CPAWS News

Developed countries avoid making forests count

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:29:06 -0500

Environmentalists disappointed in outcomes of Barcelona climate change meetings

Barcelona - At the end of this week’s final round of United Nations talks before the Copenhagen climate change meeting occurs next month, environmental groups are disappointed that developed countries have failed to clearly commit to accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from cutting down their forests.

“Many developed countries are balking at the idea that they would have to strictly account for changes in these emissions. They have drafted a number of loopholes into the proposed new rules that would allow them to increase their emissions without accounting for them,” says Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) conservation expert Chris Henschel, who has been coordinating environmental groups working on this issue at the climate talks.

Forests remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as they grow. These gases are released when forests are cut. Cutting natural forests also damages healthy ecosystems.

“The preference of the Canadian government has been to measure its performance against a projection of future business-as-usual practices, but it will be difficult to demonstrate that this approach has environmental integrity. We’re still hoping that Canada will agree to measures that track real changes in emissions. Otherwise it will be hard to find either ambition or transparency in the numbers,” says Henschel.

“Rather than responding to requests from environmental groups and developing countries including China, India and Brazil to strictly account for emissions from cutting forests, developed countries will now bring an adjusted set of books to Copenhagen and look for them to be approved during the pivotal climate conference. Each country is invited to bring to the table whatever baseline it likes for measuring changes in emissions,” says Henschel.

“This is a failure in leadership from developed countries. In Copenhagen we will have to sift through more than thirty sets of books looking for cheating and fudged numbers. No one will have confidence in these accounts. We continue to call for a simple accounting of future emissions compared to past emissions,” says Henschel.

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For more information, visit www.makeforestscount.org .

Learn about the link between carbon and Canada's forests at caribouandyou.ca

For interviews, please contact:
Ellen Adelberg (613) 569 -7226 x 234
Or email Chris Henschel at chenschel@cpaws.org

New poll shows strong local support for Flathead national park

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:15:20 -0500

Eyes of World Focus on Flathead Following United Nations Visit

East Kootenay residents support a National Park in the southeastern one-third of B.C.'s Flathead River Valley at a rate of 2 to 1, according to a poll released today.

The poll, conducted in late October by McAllister Opinion Research, also found that 77 per cent of East Kootenay residents support the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries in south eastern BC that would be off-limits to hunting and heavy industry.

“People who live in the East Kootenay know the Flathead River Valley deserves permanent protection and that wildlife urgently need safe havens,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies program manager. “These polling results confirm the impression we get from talking to local residents— that a strong majority support a Flathead National Park and creation of wildlife sanctuaries, even though a small but vocal opposition likes to claim otherwise.”

The Flathead River Valley, in BC’s southeast corner, has come under intense international scrutiny because of plans for coal strip mining and other development in this critical wildlife corridor, which adjoins Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park — a World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In late September, the World Heritage Committee sent a mission to Waterton-Glacier and the Flathead to determine if the world’s first international peace park is at risk from proposed Flathead energy and mining developments. The mission’s report has not yet been completed.

“BC’s land use plan for the Flathead is completely incompatible with the values of the adjoining World Heritage Site,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “Our international reputation could be at risk on the eve of the Olympic Winter Games if the province continues with its foolhardy plan to prioritize mining and energy development in this special place.”

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-BC (CPAWS BC), Sierra Club BC, and Wildsight are asking for a National Park in the southeastern one-third of BC’s Flathead River Valley, to complete the Waterton- Glacier World Heritage Site. The conservation groups also want BC to establish a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the Flathead River Valley and adjoining habitat.

“The Flathead provides critical habitat for rare and at-risk species that migrate to and from Waterton- Glacier, and it has the highest density of grizzly bears in the interior of North America,” said Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS-BC Executive Director. “We’re asking the BC government to do its part to protect this globally-significant wildlife area, and the very first step is to declare an immediate no-staking reserve in the valley."

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For Flathead wilderness and wildlife photographs taken by members of the International League of Conservation Photographers see: http://gallery.me.com/ilcp All photos are freely available for use by media.

