Federal Government Must Prevent Extinction of Sage-Grouse in Canada

The stunning Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus urophasianus) is facing extinction in Canada. It could disappear from Alberta within a year if action for its protection is not taken immediately.

Today, through a legal petition issued on our behalf by Ecojustice, Nature Canada called on the federal Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Peter Kent, to recommend that Cabinet issue an emergency order to prevent further degradation of Greater Sage-grouse critical habitat and take the necessary measures to ensure the survival of this iconic species.

We are joined in this effort by 11 other conservation organizations, including our partners in the Canadian Nature Network, Nature Alberta, Nature Saskatchewan, Grassland Naturalists and Lethbridge Naturalists Society, as well as our US partner in BirdLife International, the National Audubon Society-Rockies.

We're also calling on the public to send letters in support of immediate action to save the Sage-grouse.

The Canadian population of Sage-grouse declined by almost 90 per cent between 1988 and 2006. By 2010, there were only 42 males at 2 active breeding grounds or “leks” in Saskatchewan. In Alberta, there are thought to be only 13 males remaining with the total provincial population estimated at approximately 30 birds in 2011.

The alarming population decline of Greater Sage-grouse demands immediate attention both to prevent the species from disappearing from Canada and because of what it tells us about the mounting habitat degradation in Canada’s grasslands. In Alberta, only 30% of native grasslands remain. Less than 2% of Alberta's grasslands natural region is protected, yet it supports 70% of the mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian species at risk in that province. Greater Sage-grouse are indicators of the health of Canada’s shrub-steppe and Great Plains ecosystems. Measures taken to protect and restore sage-grouse habitat will benefit many other species at risk including: Burrowing Owl, Swift Fox, Badger, Sprague’s Pipit and Great Plains Toad.

The Greater Sage-grouse has long been the subject of fascination and research because of its elaborate and spectacular courtship displays. In early spring, males congregate in large numbers at areas referred to as leks to perform their annual courtship rituals. The male's notorious "strutting display" is described as a series of forward struts, "wing swishes", inflations and deflations of the throat sac while making popping and whistling sounds, fanning out of its tail and erecting its head plumes while throwing its head back and forth.

Females rear their young on their own with no help from males. The average clutch size ranges from six to nine eggs and the incubation period is 25 to 29 days. The Greater Sage-grouse's young are precocial, meaning they leave the nest soon after hatching.

The Greater Sage-grouse reside in warm, dry, grasslands, as sagebrush, which grows in the described area, is their main food source. Although young and adult birds will feed on other plant species and some insects in the summertime, sagebrush consists of 47-60% of the adult bird's diet in the summer and 100% in the winter.

Sage-grouse need large blocks of unfragmented sagebrush grassland habitat to thrive. Their range in Canada has been reduced to only 6% of its historic extent because of loss and degradation of this habitat. Sage-grouse are now found only in the southeast corner of Alberta and southwest corner of Saskatchewan.

Sage-grouse are highly sensitive to disturbance. Recent scientific research suggests that rapid encroachment of oil and gas development on the areas where Sage-grouse spend the winter, breed, nest and raise their young is the leading factor in their extreme population drop. ­

Alberta and Saskatchewan each have a Wildlife Act and voluntary guidelines for energy development near sage-grouse habitat, but provincial protections are so lax that Sage-grouse continue to decline.

Under section 80 of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA), the federal Cabinet has the power to make an emergency order to protect important habitat of an endangered species anywhere in Canada. The emergency order can prohibit any activities that may harm the species or the habitat necessary for its survival or recovery. Under SARA, the federal environment Minister has a mandatory duty to recommend that Cabinet make an emergency order if he or she is of the opinion that the species faces “imminent threats to its survival or recovery”.

In addition to seeking federal protection for sage-grouse under SARA, we are calling on the oil and gas industry to voluntarily provide sage-grouse with the protection they need. You can learn more about Greater Sage-grouse, read our petition and send a letter to Environment Minister Peter Kent asking for immediate emergency action to prevent this shameful extinction!

