Polar Bear Numbers Could Decline by 30% in One Year: Study

A new study from Dr. Andrew Derocher, one of the world’s leading polar bear authorities, predicts that polar bear populations may crash in one year by 30%. Derocher warns that the bears will starve as the number of days adults are forced to fast increases while they wait for Arctic sea ice to return.

From the Toronto Star:

Scientists factored in the shrinking sea ice, which affects how many seals the bears can eat before they hibernate and how easily they can find mates. Without enough food or opportunity, mating is less successful, fewer, less robust cubs are born, and teenage bears spend longer “wandering around trying to find something to eat.”

All of that information can be subjected to “some fairly advanced math” to create data tables that chart the estimated time of death by starvation for adult male polar bears.

Typically 120 days in the 1980s, the time polar bears have to spend fasting has increased by about seven days per decade and is continuing to increase.

While 3 to 6 per cent of polar bears in the Western Hudson Bay die during a 120-day summer fast, 28 to 48 per cent would die if it reached 180 days, the study found. The fast occurs because polar bears depend on frozen sea surface to cover distances.

Arctic sea ice is shrinking by up to five per cent every ten years – sea ice that not only provides hunting ground for polar bears, but shelter and transportation for seals, walrus, arctic foxes, and the Inuit people. The underside provides a surface for algae that supports cod, char, beluga, and narwhal. The white sea ice also has a cooling effect on climate by reflecting light away from Earth’s surface. As it melts, global warming advances even more quickly.

The United States designated the polar bear as threatened in May 2008. Canada's scientific Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada places them in a less serious category, as a species of special concern, and they are not included on Canada's official Species at Risk list. Regardless of its current official status, the polar bear’s habitat is under assault from the effects of our climate crisis, which, if not reversed, will mean the end of this iconic species within our lifetime.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the polar bear to its "Red List" of the world's most imperiled wildlife in 2006. In 2009, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) cited climate change as the greatest challenge to the conservation of polar bears, and concluded that 1 of 19 subpopulations is currently increasing, 3 are stable and 8 are declining. For the remaining 7 subpopulations available data were insufficient to provide an assessment of current trend.

You can send a letter to Environment Minister Jim Prentice asking him to add the polar bear to Canada's official species at risk list. Here is a sample letter that you can send.

Less Than 2 days Left to Enter the Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest

Participants are welcomed to submit multiple entries but they must be submitted online or received in the mail no later than 4:00 PM Eastern (1:00 PM Pacific) on May 28, 2010.Hurry up and submit your nature inspired work of art, writing, or photography and you could win a week-long stay at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, hosted by Parks Canada, gifts from Scholastic, Panasonic, and Opus Framing and Art Supplies, cash prizes, and the opportunity to have their work published in the 2011 Get to Know Contest Calendar. For more information, visit www.gettoknow.ca.

International Day for Biological Diversity

Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity and there are many celebrations taking place around the world. This year’s theme, “Biodiversity for Development and Poverty Alleviation”, was chosen during the International Year of Biodiversity to step up efforts in raising awareness on poverty and bring about action to alleviate it.

The theme also makes obvious the link between biodiversity loss and poverty; we all depend on biodiversity for our well-being one way or another, but many poor communities directly depend on biodiversity for their daily sustenance. Should we fail to address the issue of biodiversity loss more seriously, these communities, as well as many vulnerable countries, will be the ones most affected by our shortcomings.

BirdLife International, of which Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner with Bird Studies Canada, has taken this opportunity to showcase a series of projects from the BirdLife Partnership’s work around the world that are aimed to improve livelihoods while conserving biodiversity.

“It is within the reach of this generation, not the last one, not the next one, to turn the tide of the massive and growing ecological crisis that is worsening poverty for millions of people and threatens all life on Earth”
-- Dr. Marco Lambertini, BirdLife International’s Chief Executive

Another great quote that reinforces Dr. Lambertini's with respect to this generation's responsibility is that by Zig Ziglar:

"Our children are our only hope for the future, but we are their only hope for their present and their future"

We would also like to share with you three great cartoon drawings by Rory McCann, a young artist who has developed a strong appreciation for nature, in celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB).