Contact:
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS: (604) 685-7445 × 23
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 386-5255 × 257, c. (250) 812-1762
Casey Brennan, Wildsight: c. (250) 423-0402

More Protection for Algonquin

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:26:55 -0500

Toronto - CPAWS Wildlands League is applauding an announcement to protect more of Algonquin Provincial Park. Today, the province posted a notice on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry accepting the report by the Algonquin Forestry Authority (AFA) Board and Ontario Parks Board to increase the amount of protection from the current 22% to 35%, a more than 50% increase. The total area off limits to logging will now be 371,238 hectares - an area equal to six times the size of Toronto. Currently logging is illegal in all of Ontario’s 631 protected areas with the exception of Algonquin.

In 2008 Minister of Natural Resources Donna Cansfield charged the two boards to work together to undertake focused consultation with the Algonquins of Ontario, the forest industry, and key stakeholder groups to develop joint recommendations. Their joint proposal recommendations include:

Expanding the area within protection zones by approximately 98,000 hectares, to enhance protection for canoe routes, brook trout lakes and cultural heritage values
Implementing best management practices that lessen the impact of roads and other forest operations, including continuation of the existing roads strategy
Clarifying the forested areas available for logging by recommending everything else, including areas zoned for protection; forested areas protected by park policy, such as buffer zones along waterways and portages, and non-forested areas such as lakes/rock barrens not be available for logging

“We’re pleased with the decision to protect more of Algonquin Park” said Janet Sumner, Executive Director, CPAWS Wildlands League, “This increase in protection is better for Algonquin AND guarantees the current level of wood supply to area mills.”

“Algonquin is as Canadian as maple sugar and the Group of Seven” Evan Ferrari, Director, Parks Program, CPAWS Wildlands League. “This moves us closer to protecting the ecological integrity of one of our country’s most famous parks.”

Decisions like this are especially important in an era of global warming. Large forests like the ones in Algonquin are critical in providing wildlife with room to adapt as the planet warms.

“Ultimately we want to see logging phased out of Algonquin, with a plan to diversify local economies that have depended in the past on logging” concluded Sumner.

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For more information, contact:

Evan Ferrari
Director, Parks Program
416.971.9453 x 43
416. 986.4147 cell

Janet Sumner
Executive Director
416.971.9453 x 39
416.579.7370 cell

The Wildlands League's mission is to protect wilderness through the establishment of protected areas and through the promotion of natural resource use that is sustainable for nature, communities and the economy.

Trust Fund for East Side of Lake Winnipeg

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:18:59 -0500

In his last major announcement as Premier of Manitoba, Gary Doer launched a 10 million dollar trust fund to support the quest for a 40,000 square kilometer World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The east side of Lake Winnipeg is the heart of the world’s largest intact section of Boreal Forest.

According to the Manitoba government press release, the Trust Fund will demonstrate that “there is financial and public support for the site, will generate revenue for operation of the site and will create jobs and opportunities for First Nation communities by funding community-driven projects related to the site.”

"This is a great day for everyone who has and continues to work so hard to protect and promote our traditional territories through the UNESCO World Heritage process," said Pimachiowin Aki spokesperson Sophia Rabliauskas.

"Today's announcement will strengthen our nomination document which must describe how the site will be managed including sources of funding. It means we are one step closer to international recognition of the lands and waters that sustained our ancestors and are so important to people all over the world today – a place we call Pimachiowin Aki in Anishinabe, or the land that gives life."

CPAWS congratulates the First Nations involved for their tremendous leadership as well as the Manitoba government for its support of the World Heritage Site project. CPAWS is delighted as we have long pressed for increased funding for “conservation and communities first” planning and opportunities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

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Contact:
Ron Thiessen
Executive Director
CPAWS Manitoba
204 949 0782
www.cpawsmb.org

New Marine Protected Area for Nova Scotia Closer To Becoming a Reality

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:09:23 -0500

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA -- The Government of Canada took at step toward its commitment to protecting Canada's oceans by announcing three areas of interest (AOIs) as candidates for the establishment of Nova Scotia's next marine protected area (MPA). These candidates are all offshore areas off the coast of Nova Scotia: Middle Bank, St. Anns Bank, and Misaine Bank and the Eastern Shoal.

At the 2002 World Summit for Sustainable Development, Canada committed to creating a national network of marine protected areas by 2012, but we are lagging behind on this target. In the Scotian shelf and Bay of Fundy region, our three existing protected areas add up to only one half of one per cent of the marine environment, and protect only a fraction of the Region's habitat types.

