From Ontario Nature:

A new report from Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) confirms that the removal of provincial habitat protections has created an imminent threat to the Piping Plover’s recovery at Wasaga Beach. This is what experts have been warning about for more than a year.

The report identifies beach management activities, including mechanical raking, as an immediate threat. Proposed developments, including an eco-resort, marina and amusement deck, could further jeopardize the species’ recovery.

Since returning to Ontario in 2007 after a 30-year absence, Wasaga Beach has become the province’s most important nesting site. Approximately 70 per cent of Ontario-fledged Piping Plovers that have survived to adulthood originated from this stretch of shoreline.

In April 2026, Ecojustice on behalf of Environmental Defence CanadaOntario Nature, filed a judicial review application, followed by an urgent injunction motion in July 2026. After the injunction was filed, the Town of Wasaga Beach gave the Court a legally enforceable undertaking to avoid specified damaging activities in the critical habitat through October 31, 2026.

The federal report confirms what conservation organizations and experts have been saying: recovery is highly unlikely without immediate intervention.

Now, the federal government must act to protect this endangered shorebird and its habitat.

: Click here to read our full statement and background information: https://ontarionature.org/news-release/federal-environment-ministry-finds-imminent-threat-to-endangered-piping-plover-following-ontario-deregulation/