Cartoons by Rory McCann

Endangered Piping Plovers Return to Sauble Beach

Nature Canada supporter Kim Toews and her son, Brendan, have been providing us with updates on the return of Piping Plovers to Sauble Beach in Ontario for several years. Here is their first update for 2010:

Brendan and I are extremely happy to report that the Piping Plover have once again returned to Sauble Beach for the 2010 season! This is their fourth consecutive year (2007-10) in a row!

Below is a brief update on what's been happening with the birds this year:

April 15, 2010 - Last year's south nest male (M1) is the first plover to arrive back on the beach.

April 19, 2010 - Last year's middle nest female (F1) arrives back.

April 21, 2010 - The plovers seem to be spending more time together feeding and checking out scrapes (nests). The male (M1) has constructed at least three scrapes but preferred one over the others. After feeding and resting, the male moved to his favourite scrape and called consistently. Three times today the female (F1) moved to the scrape and sat in it while the male mantled (flared his wings close to her). He soon gained an upright stature (looked very tall) and began to goose step.

April 26, 2010 - Courtship Behavior

This behavior, although specific to this 2010 Sauble Beach pair, has been observed similarly several times with other pairs from previous years.

At some point after resting and/or feeding the male moves across the beach to an area he chooses to make a scrape. The scrape is made by throwing sand in all directions, hollowing out a shallow nest-like structure.

The male then begins to ‘pipe’ constantly while sitting in the scrape or stands close by.

The female, after a suitable time, moves towards the male and sits in the scrape.

The male mantles by spreading or flaring his wings either over the female or close to her. He then moves to her side or rear and assumes an upright posture (stands tall) and begins to goose step rapidly – so fast in fact, that it is easy to miss if not watching closely. The male moves close to the female and often ‘kicks’ her side or tail feathers. If the female is receptive, the male mounts her back and may then attempt to copulate. We have observed this behavior several times when copulation doesnot seem to occur. Once the male tumbled forward off the female.

April 28, 2010 - Last year's middle nest male (M2) arrived back on the beach. There was lots of magnificent territorial display between the two males. It was non-stop for nearly 10 hours. The birds ran side by side, ran around each other – taking turns, flew in loops up and down the beach sometimes chasing sometimes looping over the female (F1).

At the beginning (M1) was by far the aggressor. When the three birds came in close contact, the female joined in chasing the second male (M2) away. In fact, this same male (M2) had a successful nesting with female (F1) in 2009.

April 29, 2010 - This year's first arriving male (M1) was clearly separated from the other two by at least 10 meters. Lots of courtship behaviour observed between second arriving male (M2) and first arriving female (F1).

May 1, 2010 - Confirmation of a fourth plover on the beach. A male (M3).

May 2, 2010 - Three plovers on the beach – no sign of our new-comer (M3).

May 5, 2010 - First egg! Confirmation of the first egg (F1 and M2).

May 6, 2010 - A second female (F2) arrived on the beach and has paired up with the first male (M1). Later on today, the perimeter fence was installed. The first female (F1) should be laying the second nest egg later today (every two days). So we have one nesting pair and a second pair. We will hope for a second nest soon. A Guardian information meeting was held with presentations from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Canadian Wildlife Service.

May 7, 2010 - Territorial flights mid morning and several stand-offs between the two males. Crows and foxes are in the area.

Two large Piping Plover signs were installed just inside the beach entrance. A class of Outdoor Education students arrived and they were shown the plovers through a scope. The students viewed the birds for 20 minutes. We talked about the plovers and what the students could do to help. We are focusing on Grade 6 students this year and have developed a learning unit about this rare, endangered species.

May 12, 2010 - We have one established nest this season (F1 and M2). We have a single male (M1) who had a mate (F2), but the female seems to have left or at least we have not seen her for several days.

The guardian program has been reintroduced with four shifts per day. There will be an announcement soon about a special guardian welcome and training session presented by MNR and CWS.