"We congratulate DFO on this important step to help our oceans recover," says Dr. Robert Rangeley, Vice-President Atlantic for WWF-Canada. "Nova Scotia has made great progress in protecting significant areas on land, and now we are taking some much needed steps to protect important species and habitats in the ocean."

MPAs are areas of the ocean designed to protect biodiversity. The benefits of marine protected areas include: more plants and animals per cubic metre of ocean, a wider range of species, and larger fish that produce more young - which could lead to a rebound of overfished stocks and mean long-term profits for fishing communities.

WWF-Canada, the Ecology Action Centre (EAC) and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) have been advocating for a well-planned network of MPAs that protects ecologically significant areas and streamlines rules for resource users while boosting opportunities for eco-tourism. Protected area networks are recognized by scientists as the most important tool for helping ecosystems cope with climate change impacts on our oceans.

"We are really pleased to see the process of choosing a new off-shore marine protected area go forward," says Shannon Arnold, Marine Coordinator for Halifax's Ecology Action Centre. "Ocean management is a true test of collaboration - trying to balance sustainable economic development with conservation. Kudos to the new provincial government for working with DFO to clear some long-standing stumbling blocks and getting back on track to fulfilling Canada's commitments to ocean planning."

The next step in the selection process will involve a 60-day public consultation period, beginning on October 13th, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), with the new AOI being selected in early 2010.

"MPAs create safe places in the ocean where areas are legally protected from harmful activities to allow for recovery of species and habitats which improves the overall health of the ocean," says Ashley Sprague, Marine Coordinator for CPAWS-NS. "Healthy oceans are important to all Nova Scotians, so this is your chance to have a say in the future of Nova Scotia's oceans and we strongly encourage the public to get involved in the upcoming consultation process."

More information about the issue can be found by visiting www.wwf.ca/oceansaction, and by joining the Facebook Group: "Oceans Action for the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy".

Additonal Resources:

MPA Brochure:
http://assets.wwfca.bluegecko.net/downloads/wwf_oceans_action_brochure.pdf
Film:
http://endoftheline.com/
Ocean Conservation Study:
http://assets.wwfca.bluegecko.net/downloads/gap_analysis_1_1.pdf
Seabed Classification Brochure:
http://assets.wwf.ca/downloads/oceanofdiversity.pdf

About WWF-Canada

WWF-Canada is part of WWF, the world's largest conservation organization. At WWF we advocate and promote lasting solutions to the challenge of balancing growing human need and environmental sustainability. In collaboration with business, government, communities and individuals we take a science-based approach to the protection, management and restoration of environmentally sensitive parts of our planet. Our work includes visionary projects focused on climate change, freshwater and the health of habitat and species across Canada and around the world. For more information about WWF-Canada visit wwf.ca.

About CPAWS-NS

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is a national non-profit organization working to ensure that nature comes first in the management of parks and protected areas, that additional protected areas are created, and that land and sea are managed to retain Canada's biodiversity and wilderness. We ground our work in conservation science and we seek consensus for wilderness protection by engaging governments, industry and the Canadian public. For over 15 years, the Nova Scotia Chapter (CPAWS-NS) has been working co-operatively with governments, industry, communities, and other wilderness conservation organizations across the province to protect Nova Scotia's unique terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

About Ecology Action Centre (EAC)

The EAC is Nova Scotia's oldest environmental organization. We are a grassroots, community organization that focuses on the most pressing current environmental issues and advocates for environmental protection and sustainable economies through education, research and policy reform.

For more information, please contact

WWF-Canada, Atlantic Region
Stacey McCarthy
Communications Specialist
Tel: 902.482.1105 x 41
Cell: 902.209.6457
Email: smccarthy@wwfcanada.org

or

WWF-Canada
Robert Rangeley
Vice President, Atlantic
Tel: 902.482.1105 x 23
Cell: 902.401.1569
Email: rrangeley@wwfcanada.org

or

CPAWS-NS
Ashley Sprague
Marine Conservation Coordinator
Tel: 902.446.4155
Cell: 902.293.3203
Email: marine@cpawsns.org

or

Ecology Action Centre
Shannon Arnold
Marine Coordinator
Tel: 902.446.4840
Cell: 902.489.2384
Email: sharnold@ecologyaction.ca

CPAWS kicks off public campaign to "Make Forests Count" in U.N. Agreement on Climate Change

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:46:27 -0500

OTTAWA – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is launching a public campaign today inviting citizens in Canada and other countries to let decision makers know that in the next U.N. Convention on Climate Change, it’s time to “make forests count.” The campaign is timed to coincide with the final two months before the U.N. Climate Change summit in Copenhagen in December.