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.

Show Your Plaid - Win an Eco-Adventure!

Want to support nature conservation and win an eco-adventure?

We've talked about Keith's Green Initiative in April posts, but for those who might have missed it, the initiative is a way for you to help nature and win great prizes. Alexander Keith's is helping Canadians go green by giving them the chance to win up to $1,000 each to donate to one of four deserving eco-charities.

How can you help?

SHARE the initiative on Facebook and Keith’s will donate $1 to Nature Canada, Waterkeepers Canada, Trees Ontario or NSLC Adopt-a-Stream.

PURCHASE specially-marked 24 IPA packs - and 15 -bottle mixer packs of Alexander Keith’s beer and receive a PIN that unlocks a donation amount between $0 and $1,000. Keith’s will donate this amount on your behalf to Nature Canada or one of three great causes. Enter your PIN on Keith’s Facebook page to reveal your donation and enter to win a Keith’s Eco-Adventure!

Burrowing Owl

How will your donation be used?

By choosing Nature Canada, your donation will help protect wilderness for the Burrowing Owl, Woodland Caribou and more than 600 other endangered species in Canada.

Just over $4,000 has been donated to Nature Canada so far – help us reach $5,000 this Victoria Day weekend!

Thank you for your support!

Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods in Haiti’s Macaya National Park

Haitian children attend a school rebuilt by Nature Canada and its Partners

Nature Canada’s Director of Conservation, Mara Kerry, is on the Caribbean Island of Hispaniola this week to pay a visit to Nature Canada's conservation and development projects in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

We've been working with our BirdLife partner in Haiti, Haitian Audubon Society, on an integrated conservation and development project supported by the Canadian International Development Agency.

One of our projects has involved rebuilding the local school in Formon, hiring teachers and providing free education to the children of parents who adopt sustainable forest management practices.

Mara took the time to send us this video clip of her visit to Formon, in which the children thank Audubon and Nature Canada.



The community of Formon is on the edge of Macaya National Park, an important wintering habitat for Canadian migratory birds like the Bicknell’s Thrush, a secretive and threatened songbird that breeds in Atlantic Canada. Threats to the songbird, which has declined in Maritime Canada (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) by 15% annually over the last two decades, include atmospheric pollution, climate change and loss or degradation of its forest habitats.

The project provides an incentive – children attend school for free if their parents agree to stop cutting down the forest and help with reforestation – for the community to adopt sustainable forest management practices which relieve pressure on important habitat for migratory birds. Over 80% of the parents have agreed, and for second year in a row, the school has offered hope for 300 girls and boys.  

Our work is also supporting projects that help bring water to the community, freeing up hours of daily excursions to collect water, which is mostly done by girls in the community.



In addition, four tree nurseries have been established for agroforestry and reforestation of areas of the Macaya National Park that have been degraded. The park is one of few small patches of forest remaining in Haiti. The forest plays a critical role in supporting the surrounding communities – the forest provides clean water and clean air, prevents erosion and helps mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Supported by BirdLife and Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) grants, these projects improve the lives of the people of Formon while protecting and conserving Haitian forests and migratory birds. They are part of a coordinated effort to conserve areas across a bird's entire hemispheric range - the only truly effective way to conserve migratory bird populations like the Bicknell's Thrush.

We will be hearing from Mara as she visits the Dominican Republic next week, so stay tuned!

Study Outlines Steps to Protect Declining North American Landbird Populations

Crested Wood Partridge by Nathan Rupert

A recent study carried out by scientists from Canada, Mexico and the United States found that of the 882 native landbirds shared across borders, 17% (148 species) need immediate conservation action.

The report, Saving Our Shared Birds, an initiative of Partners in Flight, assessed the status of all 882 shared landbirds, and used their findings to rank the vulnerability of each species.

