My Reflections on the Release of the "Birds at Risk" Report

For over a year, I have worked with colleagues with National Resources Defence Council and Boreal Songbird Initiative on writing the Birds at Risk: The Importance of Canada’s Boreal Wetlands and Waterways.

It is good to see it out in the public forum. Though I’ve lived most of the my life in southern Canada, I have spent considerable time in the boreal region, first as a Park Naturalist on Lake Superior, and afterwards as an atlasser for the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario – both in the early 1980s, and between 2001 and 2005, with the Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas in 1987, and a range of other trips both related to work and pleasure.

I’ve learned that canoeing is the only viable means of getting around in the summer, that in the Hudson Bay lowlands, even with gloves, long sleeves and a bug net over my head, 64 black flies can bite me under my watch band in one day, that there can still be ice along some of the rivers in late June, and most importantly that the vast forests and river systems are not uninhabited, but rather part of the homelands of First Nations peoples. The bugs, the rapids and the sudden changes in temperature do not scare me . . . but the red tinted water escaping from the mine tailings empoundment, the sickly smell of herbicides from aerial spraying and the distant din of machines do.

I am one of those auditory birders – though I enjoy seeing birds, I love hearing them and find great satisfaction in knowing their voices. The sound scape of the boreal wetlands is unequal for drama and beauty. The Common Loon’s song is at the top of the most emotive and haunting sounds on earth. Add to this the melodic flute-like refrains of Hermit Thrushes, a cheery chorus of White-throated Sparrow, the staccato explosiveness of a Connecticut Warbler’s song, and the emphatic “Whip-three-beers” of the threatened Olive-sided Flycatcher, and you have, in my view, the perfect symphony.

Sadly, members of the orchestra are dropping out as pressures to exploit the rich resources of the boreal accelerate destruction and change, and climate change tightens its grip on these northern biomes.

As manager of bird conservation programs for Nature Canada, I know that part of our mission is to be a voice for nature, including the species that are being silenced. We hope that the messages from this report will be discussed, debated and inform decisions related to this precious biome. This is our chance as a country to make a difference for our children, and their children with our largest ecological contribution to the earth’s health, our boreal forest.

Major victory in Northwestern Ontario for nature and First Nations rights

Yesterday, the Ontario Superior Court made a very significant ruling that appears to be a major victory for nature and for First Nations communities in Northern Ontario. The essential point of the decision is Justice Mary-Anne Sanderson's declaration that the Ontario Government cannot take away the rights of the Grassy Narrows First Nation, as described in Treaty Three, by authorizing development including logging and mining. Grassy Narrows First Nation was among the first to suffer significantly from the effects of mercury poisoning when the English and Wabigoon River systems were polluted by a notorious Dryden pulp mill in the 1970s.

In a press release by the Anishinaabe First Nation about the court decision yesterday, there was a call on the federal and provincial governments to "honour the spirit and intent of this decision by moving to eliminate clearcut logging in Grassy Narrows Traditional Territory and to develop a meaningful new approach to the management to this territory in partnership with Grassy Narrows."

For Nature Canada, this decision is very encouraging, and we hope that it begins a new era and approach in the north that puts the rights of First Nations, and the protection of their culture and the environment ahead of industrial development.

Advancing Nature Conservation in the North

Earlier this month, Nature Canada was officially recognized as a Partner in the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy (NWTPAS).

As a partner, Nature Canada joins a group comprised of Aboriginal organizations, federal and territorial governments, environmental non-governmental organizations, and industry that oversee a conmmunity-based process to establish a network of protected areas across the Northwest Territories.

Using the best available traditional, ecological, cultural, and economic knowledge, the NWTPAS aims to identify and protect special natural and cultural areas and core representative areas within each of the 42 ecoregions of the Northwest Territories. Since the Strategy was signed in 1999, six new National Wildlife Areas have been proposed in the Northwest Territories through this process.

“The NWTPAS is an invaluable forum for identifying and advancing landscape conservation goals in the North,” said Alexander MacDonald, Nature Canada’s manager of protected areas. “We are honoured to participate in this process as an official partner. Our hope is that together, we can ensure National Wildlife Areas are established where they are most appropriate for wildlife and northern communities through a balanced approach to conservation and economic development.”

The most recent National Wildlife Area proposal calls for the protection of a largely aquatic area on the north arm of Great Slave Lake, called Kwets'oòtł'àà. The proposed National Wildlife Area lies about 50 km west of Yellowknife, and overlaps with the globally significant North Arm of Great Slave Lake Important Bird Area where Tundra Swan, Canada Geese and other waterfowl, as well as at-risk Wood Bison, Boreal Woodland Caribou, Wolverine, Rusty Blackbird and Common Nighthawk live. Kwets'oòtł'àà is also the northernmost known breeding area for Caspian and Black Terns.

Following the proposal for a candidate National Wildlife Area from the Tłįcho Government last year, Environment Canada is applying for a five-year interim withdrawal of surface and subsurface lands in the study area this summer.

Once approved, this will ensure that among other limitations no new mining or oil and gas rights can be established for the land beneath the proposed Kwets’oòtł’àà National Wildlife Area during the planning process for the protected area.