Thanks for sharing these on-the-ground observations with us, Kim! We look forward to hearing more about the Piping Plovers throughout the season.

Photos by Brendan Toews, btoewsphotos.zenfolio.com

Wind Farm on Wolf Island is killing large numbers of birds and bats

Stantec Consulting Inc. has just released a very important study on post construction impact of a wind farm with 86 2.3 megawatt wind turbines on Wolf Island near Kingston, Ontario on birds and bats. The data on which the assessment was made was collected between July 1 and December 31, 2009, or the "reporting period."

In short, the result of the monitoring reveals shockingly high numbers of fatalities of both birds and bats. Here are the facts stated in the report: over 600 birds were killed, equivalent to 6.99 birds per turbine for the "reporting period", and 1278 bats, or 14.7 per turbine. The reporting period was six months and did not include the massive pulse of birds in the spring migration or wintering raptors. The casualties included 8 Bobolinks, 28 Tree Swallows, 7 Purple Martins, 3 Red-tailed Hawks, 6 Turkey Vultures, 2 American Kestrels and a Merlin, among other species. Bat fatalities included 54 Hoary Bats, 44 Eastern Red Bats and 36 Silver-haired Bats. It is interesting and very troubling to note the selective impact these turbines are inflicting on certain groups of animals, such as the aerial insectivorous birds like swallows and martins which are in serious population declines, raptors, and migratory bats.

The Stantec report converted the fatality rate into birds or bats per megawatt per reporting period, rather than the more standard birds or bats than per turbine per year as is traditionally used. This reporting technique, that I would call spin, diminishes the shockingly high impact of these structures. As turbines get bigger and more efficient at generating energy, our tolerance for their impact increases, according to this flawed logic.

Many proponents of wind power, including CANWEA, quote studies that cite two birds per turbine per year as the impact of turbines. Indeed it was birds and bats per turbine per year that was the standard metric used for reporting impact. If we see through the spin of the report in using birds/bats per megawatt per "reporting period", there is no denying the impact of this project is too high and beyond tolerance.

In the meantime, Prince Edward County, including the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area, Amherst Island, Wolf Island (both Important Bird Areas), offshore locations near the Duck Islands, and many areas along Lake Erie and elsewhere in the Country have either existing or proposed wind farms. We hope that this report, and the stir it will cause, will wake up those agencies charged with protecting our wildlife to put brakes on the chaotic expansion of wind farms into places that they clearly should avoid. Wind energy is a good idea. Let's "keep good ideas in good places." In the wrong places - Important Bird Areas and migration corridors for example - wind energy is a bad idea and our wildlife, which does not have a voice, continues to pay the price for our lack of foresight and greed. I fear that the Stantec report will be the first of many that will chronicle this sad legacy that we are creating.

Photo credit:
Merlin by Marty Burke

Only 8 Days Left - Submit your Entry Now!

The 2010 Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest is coming to a close soon! If you are 19 or younger be sure to submit your work of art, writing, or photography.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Biodiversity” in honour of the International Year of Biodiversity.

Prizes include a week-long stay at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, hosted by Parks Canada, gifts from Scholastic, Panasonic, and Opus Framing and Art Supplies, cash prizes, and the opportunity to have their work published in the 2011 Get to Know Contest Calendar.

For more information, visit www.gettoknow.ca. The contest closes May 28 2010.

Sable Island will be a National Park

The news has been leaked!

According to news reports here and here, Sable Island -- haven for migratory birds, home to wild horses, and known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic by sailors -- will become a national park.

Bottom line, this is good news. Important bird habitat will receive permanent protection. But conferring national park designation upon this tiny strip of coastal dune habitat is not without its challenges. The biggest potential problem: more people.

From the Globe and Mail:

Until now, anyone who wanted to visit Sable Island needed a permit from the Canadian Coast Guard, which holds jurisdiction over the island under the Canada Shipping Act. Fewer than 100 people arrived on the island each year under the old system, because getting there isn’t easy. Sable experiences up to 127 days of fog annually and can be reached only by chartered boat or plane. But interest from tourists has been increasing...

