Irony, or does the left hand not know what the right is doing?

The Endangered Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) is one of the rarest birds in Ontario. During the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Ontario 2001 to 2005, there were only 8 possible records of the species in the entire province. For years, a breeding population of this tiny sparrow has persisted in upper New York State, not far from Prince Edward County, near the east end of Lake Ontario. The New York population could well be the “source” population for re-colonization of nearby areas like Prince Edward County.

Henslow’s Sparrow just happens to be one of a few Endangered Species identified by Stantec as a priority for their preconstruction surveying for Gilead Power Corporation. Gilead is applying to build a wind energy plant with nine 140 metre tall turbines in the Ostrander Point Crown Land block in Prince Edward County, Ontario. In the Environmental Review Report of 2009, Stantec reported the following:


An assessment of the Study Area for potential Henslow’s Sparrow breeding habitat was completed. No optimal habitat was identified (Section 3.5.3 of Appendix C1). Three relatively small patches of marginal habitat for the Henslow’s Sparrow were the subject of playback surveys. No Henslow’s Sparrows were detected. The species has experienced significant decline in Ontario, and it should be considered absent from the Study Area.

On the surface, this seems like a reasonable conclusion right? I’m not so sure.



Potential Henlow's Sparrow habitat at Ostrander Point
could become site for 140-metre tall wind turbines. Photo: Ted Cheskey

 In 2010, Gilead applied for a permit to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources – the Ministry responsible for management of the Crown Land Block – to “kill, harm and harass Blanding’s Turtle and Whip-poor-will as well as damage and destroy habitat of Whip-poor-will” as part of their operational plan for the wind plant. As objectionable as this seems, I question why Henslow Sparrow was not on this list also. Here is why.

In the conservation plan that William Wilson and I wrote for the Prince Edward County South Shore Important Bird Area, with the support of a strong local committee, including the local Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources District Ecologist, I learned that a restoration plan for the Henslow's sparrow was written for Ostrander Point Crown Land Block that included brushing and prescribed burning in the late 1990s. It was never made clear if the plan was implemented or not at the time.

It was not until very recently, when reading through the Recovery Strategy for Henslow's Sparrow from Environment Canada that I learned that Henslow's Sparrows were present on Ostrander Point in 1999 and 2000 as a direct result of the implementation of this recovery action! In the Recovery Strategy, this example was used to illustrate how restoration activities could lead to positive results. The MNR supported this restoration work on their land!

Something stinks about a process when we have a government agency, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, invest in successfully restoring the habitat of an endangered species, then turn around a few years later and offer up its habitat for a small and unnecessary industrial wind plant. Why is this process moving forward? Why has it gone this far? Why was it even conceived of in the first place?
 
The turbines are not built yet. Once they are, no longer will this be Henslow's Sparrow habitat, or Whip-poor-will habitat, or Blanding's Turtle habitat, but it will be a serious risk to all birds, including the river of hawks, owls and songbirds that stream through Ostrander Point every fall.


Over this Christmas period, my wish is that the Province or the developer recognizes that this is the wrong place to build a wind farm, and withdraws it before it goes any further. Wind energy should be about good ideas in good places, and this isn't it.

Celebrating Charles Labatiuk’s Life and Legacy

Chuck Priestly, Natalia Labatiuk and Bill Labatiuk at Beaverhill Lake IBA

In celebration of National Philanthropy day in Canada, Jodi Joy, Nature Canada’s manager of legacy giving, shares a story about the legacy of the late Charles Labatiuk.

“I still remember the day of his birth,” said Natalia Labatiuk, “Today would have been his 55th birthday.”

Instead his parents, Bill and Natalia, and myself celebrated Charles’ life and spirit by visiting Beaverhill Lake Important Bird Area (IBA), a place that was so dear and close to his heart. 

On our drive to Beaverhill Lake Important Bird Area, located just outside Tofield, Alberta, I laid eyes on the prairie landscape for the first time, being a Northern Ontario girl myself.  I saw widespread rolling hills and grasslands galore.

Bill, Natalia and I met Chuck Priestly, the Executive Director of the Beaverhill Bird Observatory, at the gate.  We passed by cattle that share this space with shorebirds that migrate through and stop over at the site.  Chuck then toured us through the IBA visiting the “Herrier Highway” where we viewed some juvenile harriers in flight.

Walking past the fence, he remarked on the importance of the fence to ensure protection from the local cow herd that was trampling on nest sites and knocking over nestboxes, thus negatively impacting the success of the nesting birds, and thanked Nature Canada for the funds to erect it.  And we passed by the 200 or so songbird boxes that are maintained and repaired each year.  Next we visited the bird banding station where he updated us on recent monitoring trends.  The lab is over twenty years old and this year's Labatiuk Endowment funds helped repair the roof and upgrade facilities and cabins.

Sitting over lunch we reminisced about Charles' many memories and accolades.  His legacy continues on in the great work being achieved by the volunteers at Beaverhill Bird Observatory.  We wondered about Jeff Howard, the first recipient of the scholarship in Charles' name and Annie Buckton, the 9 year old whose exceptional initiative and volunteerism was also recently awarded, and pondered how this recognition will nurture their own dreams. Bill and Natalia reflected that Charles would be happiest to know that this special space and the birds that depend on it will be protected for others to enjoy for years to come.

What a fitting birthday tribute to Charles. We all hope to be remembered so fondly.

Through a generous legacy gift, the Charles Labatiuk Nature Endowment Fund supports bird conservation work at Beaverhill Lake Important Bird Area, provides an entrance scholarship for a young naturalist for their post-secondary studies in the natural sciences and rewards volunteer excellence.
 

