Steve Reid

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https://test-cpaws-new-brunswick.pantheonsite.io

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February 28 2018

CPAWS celebrates “historic investment” in nature conservation in Federal Budget 2018

CPAWS applauds today’s announcement of $1.3 billion dollars over 5 years to protect Canada’s land, ocean, and wildlife. This unprecedented investment will enable Canada to achieve its commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and freshwater by 2020. To date, Canada has protected 10.6% of our landscape. In New Brunswick, 4.6 % is currently protected.

“Today’s historic federal investment in protecting wildlands and wildlife could be a game-changer for nature conservation across Canada, including in New Brunswick,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick Chapter. “Budget 2018 recognizes the scale of the biodiversity crisis we face, the need to move quickly to deliver on our promises, and the need to support efforts by all levels of government, civil society, and other partners to protect our treasured natural heritage.”

For the first time, the federal budget not only allocates funding for federal action on nature conservation, but also includes significant support for provinces, territories, and Indigenous governments’ work to establish more protected areas. This cost-shared model is similar to the approach used to deliver other shared priorities in Canada, such as infrastructure, climate change mitigation, and health care.

Highlights of federal Budget 2018 conservation investments include:

$500 million over five years for a new $1 Billion “Nature Fund” to support conservation partnerships and which will leverage funding from other government and non-governmental sources;
$800 million over five years to support:
- New federal protected areas
- Increased capacity for national park management
- Increased capacity to protect species at risk
- Funding to establish a coordinated network of conservation areas working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners.

“While there are few details available at this early stage, we are hopeful this is an opportunity for the New Brunswick government to secure much needed funding to support the creation of new protected areas in our province, such as the Restigouche Wilderness, and important coastal habitats,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS NB Chapter. “With this additional support we hope to see the provincial government establish an action plan, and start to take action to protect these and other crucial natural areas.”

“We are particularly pleased to see the budget acknowledge the leadership of Indigenous peoples in conservation across Canada, and we hope this funding will help advance their work in New Brunswick, which could also contribute to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples,” says Clowater.

“We thank the federal government for listening to the recommendations made by CPAWS and our environmental partners in the Green Budget Coalition,” says Alison Woodley, CPAWS’ National Conservation Director, “and we deeply appreciate the efforts of many thousands of Canadians who wrote to the Finance Minister, and of the 116 parliamentarians who signed an open letter supporting our recommendations. Today’s investment confirms how much Canadians care about this issue and shows that raising our collective voice truly works!”

“Investing in protected areas will conserve Canada’s wildlife, water, and wilderness, provide more protected spaces for healthy outdoor activities, and create jobs in communities across the country by growing sustainable nature and culture-based tourism economies,” says Woodley. “This is an investment in the future of our country, which will deliver huge returns.”

-30 –

For interviews:

Roberta Clowater: rclowater@cpaws.org; 506-452-9902

BACKGROUND

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity

In 2010, Canada and other signatories to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity endorsed a strategic plan to reverse a global biodiversity crisis, including a commitment to protect at least 17% of land and inland waters and 10% of ocean areas by 2020 and to improve the quality of protected area networks. The Biodiversity Convention (known as the CBD) was signed in 1992 alongside the UN Convention on Climate Change, recognizing the need to jointly tackle these two critical environmental challenges. Last year the federal government invested in a Pan-Canadian Climate Plan. This year’s investment will support a parallel pan-Canadian effort to protect biodiversity.

The Federal Government’s Recent Efforts towards Achieving Our Commitment

In March 2017, a unanimous report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development made a suite of recommendations for action on protected areas.[1] In February 2017, federal, provincial, and territorial governments launched the “Pathway to Canada Target One” process, working with Indigenous peoples, civil society, and private interests to jointly deliver on Canada’s land and freshwater protection target.[2] CPAWS staff were appointed to a Ministerial “National Advisory Panel” to advise on this work. The Panel’s report is expected to be released soon.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been leading federal government efforts towards protecting at least 10% of the ocean by 2020, and has made significant progress over the past two years, including the establishment of the Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reef MPA in BC, and St Anns Bank MPA in Nova Scotia.