National Wildlife Areas are sites that contain “nationally significant” habitat for migratory birds, support wildlife or ecosystems at risk, or represent rare or unusual wildlife habitat for a given biogeographic region. They also perform important natural services – they filter and store fresh water, and limit the effects of climate change.

National Wildlife Areas are established and protected under the Canada Wildlife Act and managed by Environment Canada or another designated department or organization, including First Nations and Aboriginal organizations. Due to the increased pressure the Northwest Territories has faced in the past decade to develop northern resources, establishing National Wildlife Areas is one way to ensure the wildlife, habitat, and cultures of this area are protected and sustainably managed.

Nature Canada’s new role as an NWTPAS Partner reflects our ongoing work to advance the conservation value of National Wildlife Areas in Canada. In addition to national parks (Nááts’ihch’oh and Thaidene Nene) and territorial protected areas, the new National Wildlife Areas proposed in the Northwest Territories form part of an important core of northern protected areas that will preserve ecological and cultural values in perpetuity.

“We are inspired by the NWTPAS vision, ‘the land takes care of us, we take care of the land…’, and are enthusiastic about forging new relationships and learning through this important conservation planning initiative,” said MacDonald.

Red Knot Suffers Rapid Decline: Latest Report

A new draft report on the status of the Red Knot has been released -- and the news isn't good.

Except for a slight increase seen in 2009, the number of rufa knots (an imperiled subspecies) wintering in Tierra del Fuego has been in decline for the last decade. This year's update reports one of the sharpest declines yet, from 16,260 birds in 2010 to now 9,850 – a nearly 40% loss. There's also apparently no evidence that horseshoe crab numbers are recovering; their eggs provide critical nutrition for knots as they refuel on the U.S. mid-Atlantic Coast en route to Arctic breeding grounds.

The draft report is available here.

The Red Knot is one of many bird species that stop over along the coasts of Hudson and James Bays before migrating south to destinations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Protecting birds along their flyway – the route between breeding and wintering areas – is the cornerstone of global bird conservation. The health and integrity of these sites are important in maintaining stable and thriving populations of migratory birds. Engaging these northern communities is an important step toward protecting these birds.

That's why Nature Canada's manager of bird conservation, Ted Cheskey, has travelled repeatedly in the past year to the region, where we're working with First Nations communities to find ways of protecting migratory birds that nest, breed and feed in Important Bird Areas in Cree homelands.

Nature Canada attends reception for 'Thaidene Nene - the Land of the Ancestors'

Yesterday evening Nature Canada staff had the pleasure of attending a reception for a new national park proposed in the Northwest Territories. The proposed park, called Thaidene Nene and formerly known by the moniker East Arm of Great Slave Lake, covers approximately 33,000 square-kilometres and has been a topic of discussion - and a source of controversy - between the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Parks Canada for almost 40 years.

The Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Parks Canada have "recently initiated a dialogue to jointly protect lands and waters" of Thaidene Nene, the "Land of the Ancestors." A framework agreement for this dialogue was signed in April of this year, committing the Government of Canada and the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation to work as partners toward a Thaidene Nene Establishment Agreement. With a projected two-year timeline on formal discussions (began in September), boundary studies and negotiations, this Establishment Agreement will lay the groundwork for Parliament to officially decide on a national park designation.

The goal of last evening's reception was simply to "introduce and explain this great Canadian landscape" to various audiences here in Ottawa. Representatives from the NGO sector, the mining sector and various federal government departments were invited to the event, which was hosted by the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and Member of Parliament for Western Arctic, Dennis Bevington.

We were grateful for this opportunity to hear about the cultural, ecological and spiritual significance of Thaidene Nene directly from Lutsel K'e Dene Elders and community members. Each presenter spoke of the need to protect Tsan’kui Theda, the Lady behind of the waterfall, and the lands around her to ensure that the land would always be there to provide for the people, just like it always has. Lutsel K'e Dene Councillor Terri Enzoe, who spoke at the event, shared that "[o]ur elders and the leadership have long maintained that we have a responsibility to protect Thaidene Nene to ensure that our way of life can persist into the future. Given the progress we have made over the past year, we hope that this dream can soon become a reality, and that all Canadians can be inspired by this great place."

You can read more about Thaidene Nene in presentations by Steven Ellis of the Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation and in research led by geographer Nathan Bennett. Also, stay tuned to Nature Canada's blog and our e-newsletter to learn more about how you can participate in public consultations around the creation of this new national park.



Photo 1: Larry Innes, Executive Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative, at the 2007 NWT land withdrawal ceremony, which focused on withdrawals for both proposed Thaidene Nene National Park and the proposed Ramparts River and Wetlands National Wildlife Area.

Photo 2: Wolverine, one of Canada's intrepid northern mammals that calls Thaidene Nene home.

Looking Deeper Into Fish Lake

  

Grizzly bears are one of the
species identified by the
Prosperity Review Panel
that would be adversely affected
by development at Fish Lake.



