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.

Parks Canada Celebrates 100th birthday!

Emerald Lake, Yoho National Park, B.C.

Today marks the 100th birthday of the establishment of Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service. Our country is known for many things, but perhaps it’s our natural treasures – the lakes, forests, and mountains national parks were created to protect – that people the world over admire.

Parks Canada has planned a series of events throughout this Centennial year to celebrate our parks and historic sites, and to encourage people to fall in love with nature by visiting these special places. Some of us here at Nature Canada took part in one event just last week, to kick off the My Parks Pass program – a joint initiative between Nature Canada, Parks Canada and the Historica-Dominion Institute to distribute free family passes to Grade 8/Secondary 2 students across the country. This project is an important part of our work to help connect people to nature at an early age. (How many of us, as adults, can trace our love for nature to a childhood experience – or many – that instilled in us a lifelong affection for the natural world?)

This Centennial comes at a time when “a great tide of Canadians are embracing camping in growing numbers, many for the first time,” according to the Toronto Star:

According to an Angus Reid survey commissioned by Canadian Tire and Coleman Canada, at least 46 per cent of Canadians now take camping trips as part of their summer vacations. And even though it’s still early in the season, “camping reservations at Parks Canada [campgrounds] are up 14 per cent over the same period last year and 24 per cent compared to the five-year average,” says the federal agency’s Natalie Fay.

This is good news. Yes, it's true, the perennial challenge is balancing efforts to increase visitorship with the national parks system’s primary goal, the protection of biodiversity. Parks exist for people to enjoy the outdoors, and they exist to preserve wildlife. Nevertheless, encouraging visitors to experience our national parks is a great way to reconnect people with nature; in doing so, Canadians will be more apt to support nature conservation generally.
Other than My Parks Pass, some of Parks Canada’s upcoming events are:

• A centennial celebration in Toronto on May 21, featuring a Parks Canada-themed Blue Jays game, evening camp-out in Rogers Centre, street fair and free outdoor concert.

• On Canada Day (July 1) and Parks Day (July 16), Parks Canada will offer visitors the chance to enter its places across the country for free.

• Also on Parks Day, a free concert series will gather Canadian artists in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

• Operation Unplugged, a joint broadcast and web venture that will provide opportunities for eight urban youth to trade their "techno-dependent" lifestyles for a summer "unplugged" in Canada’s national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas where they will compete in challenges under the guidance of a host and Parks Canada staff

• New HD documentaries, including The National Parks Project on Discovery Canada, season two of A Park for All Seasons on Oasis HD and the pilot of a new series on national historic sites on Treasure HD, offering Canadians behind the scenes visits like never before.

• Unveiling of a coin with the Royal Canadian Mint and the launch of a commemorative postage stamp with Canada Post.

• Special “learn to camp” programs across the country and brand new accommodations offerings in national parks.

Over the years, we've been close partners with the people at the Parks Canada Agency, engaging in the complex process of establishing new national parks, or fostering public understanding and appreciation of Canada's natural heritage. Here's to 100 years of celebrating and protecting nature -- and to another century of nature conservation.

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.

Two years later: Canada still silent on gas drilling in National Wildlife Area

Today marks the two year anniversary of the release of recommendations of the Joint Review Panel assessing a proposal by EnCana Corporation (now Cenovus) to drill 1,275 shallow gas wells in the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Suffield National Wildlife Area. As we have done previously, the Suffield Coalition today wrote a letter to the Ministers of Defence and Environment to inquire about the government’s response to the Panel report, which we still await two years later.

The Suffield Coalition comprises seven groups who actively participated in the Joint Review Panel process. The members are: Alberta Wilderness Association, Nature Alberta (formerly Federation of Alberta Naturalists), World Wildlife Fund Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, Southern Alberta Group for the Environment, Grasslands Naturalists, and Nature Canada.