The 148 species identified as most vulnerable include:

• 44 species having limited distributions
• 80 tropical species which depend on deciduous, highland and evergreen forests in Mexico
• 24 species that occur in temperate-zone forests, grasslands and aridland habitats during the breeding season.

Hawk-eagles, wood partridges, Cyanolyca jays and macaws are some of the birds included in the list of 148 species. As is the case for biodiversity, habitat loss is the greatest threat to these birds.

The report concludes with six steps that Canada, Mexico and the United States must take to reverse the trend of declining North American landbird populations:

1. Protect and recover species at greatest risk by establishing protected areas and fully implementing endangered species laws.

2. Conserve habitats and ecosystem functions through policy changes that result in more sustainable agricultural, forestry and urban planning practices.

3. Reduce bird mortality by adopting measures that are effective in reducing bird mortality from collisions with windows or tall buildings, poisoning from pesticides and unsustainable hunting and trapping.

4. Expand our knowledge base for conservation by acquiring a better understanding of bird distribution patterns; connectivity between locations; population responses to management practices; and the cumulative effects of human-caused bird mortality.

5. Engage people in conservation about birds, and encourage the participation of local communities through citizen science programs and programs that promote the benefits of conserving birds to those who depend on them for their well-being.

6. Increase the power of international partnerships by sharing and transferring information and knowledge through partnerships such as regional alliances, international joint ventures and community-based partnerships, as well as develop new mechanisms to engage business, industry, and NGOs.

We hope the Government of Canada will adopt these recommendations, and by doing so, make significant progress towards the conservation of North American landbirds.

Canada's Sahtu Region: Conserving the Land and Waters of the North



Migrating Snow Geese by Stewart Marshall (via Flickr)

A land use plan for the Sahtu Region of the Northwest Territories has entered into its third draft, and with it comes hopes that important cultural and ecological zones will be protected before major industrial development begins.

In comments issued last month, Nature Canada recommended that several ecologically significant spaces, including three Important Bird Areas, be given special status as Conservation Zones.

The need to establish protected areas in the Northwest Territories is all the more important as communities there prepare for the possible advent of the Mackenzie Gas Project – one of the largest, most disruptive projects ever considered in Canada's north.

Important Bird Areas in the Sahtu Region

The Northwest Territories contains 17 Important Bird Areas, three of which are located inside the Sahtu Settlement Area: Lower Mackenzie River Islands IBA, Middle Mackenzie River Islands IBA, and Brackett Lake IBA. All three IBAs are currently designated as special management zones, and Nature Canada has recommended they be redesignated as conservation zones in the land use plan.

These IBAs represent important breeding habitat for significant concentrations of several species that could currently be left vulnerable to disturbance from development. The Lower Mackenzie River Islands IBA is a major stopover along the Western Central Flyway, hosting as many as 112,800 waterfowl and about half a million snow geese in spring.

The Middle Mackenzie River Islands IBA is visited by birds such as the Great White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Tundra Swans, as well as many duck species during annual spring migrations. Up to six percent of the global population of Snow Geese congregates here.

Brackett Lake IBA provides excellent breeding habitat for ducks and is used by roughly two percent of the Canadian White-fronted Goose population.

Edaííla and Colville Lake

Edaííla, also known as Caribou Point, is a very important area for the people of Déline, and the NWT as a whole. The area rests on a massive 8,700 square kilometre headland that divides the east side of Great Bear Lake and is a key site during the annual migration of the Bluenose-East herd of barren-ground caribou. The area holds critical cultural and ecological significance for the people of Délįne and other NWT and Nunavut communities and represents important caribou and fish habitats in the region. In fact, Edaííla encompasses the entire Grandin Plains ecoregion, spanning boreal forest, boreal transition and tundra habitat types.