The risk of increased visitors that comes with the island’s national park designation really underscores the need for a park management plan that strictly limits visitor numbers and outlines timing of visits, visitor activities and services, to ensure the island is truly protected in the long term.

Photo: Ipswich Savannah Sparrow, by Zoe Lucas, Sable Island Green Horse Society.

Sable Island May Receive Permanent Protection Tomorrow

Sable Island, a narrow stretch of globally important bird habitat located approximately 300 km offshore from Halifax, may be granted permanent protection status as either a national park or national wildlife area, when Environment Minister Jim Prentice makes an announcement tomorrow afternoon.

The word “sandbar” cannot convey the majesty of Sable Island’s biodiversity. Over 330 bird species have been sighted here, including virtually the entire breeding population of Ipswich Savannah Sparrows. Thousands of Arctic and Common Tern nest on site, as do thousands of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, which prey on the terns’ young with alarming success.

The sandbar supports more than 175 plant species and 600 catalogued invertebrates. The marine areas support diverse mammals, including 50,000 breeding Grey Seals. Sable Island’s only terrestrial mammals—and its most controversial and famous residents—are several hundred wild and unmanaged horses.

Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada designated Sable Island an Important Bird Area over a decade ago, and we’ve been trying to secure greater protection for this highly valued natural space ever since. Though the island doesn’t face the same development pressures that many other Important Bird Areas do, uncontrolled access to the island can disturb nesting birds and accelerate erosion of the sandbar.

Turning the island into a protected area is definitely good news. But a national park or wildlife area could open the island to public access and may increase the risks of erosion and habitat degradation on the island's fragile 34 square kilometre, largely coastal, dune ecosystem. Currently, the few human inhabitants of Sable Island conduct research for environmental monitoring.

A new national park or wildlife area would require strict site management, visitor education and enforcement guidelines to safeguard the island's ecological integrity. Additional investment in federal protected areas programs would also be necessary to properly steward and manage the new park or wildlife area.

We’re waiting eagerly to hear the details in tomorrow’s announcement!

Saving Our Shared Birds Report is a Call to Action

A cooperative of government agencies, non-profit groups and researchers known as Partners in Flight has issued a tri-national call to action to save North America's birds.

In the first ever assessment of landbird species in all three countries -- Mexico, Canada and the continental U.S -- 148 bird species were found to in need of immediate conservation attention because of their highly threatened and declining populations. For example:

• The most imperiled birds include 44 species with very limited distributions, mostly in Mexico, including the Thick-billed Parrot and Horned Guan.


• 24 at-risk species that breed in the United States and Canada are in particularly dire straits, including Cerulean Warbler, Black Swift, and Canada Warbler.


• 42 common bird species have steeply declined by 50% or more in the past 40 years, including Common Nighthawk, Eastern Meadowlark and Loggerhead Shrike.
  

International bird conservation partners from the United States, Canada, and Mexico released the report on May 11, at the Fifteenth Annual Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. (Our executive director Ian Davidson was there on Nature Canada's behalf).

The three countries that make up North America are home to 882 native landbird species, more than one-third of which depend substantially on habitats in more than one country. The abundant birdlife we enjoy in Canada enriches our culture and economy, as does birdlife in the U.S. and Mexico. The biodiversity of which birds are a part provide immeasurable -- and irreplaceable -- ecosystem services that we humans depend on, gifts we often take for granted.

There's simply no way that bird species, who know no borders, can possibly be saved without international coordination.

The Partners in Flight report, Saving Our Shared Birds: Partners in Flight Tri-National Vision for Landbird Conservation, is also a call to action to protect, restore and enhance North America's populations of birds and bird habitat. You can read the details online, but here are the headlines:

1. Protect and recover species at greatest risk
2. Conserve habitats and ecosystem functions
3. Reduce Bird Mortality
4. Expand our knowledge base for conservation
5. Engage people in conservation action
6. Increase the power of international partnerships

Learn more about Partner in Flight's Ontario Landbird Conservation Plans, or read a New York Times blog piece on the new report.

