 sites in 178 countries had been designated as Important Bird Areas (BirdLife International 2006). In Canada, 552 Important Bird Areas have been identified by the Canadian Wildlife Service, including 70 sites (encompassing 1,689,430 ha) in Ontario (BSC, 2007) (Table 4-4, Fig. 4-10). Legislation and Policy Basis An Important Bird Area is a designation created to highlight the importance of key habitat. The Important Bird Area has no legal standing on its own – protection and conservation is achieved under the auspices of existing programs. For example, protection may be achieved through conservation easements, land purchases, and voluntary stewardship initiatives. In Ontario by virtue of their location, Important Bird Areas in National Parks are protected through the National Parks Act, in Provincial Parks by the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, in Migratory Bird Sanctuaries through the Migratory Birds Convention Act, and in Conservation Authority Conservation Areas by the Conservation Authorities Act. In addition, some Important Bird Areas are located on private land. The Important Bird Area program complements existing bird conservation initiatives in Canada, such as the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, Canadian Shorebird Conservation Plan, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP), and Partners in Flight - Canada (IBA Canada, 2004). Protection Goal and/or Objectives The goals of the Important Bird Area program are to: • Identify a network of sites that conserve the natural diversity of Canadian bird species and are critical for the long-term viability of naturally occurring bird populations. • Determine the type of protection or stewardship required for each site, and ensure the conservation of sites through partnerships Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas 110 between local stakeholders who develop and implement appropriate on-the-ground conservation plans. • Establish ongoing local involvement in site protection and monitoring (IBA Canada, 2004). Selection Criteria Sites are identified using a set of standardized and internationally agreed-upon criteria. Important Bird Areas are identified and classified into one of four categories (Chaundry-Smart and Wilcox, 2001): • Category 1: Threatened species. • Category 2: Restricted-range species. • Category 3: Biome-restricted/representative species. • Category 4: Congregatory species. In addition, Important Bird Areas can be identified according to their global, continental, or national significance (based on specific bird population thresholds). More than one category can be applied to each Important Bird Area. Category 1: Threatened Species The general objective of this category is to identify sites that regularly provide habitat for significant numbers of a species that is threatened or at risk of extinction. The criteria for global, continental, and national levels of significance are as follows: • Globally Threatened Species: The site regularly hosts significant numbers of a globally threatened bird species – birds listed as critical, endangered, or vulnerable in Threatened Birds of the World (BirdLife International, 2000). • Continentally Threatened Species: The site regularly hosts significant numbers of a bird species, subspecies, or a biogeographical population that is threatened in North America. • Nationally Threatened Species: The site regularly hosts significant numbers of a bird species, subspecies, or a biogeographical population that is threatened in Canada – birds listed as endangered, threatened, or of special concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
In general, the threshold for identifying an Important Bird Area site is 1% of the population at risk. In some situations, however, it may be appropriate to apply thresholds lower than the 1% of the population. Regular occurrence at a site is defined as the yearly presence of a species. Where several years of data are available, the most recent five years are used. Category 2: Range Restricted/Species Range restricted species have a limited distribution and are vulnerable to habitat loss and disturbance. Although some endemic species are abundant within their range and are not considered threatened, it is important to include the best or representative sites inhabited by these species within the Important Bird Area network. Subspecies or disjunct populations restricted to small areas are also a concern. Criteria include: • Globally Restricted Range: The site regularly hosts significant numbers of a bird species whose global breeding range is less than 50,000 km 2 (5,000,000 ha). In Canada, only the Whooping Crane (Grus americana) qualifies as a species with a restricted range at the global level. However, there may be as many as 16 distinctive subspecies in Canada with breeding ranges of less than 50,000 km 2 . • Continentally Restricted Range: The site contains species with small total breeding ranges (i.e., greater than 50,000 km 2 but less than 100,000 km 2 ) and important populations within North America (i.e., more than 50% of the global distribution). No bird species in Canada is at risk at the continental scale. • Nationally Restricted Range: The site contains species that are not biome-restricted, but which have small total breeding ranges (i.e., greater than 100,000 km 2 but less than 250,000 km 2 ) and host important populations within North America (i.e., more than 50% of the North American distribution). At the national level, distinctive subspecies with breeding ranges of less than 50,000 km 2 are also included. Four species and 14 subspecies meet the national level criteria. For the purposes of this category, a Canadian target of at least one site for each restricted-range population is proposed. If a choice of sites is possible, then the ‘best available’ site(s) for the species should be selected first. Category 3: Biome-Restricted/Representative Species The objective of this category is to identify sites that host assemblages of birds whose breeding ranges are largely restricted to, or representative of, North American biomes. To date, no biome-restricted/ representative species have been identified. For the purposes of the Canadian Important Bird Area program, biomes are classified by Bird Conservation Region, as defined by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative Mapping Subcommittee. Bird species associated with each Bird Conservation Region will be used by the IBA program to identify biome-restricted/representative species. Category 4: Congregatory Species The Congregatory Species category covers sites that host large concentrations of birds during one or more seasons. Marine/lacustrine sites, terrestrial sites, stopover sites, and sites over which migrants congregate (e.g., before gaining height in the thermals) are included in this category. Qualified sites support single species congregations, congregations of many species, or species for which population thresholds are unknown (general congregatory thresholds). Global, continental, or national level criteria may apply. General congregatory thresholds are defined in Table 4-5. For single species congregations, a site qualifies as an Important Bird Area if it is known or thought to hold an average of 1% or more of the biogeographic population of the species. The criteria include: • Globally Significant: The site is known or thought to host more than 1% of the global or North American population of a species. • Continentally Significant: The site is known or thought to host more than 1% of the continental biogeographical population (flyway or other population) of a species. • Nationally Significant: The site is known or thought to provide habitat for more than 1% of the Canadian population (flyway or other population) of a species. 111 Ontario’s Natural Heritage Areas
Page 1 and 2: Part II Ontario’s Natural Heritag
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Page 37 and 38: 5. National Designations and Mechan
Page 39 and 40: Figure 5-1. National Parks in Ontar
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Page 55 and 56: Selection Criteria Candidate areas
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Page 59 and 60: Figure 5-5. National Wildlife Areas
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Page 67 and 68: Image by P.A. Gray • Natural Area
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Ontario's Natural Heritage Areas - Ministry of Natural Resources

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