[1] http://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/ENVI/report-5/

[2] http://www.conservation2020canada.ca/home

October 28 2017

From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results

Steve Reid Publications

In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for nature. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results,” encourages federal, provincial, and territorial governments to step up their protection efforts in order to conserve Canada’s natural heritage, and deliver on our international commitment.

Read the full report.

Read the Executive Summary with recommendations.

For interviews, contact: Karen Turner (613) 569-7226 x 232.

October 17 2017

Biodiversity and Climate Change

Steve Reid Wildlife Campaigns

Biodiversity and Climate Change

Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) sitting on a stump

Climate change will have significant impacts on the natural world, food webs and nutrient cycles. As temperatures increase and precipitation patterns change, there will be many changes in the ecosystems which provide habitat for the flora and fauna of New Brunswick.

What are the concerns with biodiversity and climate change?

The Issue

As the effects of climate change increase, most species will experience shifts in their natural home ranges in the north and at higher elevations. The following factors play a key role in how well plants and animals can adapt to changes in their environment.

Time: Many species can adapt quickly by migrating to more suitable habitat or altering their patterns. Other species, especially plants, require longer periods to adapt. If the pace of change is too quick, extinction becomes a risk.

Genetic variability: Larger populations of a given species are more likely to survive through simple evolution, while endangered species have lower genetic variability.

Availability of alternate habitat: To adapt and survive, many species have to move to more suitable habitat, if available. In an increasingly developed landscape, finding new habitat may be very difficult.

Food sources: A change in temperature affects when animals produce their young, hibernate and migrate, and when plants bloom and fruit. As species adapt at different rates, the likelihood exists that some animals may not be able to find suitable food sources at the right time, causing more stress to the species.

Many species currently listed as Species at Risk will face an increased risk of extinction, and other species not yet on the list may soon be added, due to changes in their habitat.

Some examples include:

Southern twayblade plant: this plant is found in and around bogs and among black spruce. Bogs are at risk of drying up or remaining dry for longer periods.

Prototype quillwort: this plant lives on the bottom of spring-filled lakes, in water that is cool and clear. The coming changes in climate may result in these lakes being shallower, warmer and dirtier.

Piping plover: these birds feed and nest on the gravel-sand beaches of east and south New Brunswick. Increases in sea levels and erosion due to storm surges will result in less beach habitat.

Atlantic salmon: This species requires unpolluted cold streams and rivers for spawning. Dramatic changes in water levels because of alternating droughts and severe storms, plus overall temperature rise, serve to further endanger the salmon.

Pollinators (e.g., butterflies and bees): Pollinators that help produce many of our food supplies may find that changes to flowering seasons do not correspond to their life cycles, resulting in downward spirals for the species.

Protecting more of our landscape is the best possible solution for increasing the chances of survival of the full range of native plants and animals.

In New Brunswick, we need:

New and larger protected areas, free from development, to provide the safety net to protect ecosystems and wildlife from the combined impacts of climate change, development pressures, habitat loss and pollution. Research indicates that protected areas must be linked by conserved, low-impact corridors that allow north-south movement for wildlife, seed dispersal, and ecosystem processes.
Management plans for all provincial parks and protected areas, with an emphasis on maintaining ecological integrity and decreasing future development.
Species-at-risk recovery plans should evaluate the combined impacts of climate change, habitat loss, and pollution with a focus on reducing or eliminating them.
Protection for coastal habitats such as beaches, salt marshes, cliffs and dunes, must include development-free areas, and buffering against the impacts of development, to provide habitat for native and migratory wildlife, and protection from storm surges and flooding.

October 7 2017

Protecting the Restigouche

Steve Reid Campaigns, Forest Campaigns

Protecting the Restigouche

A Canadian Heritage River, the Restigouche River system is one of Eastern Canada’s most spectacular wild watersheds. Its 1 million hectares of valleys, hills, and streams flow across northwestern New Brunswick and Quebec’s Gaspé.