In today's letter we once again called on the federal government to close the door to any further industrial development in CFB Suffield National Wildlife Area and to ensure the long term conservation of Suffield as one of the most important areas of native grasslands remaining in North America.

Two years ago the Suffield Coalition concurred with the Panel’s findings that the Cenovus/EnCana project would likely interfere with the conservation of wildlife, the core purpose of the National Wildlife Area. As the Panel pointed out, avoiding such interference is a requirement of the Wildlife Area Regulations. We therefore believe that federal permits to proceed with additional drilling in the NWA under the Wildlife Area Regulations or the Species at Risk Act should be denied.

In their Report, the Panel recognized the importance of the NWA as one of the few large blocks of dry mixed-grass prairie remaining in Canada, and that the NWA was created to protect the ecological integrity of this land and the species that occupy it, including at least 15 species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern under the Species at Risk Act.

Sixteen of the Panel's 27 recommendations are prefaced by “should the project proceed”. They demonstrate the considerable challenges and uncertainties involved in mitigating the risk of significant adverse effects from the proposed drilling as well as from current activities on sensitive soils, native grassland, wetlands, ungulate winter range, five species of snakes and fifteen species at risk. Taking the risk implied within these recommendations is not appropriate within a National Wildlife Area. We believe it is not in the public interest to approve the project.

The other 11 Panel recommendations are designed to address major deficiencies in environmental management within the NWA and CFB Suffield overall, whether or not the project proceeds. These recommendations include working with stakeholders like the Suffield Coalition. We are ready, willing, and able to help. But we await a response from the federal government.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

What's threatening Alberta's protected areas? The law, actually...

UPDATE:

Since posting this story just hours ago, we've learned that Bill 29, the proposed "Alberta Parks Act", has been officially withdrawn from debate. Cindy Ady, Alberta's Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation, has also agreed to conduct a public consultation on the proposed legislation, responding to urgent requests from concerned citizens and conservation organizations, alike. You can read more in the Edmonton Journal and in the Sierra Club of Canada's related press release.

We thank all Canadians - particularly Albertans - who spoke out in favour of the province's iconic protected areas system! We look forward to results of upcoming public consultations and hope that conservation remains the number one priority in Alberta's protected spaces!

******************************

On Tuesday, Nature Canada, the Sierra Club of Canada (SCC) and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) submitted a joint letter to Alberta Premier, Ed Stelmach, asking him to immediately withdraw Bill 29, the proposed "Alberta Parks Act". This Bill threatens to redefine the management priorities in Alberta's parks and will reclassify the province's existing Wilderness Areas, Ecological Reserves and Wildland Parks. These and other changes could threaten the ecological integrity of 1 existing and 1 nominated World Heritage Site in Alberta, in addition to risking new external pressures on 2 other World Heritage Sites in the province.

In a substantial step backward for the province's protected areas system, Bill 29 proposes to "balance" conservation objectives with recreation and tourism. In our view, conservation should be prioritized over other activities in a system that effectively "...conserves unique and representative land within Alberta’s natural regions for present and future generations..." (cited from s.2(1) of the Bill).

Astonishingly, there was no public consultation on Bill 29 prior to members of Alberta's Legislative Assembly debating and voting on it. As detailed in a joint press release issued November 23rd by Nature Canada, the Sierra Club of Canada and CPAWS,

The [Bill] removes prescriptive laws specifying what can and cannot happen inside parks, opens all parks to tourism development and off-road motorized recreation, and leaves all decisions between development and protection inside parks to Ministerial opinion. That includes Dinosaur [Provincial Park], Áísínai'pi [Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park], and the parks contiguous with Wood Buffalo, Banff and Jasper [National Parks].

