Species Conservation Act

More than 160 species are protected under the Species Conservation Act (SCA).

The SCA provides:

  • science-based assessment — species are assessed and classified by an independent body based on the best available science, community knowledge and Indigenous traditional knowledge
  • species protection — species classified as extirpated, endangered or threatened that are added to the Protected Species in Ontario List receive legal protection
  • habitat protection — when a species is listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened, its habitat is also protected

How species at risk are classified

The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) is an independent body that classifies native species in 1 of 5 categories of at-risk status. COSSARO may classify species as extinct, extirpated, endangered, threatened or special concern.

Learn more about how the committee works

Species protection

Plants, animals and other species at risk are protected from being harmed if they are listed as:

  • endangered
  • threatened
  • extirpated

Migratory birds and aquatic species which receive protection under the federal Species at Risk Act, and species classified as special concern do not receive protection under the SCA.

Species protection and human activity

Not every activity that occurs near a member of a protected species will kill or harm it. To help determine if a proposed activity could kill or harm a member of a protected species, consider:

  • the biology and behaviour of the species
  • details of the activity
  • how the activity may affect the species’ ability to carry on its life processes

The policy guidance on harm (August 14, 2014) developed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) can support determinations of whether an activity may result in harm or killing. Please note that this policy guidance was developed prior to the legislative changes and therefore some aspects are no longer relevant.

Habitat protection

When species are listed as extirpated, endangered or threatened, their habitat is automatically protected.

Under the SCA, habitat is defined as follows:

  • for animal species:
  • a dwelling place, such as a den, nest, or similar place, occupied or habitually occupied by one or more members of a species for the purposes of breeding, rearing, staging, wintering, or hibernating
  • the area immediately surrounding a dwelling place described above that is essential for the purposes mentioned
  • for vascular plant species:
  • the critical root zone surrounding a member of the species
  • for all other species (for example, lichens): an area on which any member of the species directly depends to carry on its life processes

Habitat for animals does not include areas used exclusively for foraging or travelling between dwelling places.

Existing habitat guidance materials available on the ministry’s webpage – such as recovery strategies, general habitat descriptions, and habitat protection summaries continue to provide valuable information to support you in identifying habitat as it is defined under the SCA, though may contain outdated references to concepts from the previous legislation.

Habitat protection and human activity

Not every activity that occurs within or near protected habitat will damage or destroy that habitat. To help determine if a proposed activity could damage or destroy the habitat, consider:

  • details of the activity
  • which parts of habitat are likely to be altered by the activity
  • how habitat changes will affect the species’ ability to carry on specific life processes

To support determinations of whether an activity is likely to result in the damage or destruction of habitat, it is recommended to refer to the definitions of these terms in the policy guidance on damage and destroy (February 15, 2012).

lease note that this policy guidance was developed under the previous legislation, and therefore some aspects are no longer relevant.

Conservation guidance

Under the previous ESA, conservation guidance and information on species at risk was provided through several different documents, including recovery strategies (science advice to government), government response statements (policies to guide species at risk recovery), and reviews of progress. Although these documents were developed under the previous legislation and therefore some aspects are no longer relevant under the SCA, they continue to be available as valuable sources of species-specific information and guidance .

Further guidance specific to the SCA may be developed in the future as needed.

Progress updates

Under the ESA, Ontario developed and published recovery strategies for 180 species at risk.

Updates on the progress toward completing recovery strategies for 37 endangered and threatened species that were identified as requiring additional time to prepare under the ESA are provided in Table 1.

To maximize accessibility, the table is available in both HTML and PDF formats. There may be differences between the versions – if you need the complete publication, download the PDF version.

Table 1. Progress updates and forecasts for recovery strategies for 37 species at risk in Ontario. Updated December 31, 2025

Download PDF (Updated December 31, 2025)

 

*Updated in this version