The Ontario Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, established in 2007, provides direct financial payments to landowners and farmers, as well as aboriginal groups and other organizations, for projects benefiting Species at Risk (SARs). A key fund objective is to improve “the status of species at risk and their habitats by supporting stewardship and recovery actions” (OMNRF 2015). The monarch is designated a Species of Special Concern in the Ontario list of species at risk. It is also designated as Special Concern Schedule 1 under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

For the 2016/2017 funding period, prairies are listed as an ecosystem priority, although funding priorities are subject to change each year. Eligible activities include those targeting planning, creation, restoration, enhancement, or management of habitat, or the development of BMPs for SAR species. Projects must address an existing need or impending threat and should be linked to management plan recommendations. Multi-year projects may receive funding for up to three years (OMNRF 2015). Average project funding is around C$35,000, although funding can range from C$10,000 to C$100,000. Projects including matching funds, whether in-kind or financial, are preferred, with 1:1 match scoring higher during proposal evaluation.

Although projects targeting Species of Special Concern are eligible for funding, projects may be more difficult to secure as compared to those for Endangered or Threatened Species. Still, projects funding habitat for Ontario’s Endangered or Threatened Species also have potential to restore or enhance monarch habitat, particularly those using grasslands, prairies, or savannahs (Jaxa-Debicki 2016).

• Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF). 2015. Grants for Protecting Species at Risk: Species at Risk Stewardship Fund. ontario.ca/page/grants-protecting-species-risk.
• Kim Jaxa-Debicki. 2016. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Species at Risk Stewardship Advisor. Personal communication.

Amount of the Incentive
Average project funding is around C$35,000, although funding can range from C$10,000 to C$100,000. Projects including matching funds, whether in-kind or financial, are preferred, with 1:1 match scoring higher during proposal evaluation.

Related Institutional Objectives or Targets
Loi sur les espèces en péril

Keywords: best practices, direct financial payment, enhancement, management, restoration, species at risk