The international Two Countries, One Forest network recognizes the Restigouche as one of 5 critical ecological linkages in the northern New England / southern Quebec / Maritimes region. Yet, government has protected from development less than 3 percent of the watershed in New Brunswick, leaving most areas open for mining, logging or new development proposals. Forest management plans show that most of the wildest areas of forest on Crown land will be logged within 5 to 10 years. This will remove habitat around salmon streams and for wildlife that need old forests.

The Restigouche is important for wildlife

Moose, black bears, American marten, fisher, bald eagles, barred owls, scarlet tanagers and numerous interior forest birds thrive amidst forest-covered hills, deep gorges and some of the most pristine rivers and streams in Eastern Canada.

Atlantic salmon – The Restigouche River and its tributaries support one of the most productive wild Atlantic salmon populations, with some of the largest salmon, in eastern Canada.

Canada lynx – Restigouche natural areas are home to critical populations of Canada lynx. The area provides a natural corridor for lynx to disperse for feeding and breeding between the Gaspé and northern Maine.

A world-class destination for ecotourism, outdoor adventures, and angling, with plenty of economic tourism potential yet untapped.

Part of the traditional territory of the Gespe’gewa’gi Mi’gmaw, who have an interest in conserving Restigouche’s resources and cultural heritage

Canoeing, hunting, trapping and angling support many Restigouche communities, and an attachment to the land, sea and rivers runs deeply – angling alone is worth at least $20 million and hundreds of jobs to the region.

Forestry on public land is an important part of the region’s economy – increased conservation and ecologically responsible forest management will help us sell forest products to an increasingly environmentally conscious marketplace.

CPAWS NB has been meeting with community groups in the Restigouche for over 15 years. CPAWS NB and our partners believe that government needs to conserve these natural assets in the Restigouche to ensure vibrant communities:

Protected wilderness areas that support the ecotourism and tourism sectors, including road less areas, steep slopes and scenic rivers – at least 10 percent of the watershed;
Forest areas managed to support sustainable production of non-timber forest products, including mushrooms, ginseng, ground hemlock and maple syrup;
Conserved wildlife habitats that allow native wildlife to thrive;
Protected river systems and headwaters where forest harvesting and road building is strictly controlled to support wild Atlantic salmon rivers and spawning grounds.

Restigouche River Wilderness Waterway – CPAWS NB is inspired by the Allagash River in Maine, whose Wilderness Waterway protection plan may serve as a model for protecting the Restigouche.

CPAWS NB envisions a wide, protected corridor that includes the Crown land along the Restigouche, the Kedgwick and the Upsalquitch Rivers and links with permanent protected areas and parks. Such a corridor would ensure that the wild nature of the river is preserved – giving anglers and canoeists the chance to enjoy a healthy, vibrant, and unspoiled wild river experience.

1. Write a letter or email to the Premier of New Brunswick and Minister of Natural Resources:
Premier Brian Gallant
Hon. Rick Doucet, Minister of Energy and Resource Development
P.O. Box 6000
Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1

premier@gnb.ca
rick.douct@gnb.ca

2. Print our information sheet or our Restigouche Ecotourism Opportunities Backgrounder and give it to groups, politicians or community leaders who might be interested.

3. Invite us to speak to your group about Restigouche Wilderness Protection.

4. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on additional actions.

October 7 2017

New Brunswick’s Acadian Forests

Steve Reid Campaigns, Forest Campaigns

Help protect New Brunswick’s forests!

New Brunswick currently protects less than 4 percent of our forests from development and industrial activity. That is way below the bare minimum needed to conserve our wildlife and wilderness values for the future. New Brunswick is second to last of all provinces in Canada in the proportion of land we’ve protected. It’s nowhere near enough!

New Brunswick’s Acadian Forests dominate our landscape. Their long-lived, towering trees keep our rivers cool and filter their waters. They provide homes for iconic Canadian species, including Canada lynx, American marten, flying squirrels, moose, deer, and once even caribou. Warblers, barred owls, hazelnuts, and fiddleheads have thrived in the midst of these giants.

