Terms of Reference

Regional Advisory Meeting (Central and Arctic)

Recovery Potential Assessment for Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Alberta Population)

Part 1 - 12 May 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Part 2 - 5 June 2009, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Central Daylight Time)

Teleconference call

Chairperson: Holly Cleator

Background

In November 2006, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) designated the Alberta population of Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) as Threatened because the pure, native populations had been reduced by almost 80% as a result of over-exploitation, habitat degradation and hybridization/competition with introduced non-native trout (COSEWIC 2006). Remaining pure Westslope Cutthroat Trout persist mainly as severely fragmented, remnant headwater populations. They are now being considered for legal listing under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

In advance of making a listing decision for Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science has been asked to undertake a Recovery Potential Assessment (RPA). DFO Science developed the RPA framework to provide the information and scientific advice required for the Department to meet various requirements of the SARA including listing decisions, authorizations to carry out activities that would otherwise violate the SARA and development of recovery strategies. The information in the RPA may be used to inform both scientific and socio-economic elements of the listing decision, as well as development of a recovery strategy and action plan, and for assessing SARA Section 73 agreements and permits.

A preliminary fact-finding workshop was held in February 2006 to consider the scientific data available for development of an RPA and recovery strategy. A second workshop was held in January 2007 to complete scientific review of the available data. This advisory meeting is being held to assess the recovery potential of pure, native Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Alberta population). The resulting RPA Science Advisory Report (SAR) will summarize the current understanding of the distribution, abundance and trend of this subspecies in Alberta, along with recovery targets and times to recovery while considering various management scenarios.  The current state of knowledge about habitat requirements, threats to both habitat and Westslope Cutthroat Trout, and measures to mitigate these impacts, will also be included in the SAR.

Objectives

The intent of this meeting is to assess the recovery potential of Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Alberta population) using the 17 steps in the RPA framework outlined in the Summary section of the Revised Protocol for Conducting Recovery Potential Assessments. The advice will be provided to the DFO Minister for his consideration in meeting various requirements of SARA including any listing decision for the Alberta population.

Products

The meeting will generate a proceedings report summarizing the deliberations of the participants. This will be published in the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Proceedings Series on the CSAS website. Also, the advice from the meeting will be published in the form of an RPA SAR.

Participation

Participants from DFO, Parks Canada Agency, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, the University of Calgary, and Piikani First Nation, as well as other experts, are invited to this meeting.