Conservation Close to Home - Story Map

Organization
Resource Type
Authors
Nature Conservancy of Canada
Resource Date:
2021

Conservation Assessment for Southern Canada

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has completed a comprehensive assessment of the conservation needs and opportunities in southern Canada. The first of its kind, the Conservation Assessment for Southern Canada (CASC) includes an analysis of many factors, including endangered species and habitats, land use and wildlife corridors. CASC classifies ecoregions based on their biodiversity and threats relative to other ecoregions in southern Canada and has recently been published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation.

This StoryMap provides information on:

  • Crisis Ecoregions: These are ecoregions that compared to other ecoregions in southern Canada have higher biodiversity and threats.
  • Other Priority Ecoregions: These ecoregions have high biodiversity, but the overall threats are lower compared to other ecoregions.
  • Priority Sites: We have identified priority sites based on concentrations of species of conservation concern. These sites are located outside of the ecoregions with the highest overall biodiversity scores in our analysis, but are critical for conservation. Priority Sites also include NCC Natural Areas that are not included in the Crisis or Other Priority Ecoregions. These are important areas for conservation for many different reasons including intact habitats, connectivity and other biodiversity values. Priority Sites will continue to be identified and updated.