There has long been substantial community interest in permanently protecting both the surface and subsurface areas of Edaííla. In fact, the people of Déline endorsed a failed proposal to designate Edaííla as a National Wildlife Area (NWA). Nature Canada has strongly recommend that Edaííla, in its entirety, be listed as a conservation zone to safeguard the ecological and cultural richness of the area for future generations, while ensuring that proposals to amend the Plan over time will not jeopardize the area.

Nature Canada has also recommended that the Colville Hills area, home to the community of Colville Lake and approximately 120 km northeast of Fort Good Hope, NWT, be designated a conservation zone, given that the region offers critical breeding habitat for a significant number of ducks.

The completion of a land use plan will give Sahtu residents a tool to balance cultural, economic and environmental interests – before major industrial activity begins. The plan will take effect upon approval by the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Government of Canada.

Learn more about the Sahtu Region and Nature Canada's recommendations about the latest draft of the land use plan.

At Least Some Mines Get Fines Instead of Permits Under the MMER

Last week, Saskatchewan’s La Ronge provincial court declared Claude Resources Inc. guilty of three offences under the Metal Mining Effluent Regulation (MMER) of the Fisheries Act in relation to activities at Laonil Lake. The Saskatchewan-based mining company’s Seabee gold mine in northeastern Saskatchewan violated the MMER by: 1) depositing an acutely lethal effluent; 2) exceeding prescribed limits for effluents that contain total suspended solids; and 3) failing to report that their monitoring tests showed exceeded limits.

Apparently, Environment Canada and Saskatchewan Environment have tried for some time to get the company to become more compliant with regulations but without success. As a consequence, legal action was taken and Claude Resources Inc. was fined $90,000, of which $40,000 will be paid as a fine, and $50,000 to be given to the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.

Canada’s lakes and rivers are facing an imminent threat from Schedule 2 of the MMER which was introduced in 2002. Schedule 2 is a list of Canadian lakes that were reclassified as “tailing impoundment areas” - a mining waste site, under the MMER of the federal Fisheries Act.

There are prohibitions in place thast prevent the pollution of waters known to be fish habitat listed under section 36 (3) of the federal Fisheries Act. However, dumping is permitted under section 5.1(a) and Schedule 2 of the Fisheries Act’s MMER. Schedule 2 of the MMER allows lakes listed under it to be exempt from protection against the “depositing deleterious substances” into fish habitat under section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act. To date, there are 15 lakes in the provinces of Manitoba, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut listed under Schedule 2.

For more information on Schedule 2 and related blog posts click here.

A Conservation Action Plan for Bicknell's Thrush

Bicknell's Thrush ©T. Brant Ryder/
Vermont Center for Ecostudies

An international alliance of scientists, conservationists and governments plans to protect the Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) across its entire range from Canada to the Caribbean.

With a very small breeding population limited to eastern Canada and New England states, and a wintering population dependent on the mountain forests in a handful of Caribbean countries, Nature Canada believes we have a shared responsibility for this species' conservation.

We have already contributed, through an integrated conservation and development project, to on-the-ground conservation of Bicknell's Thrush wintering habitat in Macaya National Park in Haiti. And we continue to look for opportunities to engage communities in protecting this at-risk species.

Bird Studies Canada, our Canadian co-partner in BirdLife International, has been a key proponent of this project in Canada.

The International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group proposes to increase the global population of the species by 25% over the next 50 years, mostly by preventing further loss of its breeding and wintering habitats. The plan establishes specific conservation and research actions over the next 5 years, including:

• Partnering with timber companies and managers of public lands in North America to develop and implement practices that enhance Bicknell’s Thrush breeding habitat, which includes high-elevation forests of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, New England and New York.
• Conducting scientific research to monitor and predict the impacts of climate change on Bicknell’s thrush habitat.
• Improving the protection of currently occupied winter habitat and develop management plans for key forested areas on Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico, including restoration of degraded habitats.
• Strengthening links with local partners in the Caribbean and expand funding for on-the-ground conservation projects throughout the winter range.

