Piping Plover habitat protection order

Summary#

The Critical Habitat of the Piping Plover melodus subspecies (Charadrius melodus melodus) Order: SOR/2026-183 is a federal order under the Species at Risk Act that protects certain beach, dune and intertidal habitat used by the endangered Piping Plover. It makes it illegal to destroy that identified habitat on specific federal lands as of August 28, 2026 (the day the order was registered).

What it does#

• Prohibits the destruction of Piping Plover critical habitat on federal lands identified in the Amended Recovery Strategy and Amended Action Plan 2026.
• Covers habitat types named in the recovery plan: intertidal zones, beaches (backshore), and first dunes, mapped within 1 x 1 km grid squares and specific beach areas.
• Applies to about 44 federally administered sites (grouping 55 properties) across Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Excludes reserve lands and lands set apart for the use and benefit of a band under the Indian Act.
• Means some activities will require a permit (a SARA permit) before they can proceed if they might destroy habitat. Examples of activities that can destroy habitat include:
  • coastal development or construction;
  • use of motorized vehicles on beaches (off-road vehicles, dirt bikes);
  • beach nourishment, beach cleaning or raking;
  • shoreline stabilization that changes natural sand movement or slope;
  • compacting or removing sand, wrack, driftwood, shells, or sparse vegetation.
• Leaves national parks, national wildlife areas and migratory bird sanctuaries protected by other published descriptions under the Species at Risk Act unchanged.

Who's affected#

• Federal departments that manage the lands in question, including Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Department of National Defence (DND), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) and Parks Canada.
• People who use or manage those federal beaches and shorelines — for example, maintenance crews, navigation infrastructure operators, and places with recreational use (including a site with golf course uses).
• Beach users in those places: residents, visitors and people who use motorized beach vehicles or who do activities like beach grooming. The order may limit or change some of those activities on the listed federal lands.
• Indigenous communities whose traditional territories overlap the habitat. Reserve lands with identified habitat are excluded from the Order, and the Order’s makers consulted Indigenous partners; no Indigenous party formally opposed the Order in the consultation summarized in the regulatory statement.
• The federal analysis did not identify new costs for businesses or Indigenous peoples; most costs are expected to be borne by the Government of Canada.

Why it matters#

• The Order aims to stop activities that would destroy the specific beach and dune features the endangered Piping Plover needs to survive and reproduce. That helps the species’ recovery and can also protect other coastal plants and animals that use the same habitat.
• Protecting dunes and natural shorelines has practical benefits: they help reduce coastal erosion, provide habitat for other species, and can act as a buffer against storm surge and flooding.
• The federal government expects to spend up to $373,000 over 10 years on permits, processing and enforcement related to this Order (including up to $250,000 for enforcement costs). Permit application and processing estimates include figures such as $3,300 per application and $4,700 per permit processed, and other possible one-time mitigation costs (for example $11,000 at one site).
• This protection supports wider conservation goals, including Canada’s aim to protect 30% of land and waters by 2030, and contributes to biodiversity and coastal resilience.