Overview

Each year, Ontario invests in projects through the Species Conservation Program that contribute to the protection and conservation of plants and animals at risk.

The Species Conservation Program was established in 2025 under the amended Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). It will be continued under the upcoming Species Conservation Act, 2025 (SCA). It replaces and improves on the former Species at Risk Stewardship Program (SARSP) by increasing investment to boost the valuable work that species experts and community-based protection and conservation projects are doing province-wide.

The Species Conservation Program was established in 2025 under the amended Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA), and continues under the Species Conservation Act, 2025 (SCA). It replaces and improves on the former Species at Risk Stewardship Program by increasing investment to boost the valuable work that species experts and community-based protection and conservation projects are doing province-wide.

The Species Conservation Program was created to encourage people and organizations to get involved in conserving species at risk and their habitats through stewardship activities. It’s part of Ontario’s track record of strong environmental stewardship, preserving the rich biodiversity of our province for future generations.

The program objectives include:

  • preserving and rehabilitating habitat, and enhancing other areas so that they can become habitat
  • supporting public education and outreach programs relating to conservation
  • supporting other activities to assist in the protection and conservation of species such as direct threat mitigation, field-based surveys and monitoring, research and local and Indigenous knowledge collection

Who can apply

The fund is open to individuals and groups across Ontario, including:

  • academic institutions
  • businesses
  • consulting companies
  • Indigenous communities and organizations
  • individuals
  • industry organizations
  • landowners and farmers
  • municipal and local governments
  • non-government organizations

To be eligible for consideration, conservation projects must benefit species that have been assessed by the Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) as:

  • extirpated
  • endangered
  • threatened
  • special concern

You can find more information, including eligibility requirements and previous annual funding priorities, in the 2026-27 Species Conservation Program Guidelines.

To learn more, contact species.conservation.program@ontario.ca.

How to apply

The application period is currently closed. Applications must be submitted electronically through the Transfer Payment Ontario portal by the closing date of the annual call for applications.

Current projects

The following is a list of new and ongoing (multi-year) projects being supported by the Species Conservation Program in 2026-2027.

ALUS Canada

Partnering with local organizations to restore, enhance, and manage over 1,900 hectares of marginal farmland to support habitat for species at risk across Ontario.

Bruce Trail Conservancy

Niagara Escarpment habitat protection and enhancement for species at risk including habitat restoration, monitoring, and impact mitigation for species at risk on multiple properties.

City of Oshawa

Developing and implementing a Second Marsh Restoration and Resilience Plan to support wetland dwelling species at risk, including Least Bittern, Blanding’s Turtle and American Eel.

Ducks Unlimited Canada

Improving species at risk habitat at St. Luke's Marsh Coastal Wetland through water level maintenance, invasive species management, habitat restoration, and species monitoring.

On-the-ground work with Ontario landowners to carry out wetland restoration, enhancement, research and monitoring to increase and enhance wetland habitat for species at risk.

Earth Rangers

Development and implementation of online modules for species at risk engagement and supporting materials.

Eco-Kare

Mitigating turtle and other wildlife mortality along a high traffic road within a provincially significant wetland.

Forest Gene Conservation Association

Maintaining the archives of butternut canker resistant trees to support Butternut conservation and reintroduction.

Establishment of a genetically diverse and resilient population of Black Ash in Ontario.

Friends of Second Marsh

Management of invasive plant species on the McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve to improve habitat for species at risk turtles.

Georgian Bay Forever

Removing Invasive Phragmites to improve wetland habitat used by several at risk turtle species, and conducting habitat restoration, monitoring, and public education.

Invasive Species Centre

Mitigating Emerald Ash Borer impacts and supporting long-term ash tree viability.

Land Care Niagara

Supporting conservation of the Monarch butterfly through habitat restoration, land stewardship and public outreach across the Niagara Peninsula.

Matawa First Nations Management

Identifying and protecting critical habitat of at-risk bats in the Matawa member First Nation homelands.

Natural Resource Solutions Inc.

Addressing ecological knowledge gaps for Northern Myotis and other bat species at risk.

Ontario Conservation Accelerator

Working with conservation groups across the province to protect species at risk habitats and develop management plans for these habitats.

Ontario Land Trust Alliance

Supporting the creation of new conservation areas that provide important habitat for species at risk and implement on-the-ground conservation actions to grow and maximizes the collective long-term species conservation impact.

Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre

Direct mitigation of threats to at-risk turtles through rehabilitation and release of injured adults, rearing turtle eggs and juveniles in captivity, field research, education, data-sharing and disease monitoring.

St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences

Assessing the status and use of habitat by species at risk bats in eastern Ontario.

Thames Talbot Land Trust

Implementing recovery actions for 20 focal species at risk at 14 sites across Elgin, Middlesex, Perth and Oxford counties including increasing habitat quantity and quality, mitigating direct threats to species, and completing species surveys.

Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy

Indigenous Youth Guardians Camp and Summit for Species at Risk — a land-based learning overnight camp and summit to encourage Indigenous youth to lead species recovery projects in their home territories.

Trees for Life

Improving the recovery and protection of Kentucky Coffee-Tree and Butternut  through urban tree plantings in Ontario municipalities.

Trent University

Determining population targets and site quality for self-sustaining populations of Small-mouthed Salamander and Unisexual Ambystoma on Pelee Island.

University of Toronto

Filling knowledge gaps and conducting predictive modelling to support recovery of Black Ash in Ontario.

Wildlife Preservation Trust Canada

Ojibway Prairie Reptile Recovery Program: Overcoming knowledge gaps along the journey to recovering Canada's only tallgrass prairie Massasaugas.