On the Road with IBA Caretakers

Ted Cheskey, our manager of bird conservation, is out on Canada’s west coast meeting volunteer Caretakers who are part of the Important Bird Areas Program. On a visit to the Sidney Channel IBA in North Sidney B.C., Ted had a chance to speak with James Finley, IBA Caretaker, about marine IBAs, being a Caretaker, and his love for the beautiful Bufflehead:



Sidney Channel is a 4 km wide body of water that lies along the extreme southeast shore of Vancouver Island between James Island (and the larger Saanich Peninsula) and Sidney Island.

The Sidney Channel IBA is a terrific place to birdwatch. In one short boat excursion, Ted saw Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Herrmann's Gull, Bald Eagle, Brant Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, and Harlequin Duck, as well as Harbour Seals and Harbour Porpoises. Of particular significance at this site are the large concentrations of Brandts Cormorants during fall migration (just over 1% of the worlds estimated population), and Mew Gulls and Brant during spring migration.

As a Caretaker, James is the eyes, ears and feet on the ground at his IBA. Like other Caretakers, James has been matched to his specific IBA to monitor birds, assess habitats, and conduct conservation activities. He works with local communities, scientists, governments and nature groups to promote Important Bird Areas and to ensure that local conservation ideas are put into action. Hands-on volunteer work from people like James helps build healthier bird communities and more sustainable environments for future generations.

BC Nature, with financial assistance from Nature Canada's Communities in Action Fund, launched the first Caretaker Network in Canada. In 2009, TransCanada Corporation committed $1 million over five years as a national sponsor of the Canadian IBA Caretakers Network, so that today, volunteer Caretakers are in all ten provinces.

BirdLife International began the IBA program in Europe in the 1980s in order to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations. Since that time, BirdLife partners in more than 178 countries and territories have joined together to build the global IBA network. Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada co-deliver BirdLife's IBA Program in this country.

Bufflehead, photo by Vladmir Morozov

This weekend, James and many of his neighbours in Sidney will be celebrating the return of that community’s adoptive bird, the Bufflehead. According to James, who has been observing these birds at Sidney Channel Important Bird Area (IBA) for many years, Buffleheads arrive there and at Shoal Harbour Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Vancouver Island on the 298th solar day of the year, every year. This timing equates to the 15th day of October (except in Leap Years), and October 15 has come to be known as All Buffleheads Day in recognition of the annual migratory event.

So this weekend, take a moment to consider the Bufflehead and the special place it holds in Canada's natural history. If you happen to be in Sidney, British Columbia, join the celebrations for All Bufflehead Day and the 80th anniversary of the Shoal Migratory Bird Sanctuary at Lillian Hoffar Park.

Cairn Energy Oil Spill Response Plans Now Public

Responding to pressure from environmental groups around the world, Greenland has finally released Cairn Energy's oil spill response plans for public review.

Last month, Nature Canada joined 53 other international organizations – including Greenpeace, the David Suzuki Foundation, and Council of Canadians – in sending a letter to Greenland’s Prime Minister, Kuupik Kleist, expressing serious concern over the lack of transparency regarding Cairn’s operations in this unique and fragile region.

Bizarrely, the Greenland government argued it had been necessary to keep Cairn's contingency plans confidential until now because of the "unlawful actions aimed at the safety measures at oil exploration". Greenpeace has launched a number of protests at Arctic drilling operations over the past year.

Cairn's drilling operations -- which so far haven't yielded commercial amounts of oil and gas -- are a real gamble for the pristine wilderness of the Arctic. Walrus, seal, bowhead whale and polar bear habitats could be disrupted and entire remote communities wiped out if a toxic spill eliminates their means of subsistence living.

A spill in this region could be devastating to arctic seabird colonies feeding on the ice floes at Important Bird Areas along Nunavut’s northern coast, Baffin Island or as far south as Labrador. Ivory Gulls, Northern Fulmars, Black-legged Kittiwakes, Thick-billed Murres and many other seabird or water bird species would be at risk.

Cairn's oil spill response plans are being made public even as Shell has admitted that more than 200 tonnes of oil have entered the North Sea after a leak in a flow line leading to the Gannet Alpha oil platform 180 km off Aberdeen, Scotland.
 
In a wearily familiar refrain, the company had at first vastly underreported the scale of the leak, and as for plans to stop the flow? Apparently, the leak is in an "awkward" place, and there are hundreds of tonnes of additional oil in the pipeline, yet to pollute a world-famous colony of bottlenose dolphins in nearby waters.
 
Canada should heed these events and think long and hard before allowing any new offshore drilling, especially in the Arctic, and enact a plan to end our reliance on dirty, polluting fossil fuels in favour of responsible development of clean, renewable energy.

With each new spill, and each inadequate clean-up response, it becomes clearer that even with preventive measures in place, accidents are certain to occur, so it is important to identify places of great ecological significance and permanently protect them. Establishing a comprehensive system of marine and coastal protected areas is essential before development begins, so that irreplaceable natural habitats aren't lost forever to disastrous industrial accidents. Important Bird Areas and existing Migratory Bird Sanctuaries are good starting points to better protect habitats for birds that, in many cases, Canada shares with the rest of the hemisphere.

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.

Review of Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Begins

Photo: Tom Middleton

On July 12, 2011, Nature Canada and BC Nature officially registered to participate as interveners in the environmental assessment review of the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline project. As interveners, Nature Canada and BC Nature will provide information on the impacts that the project could have on birds, bird habitat and terrestrial wildlife to a panel that will ultimately decide whether the project is in the public interest.

As we've said here before, this tar sands shipping project poses unacceptable risks to the ecosystems and biodiversity of the Northern B.C. Coast. There are 28 Important Bird Areas in the Northern B.C. coast and the whole Queen Charlotte Straight is an extremely globally important area for marine birds, other marine animals and fish. This rich ecosystem would be exposed to oil pollution from increased tanker traffic and an impossible-to-rule-out oil spill. The pipeline will also fragment the pristine habitat of boreal birds and other wildlife, including Caribou and Grizzly Bears.

