At Risk Species
More than 60 Canadian species at risk depend on the unique habitat of the Livingstone-Porcupine Hills on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Their future is becoming increasingly uncertain as Alberta’s landscape continues to be fragmented and converted to human use. Sustainable management of this fragile ecosystem is critically important and all users of the land need to be involved.
Protecting the Vulnerable
This region is home to many species that are endangered, threatened or of special concern including ferruginous hawk (pictured), prairie falcon, grizzly bear, westslope cutthroat trout, bull trout, limber pine and whitebark pine.
photo by David McIntyre
Survival Depends on Intact Grassland
Many species, such as the endangered ferruginous hawks, are extremely sensitive to habitat disturbance and require large areas of undisturbed prairie with suitable food sources. This striking bird has a wingspan that can reach in excess of 1.5 meters and is the largest of the soaring hawks in North America. They breed in the grasslands of southern Alberta and a pair with young can consume 480 gophers in a summer, providing a valuable service to local ranchers. Unfortunately their range has already shrunk to about half of what it was historically in the 1920s and habitat continues to be lost.
photo by David McIntyre
Alarming Decline in Grassland Birds
A 2019 report by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative Canada found that grassland dependent birds are declining at an alarming rate. Since 1970, grassland bird populations that live on the Prairies have declined by 57 per cent and birds that rely on native fescue grasses have plummeted by 87 per cent. Read the report here.
Photo: Bobolink
May Haga, State of Canada’s Birds
North American Bird Conservation Initiative Canada, State of Canada’s Birds
Banner photo by Bobbi Lambright