The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario’s 2025-26 Annual Report

The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO)

COSSARO is an independent committee of experts established under the SCA. The committee is responsible for assessing species in Ontario and providing classifications to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Members are required to have relevant expertise in scientific disciplines, community knowledge or Indigenous traditional knowledge.

In accordance with section 12 of the SCA, COSSARO is required to submit an annual report to the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in January of each year that identifies species that have been assessed and classified since its previous annual report was submitted.

On January 29, 2026, the minister received COSSARO’s 2025-26 Annual Report, which includes species assessments and resulting classifications from the committee’s January 2026 meeting, as well as the reasons for each classification.

The report to the minister has been posted publicly as required by section 60 of the SCA.

Highlights of COSSARO’s annual report

COSSARO’s 2025-26 Annual Report includes:

• COSSARO’s species assessments (brief description of species biology, threats, etc.) and classifications for 10 species
• a summary of COSSARO’s operations since its last annual report
• a draft plan for species assessments for 2026

Species classifications resulting from the species assessments conducted by COSSARO in January 2026 include:

New classifications (species not previously assessed)

• Three new endangered species:
  • Big-tooth Whitelip (a snail)
  • Cupped Fringe Lichen (a lichen)
  • Short-fruited Rush (a plant)
• One new threatened species:
  • Short-billed Dowitcher hendersoni/griseus (a bird)
• One new special concern species:
  • Snowy Owl (a bird)

Species with increased risk status

• One species previously classified as threatened is now classified as endangered:
  • Pugnose Minnow (a fish)

Species with decreased risk status

• One species previously classified as endangered is now classified as threatened:
  • Butler’s Gartersnake (a snake)
• Two species previously classified as threatened are now classified as special concern:
  • Least Bittern (a migratory bird)
  • Lilliput (an aquatic mussel)

Populations combined and reclassified

• One species previously classified as two separate populations is now combined and classified as threatened:
  • Eastern Massasauga (a snake) – previously classified as:
    • Massasauga (Carolinian population) – Endangered
    • Massasauga (Great Lakes/St. Lawrence population) – Threatened

Deferred

• One species’ assessment was deferred to a future meeting:
  • Macropis Cuckoo Bee (an insect)