Over the next year or so (assuming no delays) a Joint Review Panel (JRP) will examine the application submitted by Enbridge, as well as evidence and comments from First Nations, individuals, environmental organizations, and other interested persons regarding the project and its environmental impacts. There JRP will hold hearings starting in January 2012 to decide whether the project is in the public interest. The deadline to register as an intervener today, Thursday, July 14, but there are other ways you can  participate and comment.

We hope that the Panel will not allow the project to proceed after considering the impact on wildlife and many other objections to the project, particularly from First Nations. But we're at least a year away from that decision with much work ahead. We will keep you posted!

Canadian and American IBA Programs Have Much in Common - An Interview with John Cecil, National Audubon

As a follow-up to Mara Kerry's post on the National Important Bird Areas meeting in Port Rowan last week, Ted Cheskey, manager of bird conservation, shares his thoughts on the meeting and speaks with John Cecil of National Audubon about the Canadian and American IBA Programs.



IBA Canada partners have been working hard to engage volunteers – called IBA Caretakers – to care for and be the "eyes, ears and feet on the ground" for Canada's IBAs. These volunteers were a focus of the National IBA meeting in Port Rowan last week. Between presentations on monitoring protocols for IBA Caretakers, and animated discussions on habitat definitions, John Cecil, Manager of the Important Bird Area Program with National Audubon sat down with me to discuss his impressions of the Canadian program and the potential of collaborating more closely on bird conservation.

John was a very welcomed full participant in the two-day workshop, held at the spectacular Bird Studies Canada headquarters in Port Rowan, Ontario. He provided us with a good overview of the IBA program history in the USA. We compared notes on challenges and opportunties, and came away feeling motivated to share more – we have much in common with our American IBA colleagues.

We had scheduled the workshop for late April, to avoid the "field season", for many of the participants from across Canada, but still take advantage of migration in this internationally famous World Biosphere Reserve and Globally significant IBA.

I really wanted to interview John outside, but Mother Nature had the last word, throwing high winds and rain at us for most of the workshop, allowing us to happily toil inside without regrets. For the interview, we were able to find a quiet spot in the excellent BSC library to chat for a few minutes.

There were some brief moments during the workshop when the weather was more accommodating. We went on a brief trip on the trail to a lookout over Long Point Bay, and saw thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of ducks, Ruddys, Scaup, Redheads, Canvasback, Buffleheads, Mergansers, Coots, and many more species, all milling about in the bay. The build up in late April was a sign that things were still frozen much further north, where most of these birds breed. Somehow they know this. . . .

Moments like these - being fascinated and inspired by the birds and habitats like Long Point, or sharing and learning from colleagues - are what motivate us to protect our IBAs, and the birds that depend upon them and the surrounding landscapes and habitats.

Workshop attendees, including Ted Cheskey (front row, second from left), Ian Davidson, Nature Canada's executive director (front row, third from left), and Mara Kerry, Nature Canada's director of conservation (back row, 8th from left)

Encouraging Land Protection Announcement from Nova Scotia!

Happy Earth Day!

This Nature Canada employee got an early Earth Day gift in 2011... Yesterday morning the Nova Scotia government released boundaries for two proposed Wilderness Areas in the northern central part of the province – near the isthmian border with New Brunswick. Wilderness Areas are the gold standard in Nova Scotia’s provincial protected areas network, and one of the proposed sites, the Kelly River Wilderness Area, could become the third largest such area in the province!

I'm excited to see this announcement, as I coordinated a grassroots campaign for a new Wilderness Area in the Chignecto region on behalf of CPAWS Nova Scotia several years ago. In addition to CPAWS Nova Scotia, other organizations including Cumberland Wilderness, the Nova Scotia Public Land Coalition and Ecology Action Centre have been calling for permanent protection of provincial crown lands throughout the Chignecto region for years.

I was very lucky to have canoed down the Kelly River with former area resident and professional photographer, Dale Wilson, in addition to visiting parts of the two sites with members of Cumberland Wilderness. Those firsthand experiences proved to me the outstanding conservation potential of crown lands in the Chignecto region. The area is one of the last strongholds of endangered species including the Nova Scotia mainland moose, the wood turtle and Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon.

Here’s a map showing the proposed areas in yellow. Environmental organizations had been hoping that all of the provincial crown lands (shown in light green) would be captured in a single proposed Wilderness Area, but support for industrial use/development in the region (e.g., commercial logging, mineral and oil and gas exploration/extraction, wind energy development) seems to have influenced the current boundary proposals. Nonetheless, the proposed protected areas capture beautiful elements of Nova Scotia’s upland, interior forests and its rugged Bay of Fundy coastline (see photos).

Three globally significant Important Bird Areas are located beyond the proposed wilderness areas, scattered along the coastline of the Cumberland Basin. The new protected areas should play a role in reducing the negative impacts of industrial and other human activities on the waters entering the basin – as well as the fish, birds and other species that frequent them.

The public is invited to submit comments on the boundary proposals as of May 11th 2011, with the deadline for submissions on August 12th 2011. More information is available here. While the proposed boundaries are a good start, including more of the crown lands surrounding the two sites in the final boundaries would better protect important wildlife habitats in the area.

Birders want wind energy, but not in IBAs

Near Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario

In September and early October 2009, Nature Canada carried out a survey to explore Ontario birders perceptions of modern wind energy projects, or “wind farms,” and the impact of these installations on birds. The findings of the survey were published in the December 2010 issue of Ontario Birds, the journal of the Ontario Field Ornithologists (OFO).

Two hundred and sixty four birders from across Ontario and a few beyond completed an online survey. We found that Ontario birders reflect a fairly wide spectrum of interests, income and education, yet share similar concerns about climate change and global warming, and generally see wind energy as an important industry to combat this threat.

The vast majority of respondents (92%) consider it important to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. The concern for global warming appears to translate into strong support for wind energy from approximately 60% of respondents with only 20% not supporting wind energy. Despite the support for wind energy, approximately 60% of the respondents believe that wind energy impacts birds, and an even stronger proportion (70%) believe that wind projects have no place in Important Bird Areas or in avian migratory corridors.