Starting today, lululemon athletica Rideau Centre store will feature the “Make Forests Count” campaign in its front windows. Inside the shop, people can sign on to support the campaign. CPAWS is also promoting the campaign by launching www.makeforestscount.org where people can send a virtual postcard to their politicians in Canada and abroad. CPAWS is inviting other groups in Canada and around the world to endorse the campaign and share the message with their supporters.

“This public campaign is supporting behind-the-scenes work that CPAWS has been leading for the past two years to convince Canada and other countries to create meaningful incentives for forest and wetland protection in the next global climate change agreement,” says National Executive Director Eric Hébert-Daly.

“As home to about one fifth of the world’s remaining wilderness forests, we are urging Canada to take a lead role in ensuring that countries take responsibility for the climate effect of clearing forests and create incentives for the protection of forests and wetlands in the next set of climate change rules. We also want to see current loopholes closed that have been allowing some countries to cheat the system when accounting for their carbon emissions,” adds CPAWS’ forests and climate change specialist Chris Henschel. Henschel is in Bangkok this week attending the second last set of UN preparatory meetings before the Copenhagen summit.

“lululemon athletica Rideau Centre is supporting ‘Make Forests Count’ because it is part of our culture to support the environment. As our manifesto states, ‘what we do to the earth we do to ourselves.’ As a community minded and aware company it makes sense to do what we can to help promote climate change initiatives like ‘Make Forests Count,’” says Rebecca Barker, Store Manager of lululemon athletica Rideau Centre.

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For more information: www.makeforestscount.org

CPAWS will be at lululemon, Rideau Centre from 11-12pm Sept 29 for interviews.

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To arrange interviews, contact:

Jill Sturdy, CPAWS
Ph. 613 276 7226
jsturdy@cpaws.org
www.makeforestscount.org

In Bangkok:
Chris Henschel, CPAWS
011 66 878147 232

CPAWS welcomes new funding for land conservation in Nova Scotia

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:24:23 -0500

Halifax – The Nova Scotia government has allocated an additional $66 million in capital spending in its most recent budget, released yesterday, for acquiring private lands for conservation. The new spending will help the province meet its environmental goals set out in the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act.

CPAWS is extremely pleased to see this move, which the organization has been encouraging for the past five years to improve the chances for Nova Scotia’s wilderness ecosystems to survive.

“It’s make-or-break time” says Chris Miller, a CPAWS national conservation manager based in Nova Scotia. “Right now, large tracts of wilderness are for sale, and once they’re snapped up by land speculators and carved up for development, they’re lost to the people of Nova Scotia forever”.

Forest lands that have been sold in recent years have been converted to the real estate market, with prime land on lakes and rivers and the coast often being sub-divided for development. This permanent conversion of wilderness in favour of development is a major threat to the long-term survival of intact forest systems in Nova Scotia.

“This is a big step in the right direction”, added Miller.

This new funding means that the province can now start acquiring large tracts of privately-owned wilderness for sale, controlled by some of the large forestry companies in the province. Last year, the forest company J.D. Irving Ltd. placed nearly 70,000 hectares of land for sale on the market and some of that land has already been purchased by private interests.

Almost 15% of Nova Scotia’s landmass is owned by four forestry companies: J.D. Irving, Neenah Paper, Abitibi-Bowater, and Wagner. Many of these lands contain high conservation value, including some of the last remaining old growth forest stands in Nova Scotia and important species-at-risk habitat for species like the Blandings turtle and rare coastal plain flora.

The new funding was announced in the Nova Scotia provincial budget, released by the Nova Scotia government yesterday. The announcement is not expected to increase the province’s deficit, as the funds will come from reshuffling priorities in the capital spending program, moving funding from highways and other projects into land conservation priorities.

