Your Species Conservation Act Transition Checklist

Earth & EnvironmentTechnical Insights

Offer as a one-page download, gated lightly to capture leads. Before December 31, 2026, work through this for every Ontario project that touches species at risk:

  • Inventory every ESA-era authorization your projects rely on: permits, agreements, and registered conditional exemptions. 
  • Flag which are carried over under transition rules. Only administrative amendments are allowed after December 31, 2026. 
  • For each active or planned activity, classify it: registrable, permit-required, or excepted. 
  • Confirm whether a protected species or its habitat is present, using current field data rather than an old study. 
  • Reassess habitat under the narrowed dwelling-place definition. Do not assume prior habitat mapping still governs. 
  • Prepare or update the conservation plan, signed by a qualified professional. 
  • Check the federal overlay: the Species at Risk Act, Fisheries Act, and Migratory Birds Convention Act, where relevant. 
  • Register in the Species Conservation Registry and keep the confirmation before any work begins. 
  • Diarize the monitoring and reporting obligations set out in the applicable regulation. 
  • When unsure whether an activity is registrable or permit-required, get a professional opinion before you break ground, not after. 

PRI’s environmental and natural-sciences teams can run this review with you.

Contact Our Team.

We would love to hear more about you and the project that you have in mind.