However, we also found that most birders recognize that wind energy in the wrong place can pose a threat to bird populations. The wrong place, in ranked order according to survey participants, includes Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (MBSs), Important Bird Areas (IBAs), National Wildlife Areas (NWAs) and parks. Some birders – over one-third of those sampled – also said they would be discouraged from visiting the iconic birding locations of Point Pelee or Prince Edward Point if wind farms were built near them.

Near Shelburne, Ontario

Nature Canada’s survey comes at a critical time for the future of wind energy in Ontario – with the recent passing of the Ontario Green Energy Act, the number of wind installations in the province will increase dramatically. Wind energy producers are eyeing any location with wind, which of course includes many areas that are well-known for the significance for birds.

In June 2010, the province proposed draft regulations to open up the development of “off-shore” wind farms. The proposed regulations included a five kilometre buffer around all of the Great Lakes shorelines and major islands to protect water intakes as well as important cultural and natural features and functions.

The province already has a mishmash of policies and regulations that can best be described as a “work in progress.” They reflect the conflicting priorities of government agencies, and a continual pressure to adapt to growing local opposition to wind plants, while supporting and promoting the tenets of the Green Energy Act. Once finalized, these regulations will be part of the approvals process of the Green Energy Act, and are designed to lift many of the bureaucratic barriers to developing green energy projects such as wind farms.

Assessment of impacts of wind energy installations has focused on bird mortality, and more recently bat mortality, caused principally by collision with turbine blades. Concerns have also been raised about loss of habitat from installations, which could reduce breeding productivity or reduce survival if birds are displaced from habitat by the presence and construction of turbines, and by the movement of maintenance vehicles, and by the disruption of flight routes caused by avoidance of wind plants.

Gilead Power Corporation, a privately owned wind energy developer, has proposed a wind energy installation, the Ostrander Point Wind Energy Park, inside the globally significant Prince Edward County South Shore IBA near Kingston Ontario, and on provincial Crown land that is also a candidate Area of Natural and Scientific Interest.

The wind park is only a few kilometers from the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area, the only NWA specifically recognized for its importance for migrating landbirds. Environment Canada has described the site where the turbines are proposed as “one of the best areas for birds in southern Ontario.”

For us at Nature Canada, the Gilead project is a good example of a wind energy project that is being proposed in the wrong place – in fact the worst possible place in terms of risk to birds. If approved, we believe the project is likely to have significant impacts on a very rich breeding bird community and on migratory birds that depend on Ostrander Point’s natural habitats.

Nature Canada, and our Provincial Partner Ontario Nature, strongly oppose the project and have urged the Province and Gilead to withdraw it, but so far to no avail.

Across the country, Nature Canada is calling on federal and provincial governments to ensure wind energy projects do not come at the expense of this country’s birds and other wildlife.While it appears so far that most projects have a very minimal impact on bird populations, in the wrong place, projects could be disastrous.

We are already seeing evidence of this at TransAlta’s Wolf Island Turbines, where casualty rates as much as 10 times that of most other wind plants have been documented, with birds of prey such as the Red-tailed Hawk and aerial insectivores like swallows appearing to be particularly vulnerable.

To get wind power right in Canada, we are urging governments to enact policies and regulations that ensure the following:

• Wind turbines and wind farms should not be located in Important Bird Areas or other areas with particular significance to congregating, migrating or breeding birds.

• All wind farm proposals should be subject to an environmental assessment prior to development to assess their impact on all wildlife, including birds and bats.

• Any wind farms that already exist within migratory corridors or bottlenecks should be subject to the best practices for mitigating their impacts on birds, especially during migration season.

Join Nature Canada in calling on the Government of Canada to enact wildlife-friendly green energy policies – sign the petition to get wind power right!

Read more about Nature Canada’s position on wind energy development.

Nature Canada would like to thank OFO for supporting and publishing “What birders in Ontario think about wind energy in relation to birds”, by Nature Canada’s Ted Cheskey and Ahmed Zedan.

Our bird conservation efforts in the James Bay and Hudson Bay region are supported by The Ivey Foundation.

Update from the Field: Nature Canada's Ted Cheskey Reports from Peawanuck

Cheskey stayed with the kind owners of this Northern store in Peawanuck, Ontario

 Ted Cheskey, Nature Canada’s manager of bird conservation programs, is in Peawanuck, Ontario this week, a Cree community located near the confluence of the Winisk and Shamattawa Rivers, about 35 km from the shores of Hudson Bay. Population, 139 souls. Ted is there to explore opportunities to work with the Cree to protect migratory birds of the Ontario and Quebec boreal region, by identifying shared conservation priorities around birds and Important Bird Areas. He took a moment to send us this post:

It’s 9am on Friday, January 28th and I’m in Peawanuk, Ontario.

The sun is barely rising over the south-eastern horizon behind the banks of the Winisk River. It is dead cold – a chilling minus 38. A raven squawks in the distance, and the quiet is broken by the chainsaw-like sounds of snowmobiles starting up. Other than the raven and the family of Gray Jays that sit still atop stunted spruce trees like Christmas ornaments, no other birds appear to be around. This is in sharp contrast to the spring, summer and fall when birds abound – tens of thousands of Snow Geese and Canada Geese nest closer to the Hudson Bay Coast. 

Peawanuck is a relocated community. The community of Winisk experienced severe flooding about 25 years ago, and as a result, residents formed the new community of Peawanuck, further upstream. The Community is preoccupied here with cleaning up old military and radar bases. The military legacy here is hundreds of rotting barrels filled with PCBs and other contaminants.
 
The Cree of Peawanuck, and other communities along the coast, are very connected to the land. They hunt snow geese in the spring, geese in the fall, as well as other wildlife such as caribou and sturgeon.