Photo: Canada Warbler, John Kormendy

Global Biodiversity Outlook 3: A look at biodiversity across the globe

Earlier this week the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) released their 3^rd edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook – GBO-3, a publication that summarizes the status and trends of biodiversity around the world. Data in the report is based on approximately 120 national reports submitted to the CBD by its member Parties.

The report concludes that biodiversity continues to decline on all three of its levels – genes, species and ecosystems.

Some of the major findings:

- 44% of waterbirds with known trends are in decline

- 42% of all amphibian species AND 40% of bird species are declining

- An estimated ¼ of the world’s terrestrial habitats were being destroyed from1980-2003

- Approximately 12% of the world’s land are designated Protected Areas

- Inland ecosystems, such as wetlands, rivers and lakes, have experienced more change than any other ecosystems

- 21% of the world’s 7,000 live stock breeds have been classified as being at risk

- An approximate 500 million to over 1 billion people rely on corals (covering 1.2% of the world’s continental shelf) for food

The GBO-3 commends Canada for its significant increase in Protected Areas - 210,000 km² since 2002. However, it blatantly points out the world's failure to meet the 2010 Biodiversity Target:

‘The target agreed by the world’s Governments in 2002, “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth”, has not been met.’

Photo: Coverpage of GBO-3

Hey, it's Migratory Bird Day - more or less, so let’s celebrate!

Don’t you feel great these days! It is spring; the tulips are flowering en masse in Ottawa; winter parkas are giving way to skirts and shorts; the fruit tree blossoms are perfuming the neighbourhood parks; lots of reasons to rejoice. However, what I enjoy most is hearing for the first time of the year the familiar voice of a bird migrating through my yard, or a nearby wood announcing that it is back. Likely last spring or summer was the last time that voice was heard. Many of these birds are transients, moving through our cities, yards and farms, on their way north, most likely to the boreal forest. The seasonal bird migration in many parts of the world is amazing, awesome and inspiring. Not surprisingly, some people have made a big celebration out of the annual bird migration. International Migratory Bird Day was founded in 1993 by the US Fish and Wildlife Dept., the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology to celebrate and raise awareness of bird migration. Festivals and events have been promoted in many countries of the Americas around this day, typically around the 2nd weekend of May though it has become less and less important what actual day it is.

In 2006, the World Migratory Bird Day was founded by the United Nations Environment Program and African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement as an answer of sorts to the popular Americas program. It is growing in popularity and is sponsored also by BirdLife International, of which Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner along with Bird Studies Canada who are celebrating their 50th anniversary in a few days.

In Canada the migration of birds is one thing that defines our country. Take the massive boreal forest as an example. It covers about 60% of the country from Newfoundland to British Columbia, to the Mackenzie delta in the Northwest Territories. Birds are essential to the healthy ecology of the boreal as consumers of defoliating insects, dispersers of seeds from plants, and general keepers of the forest. The healthy growth of trees is intricately linked to healthy songbird populations. The pulse of life that infuses the boreal each spring, that brings out the swarms of midges and blackflies, also brings these birds back from their tropical wintering area to raise families and reproduce successfully.


Ninety percent of the birds of the boreal leave it each year to migrate south. Most of the ducks and waterfowl in the boreal end up in the southern United States or Mexico, or along the Atlantic or Pacific coasts. The coastal wetlands of the southern US that is currently threatened by the BP Oil spill is one of the most important destinations for our waterfowl and other wetland birds including the herons, bitterns, and rails. For our boreal songbirds including as the flycatchers, vireos, swallows, thrushes, warblers, and sparrows that breed there, the top five winter destinations are:
USA 1,150,000,000
Mexico 680,000,000
Brazil 200,000,000
Columbia 110,000,000
Venezuela 60,000,000

Then there are real long-distance migrants, the terns and the millions of shorebirds - or "sandpipers" as some people call them. Most of the shorebirds that have long-tapered wings which carry many of the them from the Canadian Arctic to coastal or inland destinations in South American or even Europe or Africa. The Arctic Tern pictured above migrates to Tierra del Fuego