The government of Canada made a good decision earlier this week when it turned down a proposal for an excessively damaging mine at Fish Lake, British Columbia. Nature Canada congratulated Environment minister Jim Prentice for respecting the conclusions of the federal environmental assessment of the project, and for respecting the will of First Nations about land use in their territory. Looking deeper into the context of that decision reveals some important insights and implications.

Environmental assessment works
While the process of environmental assessment may seem mysterious from a distance, Nature Canada has been up close and personal with it many times over the years and we are convinced it works. Environmental assessment allows independent panels to consider expert testimony, reach conclusions about the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project, and identify mitigation measures that could limit the damage. The resulting recommendation to the government (and it is only a recommendation) can range from approval of the project, to approval on the condition that certain mitigation measures be required, to rejection of the project as proposed.

Politics happens
The government must then decide whether or not to accept the recommendations about the studied project, and this is where the hard facts of environmental assessment meet the vagaries of politics. The government can follow the recommendations completely, partially, or not at all. But thanks to the public nature of the assessment process, we the citizens know whether or not our government is approving projects that destroy our environment. This is where the vagaries of politics meet accountability to the voters. In the case of Fish Lake, Minister Prentice deserves credit for doing the right thing for Canada, despite pressure from within his own caucus to do otherwise.

More to come
Nature Canada is very engaged in two other environmental assessments that are awaiting a response from the federal government: proposed gas drilling in the Suffield National Wildlife Area, and the proposed Mackenzie gas project.

In the case of the Suffield NWA, the environmental assessment report concludes that the proposal to drill 1,275 gas wells would interfere with the purpose of the National Wildlife Area. It also recommends that the government complete overdue work to identify the critical habitat of species at risk, and take other conservation action even if the project does not proceed. We are hopeful that Minister Prentice will accept all of this panel's recommendations too, reject the gas drilling project, and take other actions to better protect the national wildlife area.

In the case of the Mackenzie gas project, the federal government has been accused of attempting to secretly make the panel rewrite some of its recommendations. This suggests a lack of appreciation for a key feature upon which citizens depend: the independence of environmental assessment panels. We congratulate the panel for standing up for the their independence in the interest of Canada. We hope Minister Prentice will show leadership and convince his cabinet colleagues to accept the panel's report. You can help us encourage the government to stop the Mackenzie Gas Project and to instead establish protected areas in the Mackenzie Region that will be safe from development.

Changing the rules
Parliament will soon be undertaking a review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. There is cause for concern, since the government already used the budget bill to weaken the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act earlier this year. You can be certain that Nature Canada will be working to ensure the review results in a stronger act, not a weaker one.

Back to the lake(s)
The decision about Fish Lake is a good news story, and we hope it does not go down in history as a rare exception. A loophole in the law that protects fish habitat, the Fisheries Act, allows the government to exclude some lakes from the protections of the act and let mining companies use lakes as dumps for toxic mining waste. A handful of lakes has been targeted so far, including Fish Lake in BC and Sandy Pond in Newfoundland and Labrador. We are concerned that this loophole threatens pristine lakes across Canada. Now that Fish Lake has been spared, it's time to take action on the others.

Government Rejects Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine; A Victory for Fish Lake

Nature Canada is pleased to learn of the Government of Canada's decision to reject Taseko Mines Ltd.'s proposed gold-copper Prosperity Mine in British Columbia. The proposed mine would have led to the transformation of Fish Lake into a 'tailings impoundment area', i.e., a mining waste dump site, under the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) of the Fisheries Act.

We applaud Environment Minister Jim Prentice for considering the adverse environmental impacts of the proposed mine, as concluded by the Federal Review Panel, as well as respecting the importance of Fish Lake to the Tsilhqot'in First Nation.

In an announcement made yesterday, Environment Minister Jim Prentice said "the significant adverse environmental effects of the Prosperity project cannot be justified as it is currently proposed."

There are now questions on the future of mining investments in BC according to an article in The Vancouver Sun

Environmental Groups and First Nations take Legal Action Against the Federal Government to Protect Caribou

Yesterday, lawyers representing First Nations (Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Enoch Cree First Nation and the Beaver Lake Cree Nation) and environmental groups (Alberta Wilderness Society and the Pembina Institute) filed two separate applications for a judicial review to require the immediate protection of woodland caribou in the tar sands producing regions of Alberta.

They are going to argue that the federal government, Environment Canada in particular, failed to protect the caribou herds of northern Alberta and that the Minister of Environment failed to issue an emergency order to protect caribou from further development in the area. In addition to this, a recovery plan for caribou under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) is long overdue – it should have been done in 2007.

First Nations, represented by lawyer Jack Woodward of BC law firm Woodward and Company, decided to take legal action after the government failed to address their concerns. In a letter they sent to Minister Prentice on July 15, they wrote that if the government had not ceased to give out development permits and developed an emergency plan for caribou by August 27 they would take legal action. Their letter had also included findings from a study carried out by Stan Boutin from the University of Alberta suggesting that caribou herds were facing extinction.

This is the second time First Nations have intervened this year with respect to lack of caribou protection. Earlier in March the West Moberly First Nations won a case against the BC Government to protect the Burnt Pine caribou herd from a proposed coal mine.