Numerous globally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are located along the coast, and many are recognized as staging areas for thousands of shorebirds on their epic migrations to South America.  Other IBAs on the Hudson Bay and James Bay coasts are recognized for the waterfowl – mainly geese and some species of ducks – that they support.  These birds breed, molt and feed there, fattening up for their long migrations – they also provide an essential source of food to many families in the coastal communities.


Nature Canada would like to see these important habitats protected from all types of industrial development that we believe will one day be eyeing this coastline.

Right now, life goes on as usual, and issues such as the clean-up of the old bases, remain the priority.



Our bird conservation efforts in the James Bay and Hudson Bay region are supported by The Ivey Foundation.

Proposed Boundaries Announced for Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area

Source: Parks Canada

On Monday, the Ministers of Environment, Health, Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Natural Resources announced a potential boundary for the long-awaited Lancaster Sound National Marine Conservation Area (NMCA) in Nunavut. We are looking forward to engaging in the consultation process to ensure that the final boundaries safeguard this area's rich biodiversity, and Important Bird Areas (IBA).

In the past we blogged about the Government of Canada's decision to go ahead with seismic testing in Lancaster Sound (a process known as the Mineral Energy and Resources Assessment (MERA) in which non-renewable resources are identified), despite strong opposition from High Arctic communities, Oceans North Canada, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, and more than 11,000 Canadians. However, a few weeks later a Nunavut court granted an injunction to block the seismic testing, given the negative impacts it would have on the area's sensitive wildlife and ecosystems and the communities that depend on it.

We are pleased to know that the government has respected the views of the Inuit, and is carrying out an assessment based on already existing information - this means there will be no field studies done, and negative impacts avoided. Under the NMCA Act it is not a requirement to undertake a MERA. However, before an amendment is made to Schedule 1 (where NMCAs are listed or their descriptions changed) of the NMCA Act, results of any assessments for mineral and energy resources that have been undertaken (as per Section 7 (1) (C)) should be included in the report for the proposed marine conservation area or reserve. According to Parks Canada "work is underway to update an ecological overview of Lancaster Sound and an assessment of non-renewable resource potential, using existing information, but enough is known presently to enable announcing a federal position that will lead to discussions with the Government of Nunavut and consultations with local communities to proceed".

Interim withdrawal of lands beneath the seafloor of the proposed NMCA was the other significant part of the government’s announcement on Monday. During the consultation process "no exploration or development of petroleum resources will occur within the proposed boundaries. Once approved as a designated National Marine Conservation Area, the region will remain protected from industrial development, regardless of the resource potential” said Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis.

Lancaster Sound is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada and is home to a large variety of wildlife such as beluga, bowhead whales and harp seals. The region around Lancaster Sound includes bays, inlets and ice fields surrounded by high cliffs and spectacular fjords that stretch from Ellesmere Island to the Gulf of Boothia in the south, to the waters surrounding Cornwallis Island to the west.

This area has one of the highest concentrations of polar bears in the Canadian Arctic. Twenty IBAs are found inside or adjacent to the proposed protected area, providing key high arctic breeding habitat for large colonies of snow geese, ivory gulls, arctic terns and thick-billed murres. Protected areas like the one proposed at Lancaster Sound conserve some of our most important natural spaces, providing Canada and the world with clean air and water, abundant wildlife populations, and healthy communities and ecosystems.

Time to Say NO to the Mackenzie Gas Project

The time has come for the National Energy Board (NEB) to reject the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP). A decision by the NEB on the proposed $16 billion megaproject is expected in the coming weeks.

The Joint Review Panel (JRP) that exhaustively reviewed the social and environmental impacts of the proposed project made 176 recommendations for approving the project so that it could provide a foundation for the sustainable development of the North.

The Governments of Canada and Northwest Territories, even as they claim to accept the majority of the JRP’s recommendations, are in fact rejecting the JRP’s framework for implementing the project sustainably. In their final response, the Governments’ have only accepted 11 of the 115 recommendations directed to them by the JRP and in most cases, they have not addressed the JRP’s objections to the Governments’ proposal for changing the JRP recommendations. (Actually, despite a JRP call for transparency, the interim governments’ response was never made public and the Panel’s response to it was only available on Environment Canada’s website for a limited period of time before being taken down.)

The Panel concluded that “in the absence of implementation of its Recommendations, and in particular those Recommendations directed to the Governments, the adverse impacts of the Project could be significant and its contribution towards sustainability could be negative. In that event, the opportunity for the Project to provide a foundation for a sustainable northern future would be lost.” (Emphasis in the original.)

As we said to the NEB in our 22 November 2010 letter, proceeding with the project without implementing the recommendations of the JRP would compromise a sustainable future for the North. Therefore the project is not in the public interest and the NEB must reject it.

On December 1, 2010 Nature Canada wrote again to the NEB to bring to their attention a recent event that illuminates what the governments’ claims to accept “the intent” of a recommendation might actually mean:

Panel recommendation 11-2 calls for providing areas identified as of high conservation value through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy with interim protection until permanent protection is achieved. The governments accepted “the intent” of this recommendation. How is the Canadian government following through? On October 28, 2010 the government failed to renew crucial interim subsurface protections that had been in place for over eight years on the land beneath Edéhzhíe, leaving the area open to mining claims. Edéhzhíe is one of the most revered sites of the Dehcho and Tłicho Dene communities around western Great Slave Lake, and a candidate National Wildlife Area identified through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy (Step 5) and sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Service.

This is one of 77 important recommendations for which the governments claim to “accept the intent”. Ten recommendations that are key for the sustainability of the project were rejected.

Sustainability should be the guiding principle for this basin-opening project. It won't be. The NEB should reject the MGP.

Road Bypass Relieves Pressure on New Brunswick Important Bird Area

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Great news for the Semipalmated Sandpipers and other migrant shorebirds that frequent New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy: a bypass route that redirects traffic around the Johnson's Mills Western Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) site has recently been completed. The 2.3-kilometre (1.4 mile) diversion will reduce traffic and create a buffer zone for the sensitive area, which includes vital habitat for roosting and feeding migrant shorebirds.