Migratory birds link us together, across continents, across cultures, across time and space. The Wood Thrush that I hear singing its heart out in Gatineau Park was sharing its habitat only a month ago with Manakins, Elenias, and Antbirds in mid-altitude tropical forest in Nicaragua. The Purple Martins nesting near the Ottawa river may have come all the way from Sao Paulo State in Brazil and made that phenomenal 9,000 to 10,000 kilometre trip in less than three weeks! So, if that bird you hear has the cool and gentle sway of a samba rhythm in its voice, or the festive energy of a Mariachi band, maybe it is telling you something about where it lives when not in Canada!

Indeed we have much to celebrate because of our migratory birds. We also have much work to do to protect individual birds, their populations and their species. The work, like the birds, must be international in scope. So, for the time being, enjoy the migration. Contemplate its scale and magnitude. Learn about the feats that birds perform to migrate such distances. Reduce risks to birds migrating through your yard or neighbourhood (see FLAP website) Attend a bird festival somewhere near you. However, most importantly, tune into the migration now, and connect yourself to something much greater than you can imagine!


Photos by Shutter Stock
Photo 1 Sandhill Cranes
Photo 2 Arctic Tern

Get Trim and Lean while Making your Building Green

It’s not always easy to live green or have that beach-ready body you’ve been dreaming about. Well now you can rest easy because you can do your part for the environment whilst reaching your fitness goals. Environmentally friendly gyms have been popping up a little bit everywhere lately. Even basketball superstar Steve Nash has gotten into the green fitness business.

These eco-friendly gyms are built or retrofitted to comply with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED) standards or are Greenguard certified. Commonalities between these green gyms include rubber flooring made from recycled car tires, roof-top solar thermal water panels, the use of locally available materials that contain recycled material, energy-efficient appliances and fitness equipment, biodegradable cleaning products and low-toxin [VOC-free] materials.

One gym in particular has pushed the envelope when it comes to green gyms. Go Green Fitness (Orange, CT), which opened last December retrofitted its 25 spinning bikes to generate energy. Each bike is equipped with a generator that creates electricity that is fed through a converter box and into a local grid and each spinning class ends with the announcement of the total wattage produced.

Hopefully this green fitness trend will continue to grow and we’ll have new green innovations to promote.

Wee Wilderness Warblings - Summer update on Canada's new national parks and protected areas

As spring rapidly passes into summer, many of us are starting to think about camping trips, hiking, canoeing, and a whole host of other great, self-propelled outdoor activities. And what obvious 'playground' do many of us - especially city-dwellers - consider for these activities? Well, National Parks and other protected areas, of course!

So, I thought I'd write a wee, warbling update on what's been happening lately with respect to protecting Canada's amazing wild spaces. You can use this for 'wilderness inpiration' as you're planning your outdoor adventures for the coming summer. And if you're planning to visit Wood Buffalo National Park, watch out for the world's largest beaver dam!

Since December promising progress has been made on some new national parks (NPs) and national marine conservation areas (NMCAs), as well as progress on some 'older' new initiatives, too. Here's a rough timeline of selected wilderness conservation highlights over the past few months:

December 2009:

• Minister Prentice announces launch of Feasibility Study for the proposed Lancaster Sound NMCA in Canada's arctic. In early April fears arise that a Geological Survey of Canada plan for a 'seismic seabed survey' for oil & gas deposits will derail the NMCA proposal and negate the $5 million investment for Parks Canada's Feasibility Study. This is not the case and the survey may actually accelerate the Feasibility Study.
  

January 2010:

• Canada celebrates the 125th anniversary of National Parks in the country.
  