What's more, if Bill 29 passes into law it could affect the ecological integrity of numerous Important Bird Areas (IBAs) that coincide with provincially protected areas throughout Alberta. As BirdLife International's Canadian co-partner in implementing the IBA program, alongside Bird Studies Canada, we're concerned about what this could mean for birds and their habitats - especially Alberta's grassland birds. Nature Canada estimates that the proposed changes to Alberta's protected areas system would affect 5 nationally significant IBAs, 4 continentally significant IBAs and 35 globally significant IBAs. Visit the IBA Canada website to learn more about these and other IBAs across Canada.

Bill 29 has already passed its second reading by members of Alberta's Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and could rapidly become law after its third reading. But the government of Alberta needs to hear what Albertans and Canadians think of this draft Law before it's too late!

Our colleagues at CPAWS and the Sierra Club have organized letter-writing campaigns to help the public voice concerns over Bill 29 and the way it has proceeded. You can find them here:

Alberta's new Parks Act puts parks at risk
and
Alberta's Parks Need You

Help to safeguard Alberta's protected areas - for current and future generations of all Canadians.

Photo 1: Bighorn Sheep, Alberta's provincial mammal
Photo 2: Suffield National Wildlife Area, SE Alberta (A. Teucher)

Do Canadians want protected 'National Mining Areas' instead of National Wildlife Areas?

On Friday, October 29th, the federal government made an unexpected decision to permit mineral exploration in a highly anticipated protected area in the NWT. The 14,250 km-squared area west of Great Slave Lake is called Edéhzhíe (Horn Plateau) and is slated to soon become a National Wildlife Area (NWA). Perhaps the federal government instead wishes to designate a protected National Mining Area...

Edéhzhíe is both culturally and ecologically significant for the Dehcho and Tłįcho peoples, and is enshrined in Dene tradition and spirituality. The Horn Plateau is an important wetland stop-over along the Central and Mississippi migratory flyways, and is not surprisingly home to the Mills Lake Important Bird Area (IBA), known for globally significant numbers of Tundra Swan and other waterfowl, and continentally significant numbers of Greater White-fronted Goose. Edéhzhíe also provides habitats for several ‘at-risk’ species including boreal woodland caribou, wood bison and wolverine. It is known as a “food basket” in times of need within surrounding Mackenzie Valley communities.

Despite its rich natural and cultural heritage, Friday’s decision marks a significant policy reversal - one that opens up Edéhzhíe’s subsurface to mining and oil & gas industry interests. This ultimately poses a threat to the ecological integrity of important lakes and wetlands and boreal forest habitats in this region.

This surprising decision overturns a formal request by the Grand Chiefs of the Dehcho First Nation and Tłįchǫ Government that Environment Minister Jim Prentice designate the Edéhzhíe NWA and permanently protect the subsurface lands beneath it. Friday’s decision also ignores recommendations for the same surface/subsurface protections made in a 2009 report by the Edéhzhíe Candidate Protected Area Working Group. That Working Group consulted widely with stakeholders on options for the area, as part of the multi-stakeholder NWT Protected Areas Strategy. The 2009 report was submitted to the Dehcho First Nation, the Tłįchǫ Government and Environment Canada, the federal department responsible for establishing and overseeing NWAs.

Nature Canada is very disappointed with the federal government’s decision on Edéhzhíe, which was made just two days before interim government protections on both the surface and subsurface lands of Edéhzhíe were about to expire - after more than a decade of being retained.
The decision was recommended by Minister John Duncan of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC; PC number 2010-1360), the federal department holding significant jurisdiction over resource management and social and economic development north of 60°. It should be noted that Minister Duncan's decision on Edéhzhíe was made indirectly: he recommended that only surface land withdrawals be 'renewed' for the area, instead of rights to both surface and subsurface lands. It's easy to get lost in the details.

It's worth noting here that in 2009 the Edéhzhíe Working Group recommended a final boundary for the NWA that was 57% of the original 25,000 km-squared study area. The excluded portions represent most of the areas of significant lead/zinc and gas potential within the study area. A 2009 mining industry newsletter laments that even this reduced boundary is too restrictive and prevents the industry from understanding the “true resource potential” of the area, particularly that of diamonds. Interestingly, the 2008 socio-economic assessment of the Edéhzhíe Candidate Protected Area, done by AMEC consultants for INAC, suggests it would be 10-20 years before any non-renewable resource developments could be operational in the area.