From the Moncton Times and Transcript:

JOHNSON'S MILLS - An ecological wildlife refuge in Johnson's Mills has been preserved as the result of rerouting of Route 935 along Shepody Bay, the innermost arm of the Bay of Fundy...

...The relocation takes traffic from the buffer zone that is crucial to the ecological integrity of Shepody Bay. It also eliminates repeated stabilization efforts along the eroding shoreline that has seen the road moved back a number of times over the years.

The reserve is an area of nutrient-rich mudflats and roosting beaches that attract millions of migrating shorebirds every summer. The birds, in turn, attract bird watchers and other tourists from all over the world. Route 935 takes these visitors to the mudflats.

The federal government contributed $810,000 under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund to support the initiative. The provincial government provided a matching contribution of $810,000 through the 2009-10 and 2010-11 capital budgets of the Department of Transportation for the balance of the project's cost.

The road bypass not only benefits the WSHRN site, but the the Dorchester Cape and Grand Anse Important Bird Area.

Dorchester Cape is a rocky cape that extends into the bay, and Grand Anse is an area of sand and gravel beaches situated along the eastern coast of Shepody Bay, in eastern New Brunswick. It is adjoined by a large ledge of intertidal mud flats, known as Bucks Flats. Grand Anse is within the town of Johnsons Mills. The Semipalmated Sandpiper is by far the most abundant shorebird in the Bay of Fundy during fall migration, with up to 200,000 birds recorded at the roost site during peak migration. Dorchester Cape is also extremely important for migrating Dunlin, as well as numerous other shorebird species, including Short-billed Dowitchers, Least Sandpipers, Red Knots, and White-rumped Sandpipers.

Birds Can Measure Progress Towards 2020 Biodiversity Target

Dunlin

 BirdLife International has released a new report, Meeting the 2020 biodiversity targets: action and monitoring based on birds. The report demonstrates how birds, and the Important Bird Areas (IBA) that support them, can be used as indicators to monitor progress towards reducing the current rate of biodiversity loss, and ultimately achieving the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) new 2020 Biodiversity Target.

IBAs are not only key sites for birds, but also many animals and plants, making them significant sites for biodiversity conservation. The 30 IBAs in Uganda provide a good example: they cover only 8% of the country yet hold 74% of Uganda's 1, 247 recorded butterfly species, of which 82% are endemic.

“Having failed to hit the 2010 targets, we cannot afford to fail again. Governments, civil society and businesses must all pull together to tackle the pressing issue of biodiversity loss – and birds signpost some very practical ways to make progress,” says Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife’s Director of Science, Policy and Information.

Dr. Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Global Research and Indicators Coordinator adds, “Birds are very useful for identifying the specific actions required to meet these new targets, and for tracking the implementation and impact of such actions. Being widespread, well studied, and highly responsive to environmental change, birds are very valuable indicators.”

Given the importance of IBAs for biodiversity conservation, an IBA Protection Index - one example of how IBAs can be used to track progress - measures what percentage of these priority sites fall within protected areas networks. IBAs in protected areas are shown to be in better condition than those that exist outside of sites formally protected by governments. Measuring the level of protection of IBAs enables Parties to the CBD to track their progress towards biodiversity conservation - a commitment they’ve made under the Convention. IBA indices show that, on average, 39% of each IBA's area is protected, while 26% of IBAs are completely protected.

Additionally, the report demonstrates how birds provide strong evidence on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Information obtained from birds can be useful for climate change adaptation efforts.

Thousands of IBAs, One Map

Today, at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan, BirdLife International presented a map showing over 10,000 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and their protection status around the world.

IBAs are discrete sites that support specific groups of birds: threatened birds, large groups of birds, and birds restricted by range or by habitat. IBAs range in size from very tiny patches of habitat to large tracts of land or water. They may encompass private or public land, and they may or may not overlap partially or entirely with legally protected sites. This ultimately makes IBAs an important tool for identifying conservation priorities, and fostering greater success in the conservation of bird populations.

The new map will serve as an important tool in assisting the CBD implement its Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA). Besides a holistic view of the protection status of global IBAs, Parties to the Convention will be able to identify what percentages of their IBAs are protected, and further guide them in the expansion of their protected areas networks. According to the protection status of IBAs, only 26% of IBAs worldwide are legally protected under national jurisdictions. In Canada, only 36% of IBAs are found in protected areas.

Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner, with Bird Studies Canada, in BirdLife International. Together we deliver the international IBA program in Canada, which aims to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations.

BirdLife International’s Position on the International Regime for Access and Benefit Sharing

The Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) in Nagoya, Japan this October will set the stage for the agreement on a crucial component of the CBD: Access & Benefit Sharing, or ABS. ABS is one of the three fundamental objectives of the CBD, and centers on access to genetic resources and sharing of benefits arising from their use.

For example, an indigenous community holds the knowledge, passed through generations, that a certain plant has therapeutic properties (a genetic resource). A pharmaceutical company hears of this plant and would like to use it in the development of a new medicine. Under ABS, the pharmaceutical company will have to acquire (free) Prior Informed Consent from the indigenous people - the 'access' component of ABS - and enter into a contractual agreement with them. Once the resource has been commercialized, the pharmaceutical company will have to share the profits with the indigenous people - the 'benefit sharing' component of ABS. If the pharmaceutical company goes ahead without considering any of the ABS components, it may be labeled as committing an act of 'biopiracy'.

BirdLife International believes that progress towards overcoming the biodiversity crisis faced by the world today, and implementing the CBD, largely depends on the adoption of a legally binding Protocol on ABS at COP10.

However, draft text for the Protocol has yet to be finalized, although there are hopes that the Interregional Negotiating Group (ING) of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (WG-ABS) will conclude this week's last-minute meeting with a draft, agreed upon by all Parties, to be presented for finalization and approval at COP10.