“We’re pleased that the government has taken a hard-look at its capital spending program for this year, and adjusted the funding priorities to enable the government to act on protecting these large tracts of land before it’s too late”, says Miller

The $66 million in new funding brings the total amount of land acquisition funds for this year to $83.1 million, according to the budget documents.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is Canada’s leading national voice for wilderness conservation, with 13 regional chapters across the country. Since 1963, CPAWS has played a lead role in creating over two-thirds of Canada’s protected areas.

Contact:
Chris Miller, Ph.D.
National Manager, Wilderness Conservation and Climate Change
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
201-1099 Marginal Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4P7
902-446-4155
cmiller@cpaws.org

Lack of protection in Canada's Flathead Valley threatens Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:07:00 -0500

CPAWS and other Conservation Groups Make Case to UN World Heritage Committee

Calgary, Alta—Leading conservation groups briefed reporters at 1 p.m. today in Calgary, before heading to Fernie, B.C., to advise UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee mission on threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The media briefing provided reporters with an advance look at the case being presented to these international experts, exposing alarming mining and energy proposals in the adjacent Flathead River Valley in British Columbia.

Representatives from the groups—the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, Wildsight and Sierra Club BC—will present to the World Heritage Committee mission at noon Friday in Fernie, BC. Members of this international mission arrived in the area on Monday, and are spending this week investigating whether or not Waterton-Glacier should become a World Heritage Site in Danger because of BC’s land use plan for the adjoining Flathead River Valley.

“Coal strip mining and gold and phosphate exploration do not belong next to this internationally important area. It is so important to the international community that it has been designated a World Heritage Site, UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and the world’s first International Peace Park,” said Eric Hebert-Daly, National Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. “Some places should simply be off-limits to mining and energy development, and BC’s Flathead River Valley is one of them.”

Last week, the groups disclosed that the BC government has approved gold exploration this fall near a headwaters stream of the Flathead River, which flows into Glacier National Park.

BC’s Environmental Assessment Office is considering a coal strip mine that would see pollutants and slag from the removal of 40 million tonnes of coal dumped into Foisey Creek, a Flathead River headwaters stream that is critical habitat for threatened bull trout which migrate from Glacier National Park.

“BC’s land use plan for the Flathead threatens Waterton-Glacier and puts this spectacular World Heritage Site at risk,” said Sarah Cox, Flathead Campaign Director for Sierra Club BC. “It’s unconscionable for the BC government to consider allowing coal strip mining and gold mining next to a World Heritage Site.”

“The Flathead provides critical habitat for rare and endangered species moving between Waterton-Glacier and Banff National Parks, like grizzlies and grey wolves,” said Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies Program Manager for Wildsight. “It’s the missing piece of Waterton-Glacier and part of the same Crown of the Continent ecosystem.”

The groups are calling for the lower one-third of the Flathead River Valley to become a National Park, and for a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat.

The World Heritage Committee mission comes after 11 Canadian and US environmental groups petitioned the committee asking for the World Heritage Site in Danger designation due to mining and energy proposals in the Flathead River Valley, which abuts Waterton and the Alberta border.

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Contact:

Eric Hebert-Daly, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society: (613) 899-7226 (Cell)

Casey Brennan, Wildsight: (250) 423-0402

Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762

For images and footage contact Carrie West, CPAWS-BC: (604) 685-7445, ext. 22

Public Opinion Poll Shows Vast Majority of Yukoners Strongly Favour Peel Protection

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:13:57 -0500

Whitehorse – Results from a July 2009 DataPath Systems poll commissioned by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-Yukon Chapter (CPAWS-Yukon) and the Yukon Conservation Society (YCS), financed in conjunction with the Tourism Industry Association of Yukon (TIAY), shows that 78% of Yukoners want more than half of the Peel watershed permanently protected from roads and all industrial activities.

The poll shows that the public is tracking the ongoing discussions about the future of the Peel watershed and that 75% of Yukoners feel that the main priority in the Peel watershed should be protection of the environment, wildlife and wilderness.

“To our knowledge this is the first statistically accurate information about how Yukon people want the lands and waters of the Peel watershed to be managed, and the results show overwhelmingly that Yukoners want to see the Peel protected,” says CPAWS-Yukon Executive Director, Mike Dehn.

