Swift fox (Vulpes velox) COSEWIC assessment and status report 2009: chapter 10

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Existing Protection or Other Status Designations

Swift Foxes were designated as Extirpated by COSEWIC in 1978. They were re–assessed as Endangered in May 2000 after initial reintroduction success (COSEWIC 2000). Swift Foxes are protected under Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA; SARA Public Registry 2008). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ranking for Swift Foxes is Least Concern (IUCN 2008b). NatureServe (2008) ranks Swift Foxes globally as G3 (Vulnerable; last reviewed June 2006) and nationally as N1 (Endangered). Both the Alberta Natural Heritage Information Centre (ANHIC) and the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre (SCDC) have designated the Swift Fox as S1 (Critically Imperilled; ANHIC 2008; SCDC 2008).

The Swift Fox is listed as endangered under the Alberta Wildlife Act, which confers protection of individuals through prohibitions on hunting and trapping, as well as the den site. The legislation does not protect habitat apart from the den. This is accomplished through land use guidelines, which are government policy and not based in legislation. These constitute the recommended management practices to “assist land managers, land owners and land users in avoiding or minimizing potential adverse impacts to wildlife from various land use activities.” The guidelines for Swift Fox suggest that all levels of land use activity should be prohibited within 500 m of a den (Alberta Fish and Wildlife 2001) during breeding and kit–rearing season (15 February to 31 July). Outside this period, the guidelines provide advice for approaching dens, disturbing vegetation and incurring long–term habitat changes (Alberta Fish and Wildlife 2001).

In 1999, Swift Foxes were classified as Endangered under the Wild Species at Risk Regulations of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Act. This protects Swift Fox dens (Section 5(1)) and prohibits killing by landowners to protect property or livestock (Section 6(3)). Provincial guidelines also recommend no disturbance activity around dens. During the breeding and kit–rearing period (15 February to 31 August), low (e.g., foot traffic, small vehicles) and medium (e.g., large vehicles, small pipeline construction, operation of compressor stations) disturbances are prohibited within 500 m, whereas high levels of disturbance activity (e.g., construction, seismic exploration, forest harvest) are not permitted within 2 km (SCDC 2003). During the rest of the year, the setback distances from Swift Fox dens are 100 m, 500 m, and 2 km for low, medium, and high levels of disturbance activity, respectively (SCDC 2003).

Most of Swift Fox range in Canada is unprotected. Because Critical Habitat has not been identified, there is no habitat protection for Swift Foxes under SARA under Section 58(1) at this time. About one–sixth of the Canadian Swift Fox population resides within the boundaries of Grasslands National Park (Moehrenschlager and Sovada 2004), making them federally protected. For the Border population, 40% (38 of 84) of all captures and 73% (38 of 52) of Saskatchewan captures were in townships containing PFRA lands (Moehrenschlager and Moehrenschlager 2006). Ninety percent (18 of 20) of the Swift Fox captures in the GNP population were in townships with PFRA and/or Parks Canada lands. Energy development activities have, however, been able to proceed on some PFRA lands.

In the US, Swift Foxes were petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act; however, in 2001 the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decided the listing was unwarranted (USFWS 2001). Swift Foxes are legally protected in 10 US states. Once considered extirpated in North Dakota, recent sightings have prompted the North Dakota Fish and Game Department to list Swift Foxes as a Level II Species of Conservation Priority (Fecske 2008).