Scouler's catchfly (Silene scouleri ssp. grandis): COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Existing protection or other status designations

Silene scouleri ssp. grandis is not covered under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Endangered Species Act (USA) or listed in the IUCN Red Data Book. NatureServe has designated a G5T?Q rank for the Silene scouleri var. pacifica but indicate they do not consider it to be completely synonymous with S. scouleri ssp. grandis. The G5 indicates that the species is classified as "common to very common; demonstrably secure and essentially ineradicable under present conditions". The T? ranking indicates that the subspecies has not been ranked and the Q indicates that the taxonomic validity of the variety is not clear.

The British Columbia (B.C.) Conservation Data Centre (2002) provincial ranking is S1, "critically imperiled, because of extreme rarity or because of some factor(s) making it especially vulnerable to extinction. Silene scouleri ssp. grandis is currently on the B.C. Conservation Data Centre Red List, which includes any indigenous species or subspecies (taxa), considered to be Extirpated, Endangered, or Threatened in British Columbia.

Federal endangered species legislation has been passed in Canada but is, at present, not yet in effect. This is most likely to affect rare species on federal land but all populations of Silene scouleri ssp. grandis are restricted to provincial lands. Federal activities on the Trial Island lighthouse property may affect the species at this site.

British Columbia does not protect endangered species through legislation. The Alpha Islet population and the Little Trial Island sub-population occur within ecological reserves and are protected by law, as are all native plants within ecological reserves. B.C. Parks staff rarely visit Alpha Islet or Little Trial island and the legal protection is not backed up by a meaningful management presence.

The Trial Island sub-population is not included within Trial Island Ecological Reserve; instead it is a few metres inside a telecommunications lease. It has no formal or informal protection.

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