Further, the poll shows that natural areas, abundant wildlife and wilderness are among the most important reasons why Yukoners choose to live here and that the vast majority (85%) of Yukoners endorse protected areas as a way of ensuring that the values important to them continue to exist.

“There has clearly been a shift in Yukoners’ attitudes since the days of the Klondike Gold Rush,” says YCS Executive Director, Karen Baltgailis, “and this poll clearly illustrates the true value of wilderness protection to today’s Yukoners.”

The poll shows that 91% of Yukoners think roads should not be allowed in any river corridors or important wildlife and wilderness areas in the Peel Watershed. It also shows that 72% of Yukoners think roads in the watershed would have a major impact on the health of wildlife populations.

“The Planning Commission’s draft Peel plan tried to combine roads, mining, and oil and gas development all on the same landscape as wilderness tourism and healthy wildlife,” says Dehn. “This poll shows that Yukon people believe that the only way to protect the incredibly valuable wilderness and wildlife we have in the Peel is to have large areas that are fully protected from roads and industrial development.”

“This poll clearly shows what the Yukon voting public wants the Yukon Government and the Peel Planning Commission to accomplish in the Peel,” says Baltgailis. “It is critical they consider this information.”

YCS and CPAWS-Yukon point out that the results of this survey are in line with the findings reported by the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board’s 20:20 survey earlier this year, in which 86% of Yukoners said that environmental issues were the most important factor when making decisions.

The organizations that commissioned the poll wanted to be sure that it was above suspicion of bias. The poll was pre-tested to a greater extent than normal, and respondents were asked who they thought was sponsoring the survey. Less than half of the respondents thought an environmental organization was the sponsor.

“This survey is larger than most done in the Yukon and has a high degree of precision,” says Donna Larson of DataPath Systems, who conducted the poll. “My clients and I were aware that the Peel planning process is a controversial issue, so we were extremely careful to ensure that the survey was impartial, non-leading and non-biased.”

The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4.3% at 95% confidence levels.

View the Peel Watershed Poll Report at CPAWS Yukon's site.

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For further information, contact:

Mike Dehn
Executive Director
CPAWS-Yukon
(867) 393-8080, ext. 2

Karen Baltgailis
Executive Director
Yukon Conservation Society
(867) 668-5678

Donna Larson
DataPath Systems
(867) 660-4600

Coordinator, Community and External Relations

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:12:47 -0500

Location: Calgary
Deadline: Sept 30, 2009

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is Canada's voice for the protection of wilderness and parks. Our Southern Alberta Chapter has a wonderful employment opportunity for a community spirited individual who has skills in communications, marketing, volunteers and donor relations. This individual will bring creativity, organization and a team player attitude to our education department and to our entire Southern Alberta team.

Learn more and apply at CPAWS Southern Alberta.

CPAWS welcomes largest Nova Scotia protected wilderness area in a decade

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:23:39 -0500

Halifax – The Nova Scotia government has officially designated the public lands of Ship Harbour Long Lake, an area of vast forests and wetlands sheltering many species at risk, as a legally-protected wilderness area. The designation applies to nearly 15,000 hectares of land, making it the largest protected area established in Nova Scotia since 1998.

“We are thrilled with this announcement,” says Chris Miller, National Manager of Wilderness Conservation and Climate Change for CPAWS. “The wilderness of Ship Harbour Long Lake is one of the ecological jewels of the province”.

The Ship Harbour Long Lake Wilderness Area is located roughly between the communities of Musquodoboit Harbour and Ship Harbour along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. It’s a refuge for the endangered mainland moose, and other at-risk species including the boreal felt lichen. CPAWS has worked with a coalition of groups over the past decade to ensure that this designation was made possible.

A landmark agreement was signed in 2007 between Neenah Paper, Eastern Shore Forest Watch, Ecology Action Centre, CPAWS, and the Nova Scotia Departments of Environment and Natural Resources that enabled the formal designation process to begin.

Through the public consultation phase, the Ship Harbour Long Lake Wilderness Area was expanded to include a number of new areas that were found to contain ecologically-significant values. CPAWS recommended that a number of new parcels of public land be added to the wilderness area designation.

