Rocky Mountain ridged mussel (Gonidea angulata) management plan

Official title: Management Plan for the Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel (Gonidea angulata) in British Columbia [Final Version]

Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel

Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel

July 2011

About the Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series

What is the Species at Risk Act (SARA)?

SARA is the Act developed by the federal government as a key contribution to the common national effort to protect and conserve species at risk in Canada. SARA came into force in 2003, and one of its purposes is "to manage species of special concern to prevent them from becoming endangered or threatened."

What is a species of special concern?

Under SARA, a species of special concern is a wildlife species that could become threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats. Species of special concern are included in the SARA List of Wildlife Species at Risk.

What is a management plan?

Under SARA, a management plan is an action-oriented planning document that identifies the conservation activities and land use measures needed to ensure, at a minimum, that a species of special concern does not become threatened or endangered.  For many species, the ultimate aim of the management plan will be to alleviate human threats and remove the species from the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. The plan sets goals and objectives, identifies threats, and indicates the main areas of activities to be undertaken to address those threats.

Management plan development is mandated under Sections 65-72 of SARA.

A management plan has to be developed within three years after the species is added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk. Five years is allowed for those species that were initially listed when SARA came into force.

What's next?

Directions set in the management plan will enable jurisdictions, communities, land users, and conservationists to implement conservation activities that will have preventive or restorative benefits. Cost-effective measures to prevent the species from becoming further at risk should not be postponed for lack of full scientific certainty and may, in fact, result in significant cost savings in the future.

The series

This series presents the management plans prepared or adopted by the federal government under SARA. New documents will be added regularly as species get listed and as plans are updated.

To learn more

To learn more about the Species at Risk Act and conservation initiatives, please consult the SARA Public Registry.

Recommended citation:

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2010. Management Plan for the Rocky Mountain Ridged Mussel (Gonidea angulata) in Canada [Final]. Species at Risk Act Management Plan Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Vancouver. iv + 52 pp.


Additional copies:

Additional copies can be downloaded from the SARA Public Registry.

Cover illustration: Jennifer Heron

Également disponible en français sous le titre
« Plan de gestion de la gonidée des Rocheuses (Gonidea angulata) en Colombie-Britannique [Finale] »

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2010. All rights reserved.
ISBN En3-5/15-2011E-PDF
Catalogue no. 978-1-100-18120-2

Content (excluding the illustrations) may be used without permission, with appropriate credit to the source.

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