• Minister Prentice signs MOU with Nova Scotia to work toward NP or National Wildlife Area designation for Sable Island.
• Parks Canada issues a request for proposals "to identify representative marine areas" in the Bay of Fundy Marine Region, which may lead to an NMCA proposal being developed for the area.
• Minister Prentice announces launch of public consultations around 3 boundary options for proposed Nááts´ihch´oh NP Reserve in NWT, which will protect the headwaters of the South Nahanni River. Did you comment on the boundary options? This will be the final step in protecting the Greater Nahanni Ecosystem forever!
• Government of Canada and the Council of The Haida Nation sign the Gwaii Haanas Marine Agreement, moving toward establishment of the proposed Gwaii Haanas NMCA Reserve.
  

February 2010:

• Government of Canada signs MOU with Newfoundland & Labrador to explore boundary options for proposed Mealy Mountains NP Reserve in Labrador.

March 2010:

• Minister Prentice suggests that Parks Canada deserves a Gold Medal in conservation achievements. Let us know if you agree by taking part in our related Twitter poll.
• A "national conservation plan" is vaguely cited in the Speech from the Throne...
• No direct mention of $$ for new parks establishment in Budget 2010.
  

April 2010:

• Parks Canada, Nature Canada and the Historica-Dominion Institute jointly announce the 'My Parks Pass' program aimed at getting all Canadian 8th graders into our NPs, NMCAs and National Historic Sites.
• Minister Prentice announces negotiations with Qikiqtani Inuit Association of an Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement, a key step forward in establishing the proposed Northern Bathurst Island NP Reserve, a process that has been underway since before 1996!
• Government of Canada signs Framework Agreement with Łutsel K’e Dene First Nation, moving toward park establishment agreement for the propose Thaidene Nene NP Reserve in NWT, formerly known as "East Arm of Great Slave Lake".

May 2010

• No new NP- or NMCA-related announcements yet, but we're looking forward to Ministerial announcements on any of the following areas (or others):

1. Proposed permanent protection for Sable Island (Nova Scotia)
   
2. The proposed South Okanagan-Similkameen NP (British Columbia)
   
3. The South Coast Fjords NMCA area of interest (Newfoundland & Labrador)
4. The proposed Southern Strait of Georgia NMCA (British Columbia)
5. The proposed îles de la Madeleine NMCA (Québec)
6. The Manitoba Lowlands NP area of interest (Manitoba)
7. The Wolf Lake (Gooch Aa) NP Reserve area of interest (Yukon)

Keep an eye on Nature Canada's website, our blog and my Twitter page to find out more about new protected areas across Canada.

Enjoy your wilderness adventures this summer!

The COSEWIC Spring Meeting - Updates on At-Risk Species in Canada

In April, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) met in Victoria, British Columbia to assess the risk of extinction for 51 Canadian wildlife species.

A highlight on some of the species that were reviewed during the meeting:

The Whooping Crane

100% of the naturally-occurring global breeding population of the Whooping Crane is in Canada. The Crane was on the brink of extinction until efforts by Canada and the US allowed the species to repopulate. Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the entire nesting habitat for the only wild population of Whooping Crane. The Canadian breeding population of Whooping Crane, which is a small one, is confined to a limited breeding area and only one wintering location, making the species more vulnerable to catastrophic events and human threats, according to COSEWIC. There are fewer than 250 individuals and the species has been confirmed as Endangered (previously assessed as Endangered in 1978 and 2000).

Range: Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba

The Rusty-patched Bumble Bee

This once important, and abundant, pollinator for native plants in southern Ontario is now facing a risk of extinction as surveys over the past decade recorded findings of only 3 individuals – a decline of at least 99% over the past 30 years! According to COSEWIC, the species may be facing a sharp decline as a result of pesticides, disease and parasites, and habitat loss. It has been assessed as Endangered, showing that there is much concern regarding ecologically and economically important pollinators.

Range: Ontario and Quebec

The Monarch

The favorite butterfly of many may be uplisted from Special Concern (previously assessed as Special Concern in 2001) to Threatened in the near future, although the population numbers in the millions to over one billion. Threats to the species are mainly due to logging in its overwintering areas in the Oyamel Fir Forests of Central Mexico where 90% of the population overwinters. The Monarch is also known to overwinter in the coastal regions of California.

