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Consensus Agreement Reached to Add Western Toad to NWT List of Species at Risk and to Accept Hairy Braya Recovery Strategy

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The NWT Conference of Management Authorities (CMA), at a meeting on October 16, 2015, reached consensus to add western toad to the NWT List of Species at Risk as a 'threatened' species and to accept the NWT Hairy Braya Recovery Strategy.

The signed consensus agreements were provided to the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) on November 27, 2015. The Minister is responsible for adding western toad to the NWT List of Species at Risk within three months of receiving the consensus agreement. The Minister is also responsible for publicly releasing the approved NWT Hairy Braya Recovery Strategy within three months of receiving the consensus agreement.

There are no automatic prohibitions or protections associated with listing species under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act. The listing of western toad as 'threatened' means a recovery strategy must be developed for the species within two years of listing. The recovery strategy for western toad will form part of a planned NWT Amphibian Management Plan currently being developed, which includes management and recovery approaches for threatened amphibians (western toad and northern leopard frog, listed in March 2015), as well as amphibians that are not species at risk (wood frog, boreal chorus frog, and Canadian toad).

The NWT Hairy Braya Recovery Strategy is the first recovery strategy developed and approved under the Species at Risk (NWT) Act. It sets out a goal, objectives and recommended approaches for the conservation and recovery of hairy braya. It will be posted on the NWT Species at Risk website by February 27, 2016. An implementation agreement will be developed and released by November 27, 2016.

Additional species information and supporting documentation (including the completed species status reports and assessment reports) are available here for hairy braya and here for western toad.

For more information contact:

Jody Pellissey, Chairperson
Conference of Management Authorities
c/o NWT Species at Risk Secretariat
Tel: (867) 920-6334 OR 920-6335
Email: claire_singer@gov.nt.ca OR kelly_joy@gov.nt.ca