Nature Canada's disappointment in the government's Edéhzhíe decision stems from three points:

First, there are clear legislative options to protect both the surface and subsurface lands of Edéhzhíe through an NWA designation combined with an Order in Council (under the Territorial Lands Act). This is what many conservation groups and the Dehcho First Nation and Tłįchǫ Government want. The Canada Wildlife Act gives the Minister of Environment authority to establish and manage NWAs across Canada, but does not protect subsurface lands beneath those NWAs. This is a serious weakness of the Act and currently makes NWAs the ‘poor cousins’ of more strictly protected areas like National Parks. Minister Duncan’s inaction with respect to protecting Edéhzhíe's subsurface suggests that INAC is not willing to support options that respect the wishes of key stakeholders. More importantly, this surprising situation suggests that INAC is not comfortable communicating its true intent to stakeholders of the Edéhzhíe NWA.

Second, this decision has very serious implications for the entire network of 54 NWAs across Canada. This is the first time the federal government has 'opened' a proposed or existing NWA to industrial development. It sends a clear message that NWAs are not off-limits to subsurface resource extraction, regardless of what local stakeholders, First Nations governments and Canadians say about how these areas should be managed and safeguarded over time. While Nature Canada awaits the federal government’s final decision on Cenovus’s proposal to drill 1,275 gas wells inside the CFB Suffield NWA, we are dismayed that the writing may already be on the wall. This is even more concerning given the presence of nationally endangered species in the grasslands of Suffield NWA. Friday’s decision also raises important questions about national parks that are potentially threatened by resource extraction within or just beyond their borders, such as the recently announced Sable Island National Park or the proposed Nááts’ihch’oh National Park Reserve.

Third, we expected the federal government to respect the wishes of First Nations governments and the 2009 recommendations of the Edéhzhíe Working Group. We now question the government’s commitment to listen to First Nations and Aboriginal organizations and other stakeholders during future NWA designations through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy. This is particularly worrisome given that local communities in the NWT have shown support for subsurface protection in other candidate NWAs.

While Friday’s decision opens the Horn Plateau’s subsurface to mining activity, interim protections on Edéhzhíe’s surface lands have been renewed until October 31, 2012.

Please check back to follow Nature Canada's unfolding response to this story. The NWT Protected Area Strategy hosts an on-line album of Edéhzhíe photos you can view here.


Photo 1: Mackenzie Valley, Jeff Wells
Photo 2: Boreal Chickadee, Jeff Nadler
Photo 3: Migrating Snow Geese, Stewart Marshall, Flickr

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.

Environmentalist and Minister don’t always see eye to eye...but they do agree on one thing

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a discussion is “a consideration of a question in open and usually informal debate”. Well I just watched a very interesting and captivating video of a “discussion” between renowned environmentalist, David Suzuki and Minister of the Environment, Jim Prentice, during a two day trip to Haida Gwaii in British Columbia. I must admit I chuckled a bit when one of the first things out of Suzuki’s mouth was, “I have huge problems with this government”. But all in all, it was a worthwhile discussion and a good example of how fruitful discussions should be.

Haida Gwaii, also referred to as the Galapagos of the North, was named Canada’s first National Marine Conservation Area Reserve area last June.

Haida Gwaii, is Canada's most remote archipelago located 100 kilometres west of the northern coast of British Columbia. It is comprised of an isolated group of over 200 islands, large and small, totalling nearly 5000 square kilometres. Due to its remoteness and the fact that Haida Gwaii is at the meeting point of cold nutrient-rich waters from the northern Pacific and the warm offshore currents of Japan, Haida Gwaii has created a healthy and conducive environment for many species.