Range: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia

Assessments for many vascular plants, molluscs and amphibians were also undertaken. Additionally, the meeting assessed different fishes, highlighting a decline in most Atlantic Cod populations.

The April meeting was the last to be presided by Dr. Jeff Hutchings. Nature Canada would like to take this opportunity to commend and thank him for his great efforts and contributions towards conserving Canada’s biodiversity during his two terms as COSEWIC Chair.

Photos: Whooping Cranes by USFWS-Ryan Haggerty; Monarch by Lynne Epps

Adoption of Bill C-311 in the House

Yesterday, May 5th 2010, the House of Commons voted for the passage of the only federal climate change bill, C-311 (Climate Change Accountability Act), which was introduced in 2009 by MP Bruce Hyer from Thunder Bay – Superior North. The bill urges the government to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels, by 2050. A National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, which the bill mandates, shall be responsible for reviewing and reporting on the 5-year plans to be published by the Environment Minister to meet the 2050 target. "The Climate Change Accountability Act sets firm but achievable targets to reduce greenhouse gas pollution over the next 40 years" said Hyer.

This is a great victory for all Canadians who have been concerned about climate change and a great example of how opposition parties can come together to land on common ground. However, C-311 is yet to pass a Senate vote in order for it to become fully incorporated as a law in Canada and we are asking everyone to continue applying the pressure!

As National Democratic Party Leader Jack Layton puts it:

"It’s a great day for Canada as we finally have a blueprint for greening our future. But we wouldn’t have this victory today without the thousands of Canadians who called and wrote to their Members of Parliament, pushing them to finally adopt meaningful climate-change legislation."

Thank you all!

Embrace Biodiversity and Submit your Entry Now

Celebrate biodiversity by entering the 2010 Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest! The contest launched on Earth Day, April 22 and is open to all young Canadians aged 19 or younger. We invite you to "get to know" local plants and animals and submit your work of art, writing, or photography. The contest is open until May 28 and you could win wild prizes – including a week-long stay at Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, hosted by Parks Canada. Other prizes include gifts from Scholastic, Panasonic, and Opus Framing and Art Supplies, cash prizes (NEW for 2010!), and the opportunity to have their work published in the 2011 Get to Know Contest Calendar. For more information, visit http://www.gettoknow.ca/.

New Book, "Important Bird Areas of the Americas" is a Blueprint for Conservation

Tonight I'll be attending a very important event for bird conservation in Canada in Washington D.C. The event marks the release of a seminal new book, Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of the Americas: Priority sites for biodiversity conservation. The book is a roadmap for conservation that identifies 2,345 top-priority conservation sites in Canada and the 56 other countries and territories within the Western Hemisphere. It provides a blueprint for decisions- makers to make informed decisions on habitat protection and restoration, and I believe it will help enormously in the conservation of both threatened and common species as well as a wealth of wider biodiversity.

The event is hosted by Luis Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, and featured speakers include Henry M. Paulson, Jr., former US Treasury Secretary; Andres Bosso, CEO Aves Argentinas; Frank Gill, President, National Audubon Society; and Margaret Atwood, author and Joint Honorary President of BirdLife International's Rare Bird Club.

The Americas is one of the most important regions for bird conservation, given that it holds almost 40% of the world’s threatened species (11% of the region’s birds are threatened). IBAs are becoming a formidable tool to help governments, the private sector, investment banks and donor organizations to direct conservation funding towards clearly defined priorities. There are nearly 600 IBAs in Canada, including well-known migratory bird staging areas such as Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, and British Columbia’s Boundary Bay, a provincially-designated wildlife conservation area.

This gala reception brings leaders and supporters of BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas (IBAs) program – and of global conservation generally – to celebrate a decade of accomplishment for the BirdLife Americas Partnership, as well as to galvanize support for the future of IBAs and their gifts to birds, biodiversity and people.

I’m very excited about the release of this book and grateful for the work that staff at Nature Canada, Bird Studies Canada and all our BirdLife Partners in the Americas put in over the last few years to get this directory published. We now have a terrific new tool for biodiversity conservation in the Americas!


You can download the book here.