Bicknell's Thrush has one of the most restricted breeding ranges among the forest birds of North America. Its wintering range is likely to be equally or even more restricted. This medium-sized thrush was originally assessed in 1999 as a species of Special Concern in Canada and is now considered Threatened (COSEWIC).

The species faces range-wide habitat pressures, as it is vulnerable to ongoing and future planned management practices such as pre-commercial thinning in regenerating forests that reduces cover for nests and increases nest predation. Mountain-top wind energy projects on breeding grounds have also reduced the suitable high-elevation habitat for these birds in North America, while removal of forest on wintering grounds in the Greater Antilles has restricted the species almost exclusively to a handful of Important Bird Areas in that region.

For more information on A Conservation Action Plan for Bicknell's Thrush, read the full press release.

Protect Canada's "Pocket Desert"!

The desert grasslands of the South Okanagan are home to over one-third of British Columbia's endangered species and other species at risk, including the bighorn sheep.

As the human population in the South Okanagan rapidly increases, the bighorn sheep's home is under growing threat by suburban sprawl and agricultural expansion. The time to act is now.

Help Us Establish a South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve!

Fact: There are more species at risk in the South Okanagan-Similkameen Valley than in any other part of BC, including white-headed woodpeckers, burrowing owls, badgers, tiger salamanders, spadefoot toads, pallid bats, spotted bats, flammulated owls, scorpions, and great basin spadefoot toads.

Fact: The South Okanagan-Similkameen Valley contains part of the Interior Dry Plateau Natural Region, also known as Canada's "pocket desert", one of the most endangered habitats in the country. The valley is all that connects the dry landscapes of BC's interior with the desert lands of the United States, allowing species to migrate north and south.

Fact: A national park would permanently protect 5 Important Bird Areas, each of which is home to at-risk bird species and other endangered plant and animal species.

Help protect Canada's only desert ecosystem. Ask the Canadian Government to create a National Park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen Valley.

Another Fake Lake?

Mining company Taseko plans to reclassify two interior BC waterbodies, Fish Lake and Little Fish Lake, as tailings impoundment areas (toxic waste dump sites!) and create an artificial lake as compensation for the resulting loss of fish habitat. However, a recently released report from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency reviewing the Project stated "that the Project would result in significant adverse environmental effects," calling into question Taseko's plans.

One specific adverse effect of reclassifying Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and Y'anah Biny (Little Fish Lake) into tailings impoundment areas is "the destruction of approximately 90,000 rainbow trout" which is "an important food source (for First Nations) when salmon populations are low." The creation of the replacement lake, called Prosperity Lake, would not "adequately mitigate the losses of the fishing and recreational experience at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake)," the Panel found.

The Tsilhqot'in First Nation, local community, and environmental groups are strongly opposed to the Project for numerous reasons.

The creation of tailings impoundment areas out of pristine Canadian lakes and rivers has received more attention as industry further exploits the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations, Schedule 2 "loophole" of the federal Fisheries Act. Some lakes that were destined to perpetual toxicity are being spared, such as Bamoos Lake in northern Ontario. Others require long legal battles and strong public support with an unpredictable end, such as Sandy Pond, in Newfoundland.

The plaintiff in that case, the Sandy Pond Alliance (including Council of Canadians, the Sierra Club of Canada, the Newfoundland and Labrador Natural History Society, MiningWatch Canada, and others) is arguing that "it is illegal for the federal government to allow the dumping of mining waste into Canadian lakes and rivers." The Alliance hopes to put an end to the practice of converting Canadian lakes into mining waste dumps once and for all.

If they succeed, Taseko will have to explore other waste management options around the Prosperity Lake Project. MiningWatch Canada has more information and details on how to send a letter to the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Environment and your MP to deny approval to this damaging project.

This blog post was contributed by Nature Canada volunteer Stefan Kohut. Thanks for the update, Stefan!