In fact several of its plants, lichens and moss species are unique to the area. Haida Gwaii also supports over 25 percent of all nesting seabirds in the Canadian Pacific (up to half a million breeding pairs). The Haida Gwaii islands are a major stopover for migrating waterfowl along the Pacific flyway. The majestic Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinators), the largest North American Waterfowl, is one of the endangered bird species that finds refuge in Haida Gwaii.

UPDATE - Version française - Your thoughts on the state of Environment Canada's protected areas?

Hello Readers! Bonjours lecteurs!

Yesterday I posted information about a survey that Nature Canada is conducting to determine naturalists' and nature enthusiasts' views on the condition/state of Environment Canada's protected areas.

To be more specific, I posted information on the English version of this survey.

Mais, veuillez noter qu'il y a aussi une version française du sondage disponible içi.

Once again, the French version of Nature Canada's survey is available here.

Thanks for your interest! Merci infiniment de votre intérêt!

Your thoughts on the state of Environment Canada's protected areas?

Hello Readers!

Have you ever visited one of Canada's National Wildlife Areas or Migratory Bird Sanctuaries?

These sites make up Environment Canada's network of protected areas and complement our national parks system and provincial/territorial protected areas networks from coast to coast, to coast. Eventually, Marine Wildlife Areas will also make up Environment Canada's network, with the Scott Islands off of northern Vancouver Island slated as the first addition in 2012.

Regardless of how you answer the above question, Nature Canada would like to know your views on National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries. In fact, we're in the process of conducting of survey of naturalists and nature enthusiasts across Canada (and beyond) to better understand their views on the condition/state of these areas.

Simply follow this link if you'd like to participate in the survey. Time to complete the survey shouldn't exceed 25 minutes and will vary depending on your level of familiarity with Environment Canada's protected areas.

Nature Canada will use the results of this survey to inform a formal report on the state of Canada's National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (to be completed this fall). The report will build on previous work we've done on this theme, including Conserving Wildlife on a Shoestring Budget (2002) and Wildlife In Crisis (2004).

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the survey and/or Nature Canada's protected areas program.

Photo 1 - A. Teucher, CFB Suffield National Wildlife Area

Create Protected Areas, End Use of Pesticides

Suffield National Wildlife Area
Photo by Andy Teucher

Nature Canada is carrying a grasslands conservation message to an international forum.

North America's native grasslands are rapidly vanishing, along with some of the continent's most endangered species, but concerted action by national governments can turn the tide, we plan to say before an international commission gathering in Mexico this week.

The Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Co-operation (CEC), a body created by NAFTA's environmental side agreement in 1994, is holding its annual meeting on 16-17 August, in Guanajuato, Mexico, where experts will examine ways of improving environmental protection provided by each country.

Nature Canada will be urging the governments of Mexico, United States and Canada to focus the CEC's efforts over the next 5 years on restoring the health of one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems – our native grasslands.

North America's central grasslands extend from the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada, south through the central, northern and mid-west United States to southern Texas into northeastern and central Mexico, and from western Indiana to the foothills of the Rockies.

The grasses, sand hills, coulees and riverbanks of the grasslands ecosystem sustain hundreds of plant and animal species, including the burrowing owl, peregrine falcon, California condor, northern leopard frog and pronghorn antelope.

About a quarter of the species North America's three nations share, including many at the greatest risk of extinction, breed primarily in grasslands. Yet less than 20% of Canada's native grasslands remain and many of the country's grasslands species are in decline. In less than 5 years, Canada's largest grassland bird, the Greater Sage Grouse, may be extirpated from Canada.

In a presentation scheduled for Tuesday, Nature Canada will call on the CEC's member nations to deliver on two critical and long-overdue actions that only governments can take: creating additional protected areas, and ending the use of pesticides that kill birds and other wildlife.