According to Dr. Muhtari Aminu-Kano, BirdLife’s Senior Adviser on Policy and Advocacy

Several key Governments see progress in developing a new agreement on ABS as absolutely necessary, and are willing to block progress in all other areas of the CBD until such an agreement is reached. We are asking politicians to get their acts together and stop unnecessarily blocking the negotiations.

In addition to the adoption of an ABS Protocol at COP10, BirdLife International believes that Parties must:

• Adopt a comprehensive, ambitious and achievable Strategic Plan with associated 2020 Targets. This should include a framework to involve local communities and civil society in achieving its aims, and should recognise the importance of linking biodiversity conservation to improved livelihoods and poverty reduction.
• Agree on mechanisms to ensure each country has the resources it needs for effective implementation of the CBD. This must involve an increase in biodiversity budgets in all countries, and new and increased money from developed countries to developing countries. We want governments to recognise that at least a tenfold increase in funding is needed by 2020.
• Agree to expand protected area networks, particularly in marine areas, to cover all areas of particular importance for biodiversity. Standard criteria should be developed for the identification of sites of global biodiversity significance.
• Agree on clear actions to promote synergies between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at national and international levels. Biodiversity and ecosystems underpin effective climate change mitigation and adaptation and are in turn impacted by climate change. This must be recognised within all decisions and actions taken to address climate change.

It's the International Year of Biodiversity so call on Canada's Government to protect biodiversity by signing our open letter to Prime Minister Harper to take 5 steps on behalf of biodiversity.

Read about how Important Bird Areas (IBAs) help the CBD achieve its targets and why the CBD's implementation may be at risk.

How IBAs Help Us Reach CBD Targets

Tofino Mudflats IBA, BC - Photo by Barb Beasley

In a previous blog we highlighted how Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are used as an indicator to assess Goal 7, ensuring environmental sustainability, in the 2010 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report. We also emphasized how IBAs contribute to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) but didn’t explain how it would be achieved. Data on the conditions, threats and conservation actions undertaken in IBAs, under BirdLife’s global IBAs monitoring framework, has made it possible to measure the CBD’s implementation progress. The BirldLife monitoring framework is designed to be simple, sustainable, cost-effective, and maximize local participation and institutional engagement.

The monitoring framework’s capacity to track trends in IBAs over time was well demonstrated in a paper published by BirdLife’s journal, Bird Conservation International, in which they examined Kenya's IBA trends between 1999 and 2005. IBA indices for 36 IBAs showed that overall average conditions deteriorated during this time. However, pressures/threats slightly declined in intensity, especially between 2004 and 2005, where increased conservation action resulted in improved management practices that reflected in more favourable result scores for that year. According to Kiragu Mwangi, the paper’s lead author,

The results provide vital information for managers of individual protected areas, management agencies responsible for suites of sites, and national governments, and can be used to track progress in tackling the global biodiversity crisis.

Another co-author, Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Global Research and Indicators Coordinator, said:

The IBA monitoring framework is being implemented globally by the BirdLife Partnership and will make a significant contribution towards tracking the CBD 2020 target that seeks to ensure that important biodiversity areas are conserved through effectively managed protected areas.

BirdLife will have a strong presence (approx. 95 staff) at the CBD’s tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) and will be leading and convening several side events. On October 25, the BirdLife International Partnership will present, for the first time, a global inventory of over 10,000 terrestrial IBAs and their protection status. It will also highlight key aspects of its site conservation approach that involves working with local communities across the globe to identify, document, monitor and conserve this network of globally important sites for birds and other biodiversity. On October 26, a Partnership Agreement between the Secretariats of the CBD and BirdLife International will be signed and a publication that shows how bird-related indicators can help to track progress in meeting biodiversity targets will be launched. For more information on side events taking place during COP10 please click here.

Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner, with Bird Studies Canada, in BirdLife International. Together we deliver the international IBA program in Canada, which aims to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations.

IBAs are discrete sites that support specific groups of birds: threatened birds, large groups of birds, and birds restricted by range or by habitat. IBAs range in size from very tiny patches of habitat to large tracts of land or water. They may encompass private or public land, and they may or may not overlap partially or entirely with legally protected sites. This ultimately makes IBAs an important tool for identifying conservation priorities, and fostering greater success in the conservation of bird populations.

Getting out to the IBA at the Albany River mouth

Betwixt and between meetings, Peter Rosenbluth and I were able find a guide to take us out to the coast of James Bay where so many birds congregate on their ways north in the spring and south in the mid to late summer and fall. Upon leaving Fort Albany, we encountered Gray Seals playing hide-and-seek with us in the brackish waters, still several kilometres from James Bay. On our 40 minute trip in the characteristic sleek wooden-hull boats used by the Cree to navigate the rivers and the bay, we encountered many Common Goldeneyes, a few Common Mergansers, some Black Scoters, white-winged Scoters, Red-tailed Hawks and Bald Eagles. Spray jumped the gunwales, hitting us on the face and getting our legs wet as the water was increasingly agitated as we moved further out the delta into the expansive James Bay where no longer we were sheltered from the cold wind. The mouth of the delta of the Albany is a myriad of islands with vast tidal flats and wetlands. It is a critical stop-over for several species of shorebird and waterfowl. Our guide explained how the vegetation along the coast is changing though - moving out into the the Bay each successive year.
We came ashore on a beach of mud flats and sand. Tidal flats stretched out dozens of metres from the high-tide mark, as the tide withdrew, leaving pools of water amongst the gravel, glacial erratics, mud and sand. There is a slight rise in the land separating the tidal zone from vast salt marshes of rushes, sedges, and horsetail beds. While walking the shore, a flock of 20 juvenile Hudsonian Godwits flew directly over my head, landing just down the beach. The adult Godwits congregate in huge numbers in the IBA in late July and August, laying on layers of body fat to fuel their flights to Southern Brazil, Argentina and Chile. In September, the young of the year come along, also building up in number before their more lazy departure which lasts into October. As many as 10,000 Hudsonian Godwits, about 20 percent of the global population, use this site as an important stop over. In the spring, some even stay around to nest, according to local residents. We also observed Dunlin, Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs, and Black-bellied Plover, but only in small numbers. The most common and widespread birds at this time of the year are Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs. They are everywhere along the shore, feeding on something, and constantly moving and being stirred up by us, a blowing leaf, or simply their irrepressible urge to move.

