Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada Recovery Strategy Management Plan Pink Coreopsis Sweet Pepperbush Thread-leaved Sundew New Jersey Rush Water Pennywort Eastern Lilaeopsis Goldencrest Tubercled Spike-rush Plymouth Gentian Redroot 2016 Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada 2016 Recommended citation: Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency. 2016. Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency. Ottawa. ix + 141 pp. For copies of the recovery strategy, or for additional information on species at risk, including the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) Status Reports, residence descriptions, action plans, and other related recovery documents, please visit the Species at Risk (SAR) Public Registry1. Cover illustrations: Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora lakeshore habitat, Tusket River, Nova Scotia; inset photos (from left) Goldencrest, Pink Coreopsis, Thread-leaved Sundew and Plymouth Gentian. Photos from the Wildlife Division, NS Department of Natural Resources (NS DNR). Également disponible en français sous le titre « Programme de rétablissement et plan de gestion plurispécifiques modifiés pour la flore de la plaine côtière de l’Atlantique au Canada » © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2016. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-0-660-04580-1 Catalogue no. En3-4/76-2016E-PDF Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source. 1 http://sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=24F7211B-1 Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada 2016 The Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency 2010) was posted on the Species at Risk Public Registry in January 2010. Under Sections 45 and 70 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA), the competent Minister may amend a recovery strategy and management plan, respectively, at any time. This 2016 Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (hereafter, ‘Amended Recovery Strategy’) is for the purposes of: • Amending all sections of the Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency 2010), to reflect changes in the COSEWIC status and SARA status of species • Amending Critical Habitat Section 2.6 of the Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency 2010), based on updated information In some cases, additional changes have been made to the Amended Recovery Strategy to align the document with current guidelines and templates for recovery documents. Since 2010, when the Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency 2010) was written, the status of species have changed, critical habitat schedule of studies have been completed, and additional critical habitat has been identified. This Amended Recovery Strategy is being posted on the Species at Risk Public Registry for a 60-day comment period. At the time of final posting, the Amended Recovery Strategy will replace the 2010 Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora in Canada (Environment Canada and Parks Canada Agency 2010). Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora 2016 Recovery Team Members Sherman Boates, Wildlife Division, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (Co-Chair) Samara Eaton, Environment Canada – Canadian Wildlife Service (Co-Chair) Sean Blaney, Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre Megan Crowley, Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, Parks Canada Agency Mark Elderkin, Wildlife Division, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Nick Hill, Fernhill Institute Paul Keddy (scientific advisor) Amanda Lavers, Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI) Ron MacKay, Biology Department, Mount Saint Vincent University David MacKinnon, NS Department of Environment and Labour, Protected Areas Branch Karen McKendry, Nova Scotia Nature Trust Marian Munro, Curator of Botany, Nova Scotia Museum Ruth Newell, Biology Department, Acadia University Donald Sam, Western Region, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Craig Smith, Nature Conservancy of Canada Bonnie Sutherland, Nova Scotia Nature Trust Acknowledgments This document was prepared by Samara T. Eaton, J. Sherman Boates, and Mark F. Elderkin in consultation with the Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora Recovery Team. Individual members of the Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora (ACPF) Recovery Team have assisted in the development of this document. This document builds on the 1998 ACPF Recovery Plan drafted by Ruth Newell, Donald Sam, and Nick Hill and the 2005 ACPF Recovery Strategy and Action Plan drafted by Samara Eaton, Sherman Boates, Mark Elderkin and Donald Sam. The following are thanked for their contribution to the document: NS Department of Natural Resources (NS DNR); Environment Canada; Parks Canada Agency: National Office, Atlantic Service Centre, and Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site staff, in particular Megan Crowley; NS Museum of Natural History; Acadia University, EC Smith Herbarium; Nova Scotia Nature Trust (NSNT); Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre; Tusket River Environmental Protection Association (TREPA); Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve Association; Nova Scotia Power Incorporated. Thanks the many members of the public including cottage owners, nature lovers, hikers, and concerned citizens who have helped and continue to assist with the recovery of ACPF. Brad Toms is also thanked for his contribution to amending this recovery strategy. i Amended Recovery Strategy and Management Plan for Multiple Species of Atlantic Coastal Plain Flora 2016 Preface Section 37 of SARA requires the competent minister to prepare recovery strategies for listed extirpated, endangered or threatened species and Section 65 of SARA requires the competent minister to prepare management plans for special concern species. For the SARA-listed species of Special Concern (Vulnerable under NS Endangered Species Act (NS ESA)), their inclusion in this combined recovery strategy and management plan will also serve in lieu of a separate management plan as required under SARA (Sections 65-67) and the NS ESA (Section 15). The inclusion of Long’s Bulrush and Spotted Pondweed in this document will serve as a management plan for these species as required under the NS ESA (section 15). The Province of Nova Scotia, Environment Canada, and Parks Canada Agency led the development of this document. This recovery strategy and management plan was developed in cooperation or consultation with numerous other individuals and agencies including environmental non-government organizations, industry stakeholders, aboriginal groups, and private landowners. This recovery strategy and management plan addresses the recovery of all 13 provincially and federally legally listed ACPF species at risk, including two Endangered species: Pink Coreopsis and Thread-leaved Sundew; the three Threatened species: Water Pennywort, Goldencrest, and Plymouth Gentian; and the five species of Special Concern (Vulnerable under the NS ESA): Sweet Pepperbush, Tubercled Spike-rush, New Jersey Rush, Eastern Lilaeopsis, and Redroot. It also addresses one species listed as Endangered under the NS ESA: Eastern Baccharis and two species listed as Vulnerable under the NS ESA: Spotted Pondweed and Long's Bulrush.2 Note that Plymouth Gentian and Water Pennywort are listed provincially as Endangered and Goldencrest and Long’s Bulrush are listed provincially as Vulnerable. The range of all species at risk in this document is primarily the United States (US), with disjunct populations in Nova Scotia (NS), Canada. A unique aspect of this multiple species recovery strategy and management plan is that, in addition to the legally listed ACPF species, it deals with species at risk assessed under the provincial general status assessment process (colour ranks) that have not yet been assessed by COSEWIC, including species for which there is insufficient information to assess their status. Other unique aspects of this document include the diversity of habitat types and threats addressed, the collaboration and coordination among three jurisdictions, the ecosystem perspective that is maintained within this document, and the challenges and opportunities associated with the primarily private land tenure within NS (approximately 70% privately owned). There are some locations on provincial crown land and some locations on federal land. The ACPF Recovery Team developed an initial multiple species Recovery Plan in 1998. This original plan was re-evaluated and expanded upon with the completion of a new ACPF Recovery Strategy and Action Plan in 2005. With the support of the Government of Nova Scotia, this 2016 amended recovery strategy builds on the 2010 recovery strategy