Less than 3% of the region's grasslands are found inside protected areas. That figure should be at least 10% within each country.

The CEC has already completed an important step by identifying the North American Grasslands Priority Conservation Areas. Also, many organizations in the three countries, including Nature Canada, are working to protect grassland areas on public and private land. The CEC's leadership could leverage these efforts and build the momentum required to achieve the 10% target by 2015.

North America's governments should also move immediately to end the use of pesticides that needlessly harm birds and other biodiversity.

Burrowing Owl

Birds are effective indicators of the health of our environment, and the message we're receiving from grasslands birds is that we're going down a disastrous path.

Among the many factors contributing to bird declines, the use of pesticides is a major culprit. Research by Environment Canada's own scientist, Dr. Pierre Mineau, has recently shown pesticides still kill millions of birds every year.

The good news is that this cause of bird mortality can be directly addressed through government action.

The CEC could coordinate work to identify a list of pesticides of common concern that our governments can then phase out. At the same time, CEC can work on best management practices that support the transition to an Integrated Pest Management approach.

In addition to calling for more protected areas and an end to harmful pesticides, Nature Canada also supports the CEC's proposal to promote best management practices among ranchers, landowners and others who live and work within grasslands ecosystems. Governments should promote their widespread adoption by recognizing and rewarding those who follow such practices.

Seismic Survey in Lancaster Sound Blocked

Yesterday, a Nunavut court granted an injunction to block the seismic testing that was to be carried out in Lancaster Sound - a proposed National Marine Conservation Area - this summer under the joint German-Canadian Eastern Canadian Arctic Seismic Experiment. However, the block is temporary given that the Federal Government may appeal the block or undertake a second round of consultations with the Inuit communities in the region.



The decision was reached because of the potential impacts on wildlife and local communities. Justice Sue Cooper, the judge behind the ruling, wrote “If the testing proceeds as planned and marine mammals are impacted as Inuit say they will be, the harm to Inuit in the affected communities will be significant and irreversible”. “The loss extends not just to the loss of a food source, but to loss of a culture. No amount of money can compensate for such loss.”



The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), the German partner, has accepted the decision and acknowledged that it is a Canadian issue.



We hope this experiment will not proceed in the Arctic and that Lancaster Sound will one day become a National Marine Conservation Area.

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.

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.

Seismic survey in proposed Lancaster Sound NMCA approved by Nunavut Impact Review Board

On December 18, 2009 the Geological Survey of Canada submitted a proposal to the Nunavut Impact Review Board (NIRB) for their “Eastern Canadian Arctic Seismic Experiment (ECASE)”; a joint Canadian-German (the Alfred Wegener Institute for polar and marine research is the German partner) project that is aimed at collecting data regarding the evolution of the sedimentary basins in this region and tectonic plate motion between Canada and Greenland.

The experiment is set to take place in Jones Sound, Baffin Island and Lancaster Sound – a proposed National Marine Conservation Area. On May 21, 2010 the NIRB approved the project under the condition that the Geological Survey of Canada follows a set of recommendations, including those for waste management, wildlife and public consultations. NIRB also suggested that any seismic results for Lancaster Sound be submitted to Parks Canada and other agencies to assist them in identifying the existence of non-renewable resources – to be later used for the development of a mineral and energy resources assessment (this assessment plays a significant role in determining the boundaries of most parks). It is important to note that the data collected will inevitably provide information on the existence of oil and gas deposits in the region, thus increasing the interest in Arctic oil & gas exploration and production.

There has been opposition against the seismic survey by High Arctic communities and Oceans North Canada as they fear the potential impacts the seismic survey may have on the areas wildlife, of which some communities depend on for sustenance. The Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Parks Canada have also opposed the proceeding of any tests in Lancaster Sound as feasibility studies for an NMCA designation currently take place.

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 in Nunavut, Canada. 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.

Nature Canada fully supports and looks forward to the establishment of the Lancaster Sound NMCA.