The IBA is truly a sight to behold, but also was our guide. A traditional hunter/gatherer, he knew all of the species, (not just birds) was able to identify them without binoculars both by sight and the soft sounds they uttered. He is one of many hunter gatherers in the Cree communities like Fort Albany and Kashechewan who know the land, river and coast better that anyone. It was a great privelege to visit the coast with him.

On our return, we observed more seals, a Peregrine Falcon, and a few Rough-legged Hawks along with one of the species that the coastal Cree communities depend upon and drives their annual spring hunt, the Canada Goose.

Harper Government Approves Seismic Survey in Lancaster Sound

Despite strong opposition from High Arctic communities, Oceans North Canada, the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, Parks Canada and more than 11,000 Canadians, the Harper Government has decided to proceed with the seismic testing in Lancaster Sound - a proposed National Marine Conservation Area - this summer. The seismic ship is on its way NOW!

This is very disappointing news for a number of reasons:

1) Plans to establish this NMCA have been ongoing for 30 years;
2) These surveys provide information on oil & gas deposits which will eventually entice industry to gear up for exploration and production in the Arctic. A spill similar to that in the Gulf of Mexico would have devastating consequences on the region's fragile ecosystems and wildlife; and
3) No consideration was given to the Inuit communities who are opposed to offshore oil drilling in the area, and whose livelihoods depend on the natural wealth of this area.


Voice your opposition by signing this letter to Prime Minister Harper!

Lancaster Sound is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada and is home to a large variety of wildlife such as belugas, bowhead whales and harp seals. The region around Lancaster Sound includes bays, inlets and ice fields surrounded by high cliffs and spectacular fjords that stretch from Ellesmere Island to the Gulf of Boothia in the south, to the waters surrounding Cornwallis Island to the west.

This area has one of the highest concentrations of polar bears in the Canadian Arctic. Twenty Important Bird Areas are found inside or adjacent to the proposed protected area, providing essential habitat for large colonies of snow geese, ivory gulls, arctic terns and thick-billed murres. Protected areas like the one proposed at Lancaster Sound conserve some of our most important natural spaces, providing Canada and the world with clean air and water, abundant wildlife populations, and healthy communities and ecosystems.

The Gulf Oil Spill is a Disaster that Can't be Repeated

On April 20, the world awoke to a developing tragedy triggered by an explosion on BP's Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Recent estimates put the total amount of the spill between 160 million and 320 million litres so far, more than four times the amount of the Exxon Valdez spill. We still don't know when the flow of oil into the Gulf will stop.

Oil has already reached a dozen Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The oil has damaged coastal grasses and sea grass beds that are vital nursery grounds for fish and shrimp and provide habitat for numerous other animals and plants. The loss of these critical sources of food could have devastating consequences for many bird species that depend on the Gulf coast region.

You can get up to date information on the oil spill's path on the National Audubon Society's website, as well as first-hand accounts of clean-up efforts underway.

In just a few short weeks, the first migratory birds will begin their journey south from Canada to their wintering grounds in South and Central America. Many of them rely on the impacted region to gather and feed during their journey.

As birds arrive in the disaster zone, the oil spill will affect them in a number of ways:

• An inability to fly due to oiled feathers
• Hypothermia induced by oil on their feathers
• Poisoning from ingesting oil while preening
• Poisoning from eating other contaminated wildlife
• Disturbances during rescue efforts

It will be months, if not years, before the full impacts of this oil spill are known. In some cases, we may never know the extent of the effects on particular species.

What lessons can Canada learn from this disaster?

The tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is a reminder that offshore oil drilling is never safe for the environment or for the communities along our coasts. Oil in the water is dangerous for fisheries, wildlife and ecosystems no matter where it happens.

Perhaps the greatest danger lies in drilling in the Arctic region. A spill in the Arctic would have devastating consequences for the region's fragile wildlife and ecosystems, and no technology exists that could clean up a spill in so inhospitable an area. The techniques deployed in the Gulf – even there not nearly successful – would be useless in the Arctic.

Just weeks before the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, BP was actively lobbying the Canadian government to ease some of the planned rules for Arctic Ocean oil and gas exploration, and had already acquired three offshore exploration licenses for the Canadian Beaufort Sea.

Unlike the United States, Norway and Britain, Canada lacks a regulatory process governing whether or where oil and gas development can happen in the Arctic. Licenses are granted, and contracts signed with oil and gas companies before any environmental assessment takes place. The result: exploratory licenses exist in environmentally sensitive areas like the Beaufort Sea, where a blowout would have immediate negative effects on the delicate ecosystems there.

The disaster in the Gulf is a wake-up call. It is time to place a moratorium on new offshore drilling, including the Arctic, and to end our reliance on dirty, polluting fossil fuels in favour of responsible development of clean, renewable energy.

In the near term, no new exploratory licenses should be granted and no applications approved until the National Energy Board completes its review of Arctic safety and environmental offshore drilling requirements. A moratorium should also be in place until an independent commissioner is appointed to hold a review of offshore drilling on all of Canada's coasts.

And of course, a permanent ban should be in place prohibiting any oil and gas drilling inside a recognized protected area, and that prohibits any future exploration licenses from being granted within protected areas.

What has happened in Gulf is truly tragic; the Canadian government and industry should do all it can to put the environment and worker safety first so that a similar disaster doesn't happen off Canada's shores.