441-02367 (Environment)

The Government of Canada is committed to halting and reversing the loss of this country’s rich biodiversity. In support of this commitment, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is leading the development of Canada's 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy, which establishes a shared vision for halting and reversing biodiversity loss in Canada and guides implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework domestically.

The Government of Canada also recognizes that the environment, including biodiversity, and the recovery of species is a shared responsibility, and we can only make progress if all levels of governments share the same objectives and work collaboratively to achieve them. 

Both the Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA) provide protection of the Marbled Murrelet.  SARA is the Government of Canada's key legislative tool to protect and recover endangered and threatened species and their critical habitat. SARA provides a legal framework for identifying, listing, and managing at-risk species and requires that the Government develop recovery strategies and action plans to prevent species extinction and promote their recovery. As a migratory bird species that is listed as Threatened in Schedule 1 of SARA, Marbled Murrelet and its residences are automatically protected under sections 32-33 everywhere in Canada.

The MBCA provides for the protection of migratory birds through the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022 (MBRs), and the Migratory Birds Sanctuary Regulations (MBSRs). The Act prohibits the hunting, possession, and trade of migratory birds, their nests, and eggs without permits. In 2022, the MBRs were modernized to provide protection to migratory bird nests when they are considered to have a high conservation value for migratory birds. Individuals, eggs, and nests of the Marbled Murrelet are protected.

The amended final Recovery Strategy for the Marbled Murrelet in Canada was published on the Species at Risk Public Registry in January 2023. This recovery strategy identifies the species' critical habitat in Canada where the information was available and adequate. The objective of the Marbled Murrelet recovery strategy is to stabilize the current habitat at 70% of the habitat that was present in 2002 by the year 2032. ECCC, in cooperation with the province, is updating the federal recovery strategy. There are also three for lands and waters administered by the Parks Canada Agency that include Marbled Murrelet. 

With the support of ECCC, the province and other partners, including Indigenous governments, have set aside large areas of Marbled Murrelet habitat on the coast of British Columbia since the federal recovery strategy was first posted in 2014. Additional habitat protection processes are supported through federal investments, including commitments under the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature, signed by Canada, British Columbia, and First Nations in November 2023.

Critical habitat for Marbled Murrelet is protected in the Shoal Harbour Bird Sanctuary, the Widgeon Valley National Wildlife Area, Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve of Canada, and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of Canada. Following a Federal Court decision on February 1, 2024, the Minister is reconsidering his decision with respect to the protection of Marbled Murrelet critical habitat on Provincial lands that is “habitat to which the MBCA applies.”

Forest management is the jurisdiction of provincial governments, and most Canada's forests are located on provincial and territorial Crown lands. In British Columbia, approximately 96% of forests are on provincial crown land. The federal government is committed to support the province’s effort to manage and conserve old-growth forests given their significance for migratory birds, species at risk, and their role in mitigating the impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems and their associated wildlife.

To demonstrate federal support, the 2022 Federal Budget established a $50 million Old Growth Nature Fund, which will focus on protecting at-risk high productivity old-growth forests important to migratory birds. This federal funding will support planning and collaboration amongst the province and Indigenous communities as well as incentivizing third-party funders to permanently conserve large areas of at-risk old growth forests in the province. This will directly contribute to the Government of Canada's commitments to achieve Canada’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal and net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

The federal government has also contributed to protecting nearly 400,000 hectares of forest habitat in British Columbia that will benefit multiple species and maintain ecosystems. These conservation projects include programs like the Target 1 Challenge, the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, and the Ecological Gifts Program.