Contact:
Chris Miller, Ph.D.
National Manager, Wilderness Conservation and Climate Change
201-1099 Marginal Road
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3H 4P7
902-446-4155
cmiller@cpaws.org

Education Coordinator opportunity at CPAWS Nova Scotia

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:31:57 -0500

Location: Halifax, NS
Deadline: October 2nd, 2009

CPAWS Nova Scotia is seeking a dynamic, innovative and independent person to develop, facilitate and advance its conservation education programs.

The CPAWS-NS Education Coordinator will be responsible for leading CPAWS’ education program across Nova Scotia and working closely with Marine and Terrestrial campaigns to advance the conservation mandate of the organization. The coordinator will develop and maintain relationships with key partners by engaging stakeholders and communities in local and provincial conservation issues.

See the full job description at CPAWS Nova Scotia

Honourable John Crosbie speaks on ocean conservation at CPAWS event

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:11:52 -0500

At the unveiling of a marine guide entitled Special Marine Areas in Newfoundland and Labrador: Areas of Interest in Our Marine Backyard by the CPAWS- Nfld chapter in St John’s, the Honourable John Crosbie voiced his opinion about the need for Canadians to take responsibility for the health of our oceans, referring to lessons learned from the 1990s collapse of the cod fishery.

Read the full article by Sarah Perry in the online edition of the magazine The Navigator, “The voice of the marine industry”.

CPAWS vows vigilance following court case ruling on seismic testing case in marine protected areas

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:20:27 -0500

CPAWS will continue to promote stronger safeguards for species living in Canada’s marine protected areas, despite an August 27th federal court ruling that will allow a U.S. research ship to conduct seismic testing in a marine protected area, The court motion to stay the government-issued permit had been filed on behalf of CPAWS and Living Oceans Society by Ecojustice.

“We’re disappointed that seismic testing will go forward in the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents Marine Protected Area. However, our challenge will hopefully result in improved monitoring of marine mammals. We’ll be reviewing the marine mammal observation data to determine whether these new measures effectively protected whales and dolphins from harassment,” says Sabine Jessen, CPAWS’ national oceans program manager.

The Endeavor vents are located in the Pacific Ocean, about 250 kilometres off the coast of B.C.

On August 27, 2009, the Federal Court dismissed the groups’ motion to stay the foreign vessel clearance granted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to US research ship the R.V. Marcus Langseth to conduct seismic testing in the Endeavour Marine Protected Area. The activity will include repetitive sound blasts underwater at levels of up to 160 decibels.

Ecojustice, on behalf of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Living Oceans Society, had sought to halt seismic testing in Canada’s first Marine Protected Area and surrounding waters, a known habitat of endangered blue whales, threatened fin whales and other marine mammals. Justice Kelen of the Federal Court determined that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, following our motion, had imposed improved mitigation measures on the vessel to attempt to protect whales and dolphins from unlawful harassment.

“We’re relieved that our efforts in court caused the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to improve the safety of this seismic research project, and to impose stronger environmental conditions on the vessel. DFO officials have shown that they are willing to listen to scientists. We intend to work further with government officials to ensure better management of our Marine Protected Areas across Canada,” adds Jessen.

In his ruling, Justice Kelen pointed out that the Canadian government likely put these improved mitigation measures for whales and dolphins in place due to our legal intervention.

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For further information, contact:

Sabine Jessen, CPAWS National Oceans Program Manager, (604) 657-2813

Photo op: Woodland Caribou to take part in Parliament Hill yoga

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:59:38 -0500

Ottawa -- Bou, a woodland caribou, is living in Ottawa to raise awareness of the threatened woodland caribou and their Boreal forest habitat. Tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a unique opportunity to join Bou and dozens of Ottawa residents for a little stretching on Parliament Hill, as part of Lululemon’s yoga on the Hill.

WHAT: Photo opportunity: A caribou doing yoga on Parliament Hill.
WHEN: Wednesday, September 2, 2009
TIME: 12 - 1 pm
WHERE: The lawn in front of Parliament Hill
WHO: Bou the Woodland Caribou, resident caribou with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)

Contact:
Jill Sturdy
National Conservation and Outreach Coordinator
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
613 569 7226 x232
613 276 7226 cell
jsturdy@cpaws.org

For more information and to follow Bou’s blog visit www.caribouandyou.ca
www.facebook.com/woodlandcaribou
www.twitter.com/woodlandcaribou