Photo: Highland Valley Copper Tailings Dam by Gord McKenna/Flickr

IBAs Used as Indicator in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals Report

Whooping Crane flock, USFWS, Dave Menke

Important Bird Areas (IBAs), one of BirdLife International’s major Global Programmes, have been used as a key indicator to assess Goal 7, ensuring environmental sustainability, in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. Given that IBAs are discrete sites that support specific groups of birds: threatened birds, large concentrations of birds, and birds restricted by range or by habitat, they serve as good indicators demonstrating the progress towards the protection of threatened species habitat.

The report recognizes the important contribution IBAs make to conserving biodiversity and achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). "The UN report recognizes the critical role that BirdLife’s data can play in focusing action and tracking progress towards environmental sustainability", said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's Global Research and Indicators Coordinator. "It is a tribute to the dedicated efforts of the BirdLife Partnership and others in gathering and analyzing information on the world’s birds and the key sites for their conservation."

According to the report more than two thirds of IBAs are not protected or only partially protected; the rate of biodiversity loss is not slowing down; mammals are more threatened than birds; and both mammals and birds in the developing world are more threatened than those found in the developed world.

Canada's IBA program started in 1996 with a five-year effort that focused on site identification and designation. There are currently approximately 600 IBAs across all Canadian provinces.

Court Ruling Against BC Government - Protection of the Caribou

On March 19, 2010 British Columbia’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of the West Moberly First Nation’s petition against the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and First Coal Corporation’s proposed coal mine plan that would have had significant impacts on critical habitat of the nationally endangered Burnt Pine caribou herd in northeast BC. Treaty No.8, a northern treaty signed in 1899, played a significant role in the ruling given that the Crown failed to thoroughly consult the West Moberly petitioners and also failed to accommodate their rights – especially their hunting rights. In the words of the Honourable Justice Williamson:

‘The consultation was not sufficiently meaningful, and the accommodation put in place was not reasonable.’

Chief Roland Willson, of the West Moberly Nations, expressed his gratitude towards the court’s decision saying it was able to stop both the federal and BC governments from evading their obligations to protect the caribou under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). The BC government was ordered to immediately put in place a ‘reasonable, active, program for the protection and augmentation of the Burnt Pine herd’. The lack of a satisfactory consultation for the proposed coal mine has led to a mandatory adequate consultation - except this time it is not for a coal mine but for the protection of the Burnt Pine caribou herd. They have 90 days to present this. The crown shall consult with the West Moberly people as well as ecologists and biologists from the Ministry of Environment whom are to be referred to by West Moberly.

Andrew Gage of West Coast Environmental Law said this ruling may be the cause of a series of similar events where First Nations intervene and push governments to protect species across the country.

There are currently ONLY 11 caribou left in the Burnt Pine herd. Hopefully, the new plans will make it possible to repopulate this herd.

The Reasons for Judgment can be found at the following link:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/10/03/2010BCSC0359.htm

Nature Canada Welcomes Establishment of Mealy Mountains National Park

We did it! Thanks to your support, we're congratulating the governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador on their announcement today to preserve over 13,000 square kilometres of boreal habitat in eastern Canada.


Nature Canada has been working towards the establishment of a National Park in the Mealy Mountains for more than 15 years, and we couldn't have realized this success without all of our members who have written letters, signed petitions and joined campaigns to create this newest national park.


The National Park in the Mealy Mountains of Labrador will be the largest in eastern Canada. The permanent protection of such a large area of boreal forest ensures at-risk species like the Woodland Caribou and the Harlequin Duck have the habitat they need to survive.

Our Director of Conservation, Mara Kerry, is in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to celebrate this announcement with Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Charlene Johnson, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Minister of Environment and Conservation, who also announced a waterway provincial park to protect the Eagle River.


Welcome Mealy Mountains as Canada's newest national park!

Read our official news release here.

Photo by Garth Lenz