New Brunswick currently protects less than 4 percent of our forests from development and industrial activity. That is way below the bare minimum needed to conserve our wildlife and wilderness values for the future. New Brunswick is second to last of all provinces in Canada in the proportion of land we’ve protected. It’s nowhere near enough!

CPAWS had recommended that at least 17 percent of New Brunswick’s Crown land, including the largest patches of old forest, be designated by 2015 as permanently protected areas. We also asked the province to immediately take action to keep all of the Crown land they were conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers.

In 2014, the New Brunswick government released its 10-year plan for Crown lands, and chose not to accept our recommendations.

What's wrong with the current forestry strategy for Crown lands

The provincial government created new Protected Natural Areas in 2014. This brought New Brunswick’s proportion of protected land up to 4.7 percent of the province. The national average is 10 percent.

At the same time, government removed conservation from more than one-quarter of our public land they used to manage to conserve fish, wildlife habitat and our rivers. The forestry industry has access to these previously conserved habitats for increased logging and clear-cutting. Researchers are very concerned that it will be difficult to conserve viable populations of all our wildlife under this plan.

The strategy puts at risk our cold-water rivers and their wild Atlantic salmon populations. Old forests in the headwaters of the Restigouche and Miramichi Rivers used to provide shady habitat, but now are open for increased clear-cutting.

At the same time, government will allow industry to double the amount of tree plantations, to occupy one-quarter of Crown forests. Tree plantations are NOT the same as old growth mixed forests, and take away habitat vital for the survival of native wildlife such as barred owls, flying squirrels and American marten.

For our forests to be resilient to climate change, we need to conserve diversity and natural forests. The current strategy is reducing natural diversity in forests and along waterways. This increases the risk new or increased pests and diseases, droughts, floods and fires will degrade our forests.

The majority of the public told the Select Committee on Wood Supply in 2004 they do not want government to sacrifice fish and wildlife habitat to increase wood supply. The Select Committee rejected industry’s request to put a cap on conservation zones, and instead recommended that government reduce the amount of clear-cutting.

A survey of New Brunswickers in 2014 found that a large majority place highest priority on protecting our forests to conserve fresh water, air and wildlife habitat. Our citizens expect government to stand up for core public values, and to conserve what remains of our natural forests.

The survey showed that people want more say in how government manages our forests. Government has still not implemented any consultation strategy to involve the public in shaping our forests’ future.

CPAWS is recommending that at least 20 percent of Crown land (10 percent of the province), including the largest patches of old forest, be designated by 2020 in permanent protected areas. These areas would prohibit logging and mining, and be open to outdoor recreation. This amount will move us closer to the level in other provinces – the national average is over 10 percent. There is no plan to increase our protected areas, so we need a new commitment.

CPAWS is recommending the province bring back conservation to the parts of Crown land they were conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers. What we have now is below the bare minimum required to conserve all the wildlife that need old forests.

If we take these steps, New Brunswick will be doing our fair share to protect wilderness areas and wildlife, and the significant tourism and ecotourism jobs that go with them. We will be protecting our forests to be resilient to climate change. This will conserve the richness of the forest, and help provide ecological services and resources we need (from river protection to timber).

July 24 2017

Canada lags the world in land protection.

Steve Reid News

New Brunswick needs to step up and commit to new protected areas by 2020

Fredericton – In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling upon New Brunswick to step up efforts to protect more land by 2020. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results” calls Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for conservation purposes, and encourages governments to conserve Canada’s natural heritage, starting by delivering on their international commitment. New Brunswick ranks 2nd to last among the Canadian provinces and territories.

With only 10.6% of its landscape currently protected, Canada lags behind the global average of 15%, and also trails other large countries such as China, Brazil, and Australia. In 2010, as part of a worldwide effort to stem the tide of biodiversity loss, Canada committed under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to protecting at least 17%of land and inland waters by 2020 and improving the quality of their protected area systems to more effectively conserve nature.

The report recognizes that Canadian governments are finally starting to take this commitment seriously after years of inaction. In February 2017, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for parks and protected areas publicly announced their commitment to work together to achieve this target. A new Pathway to 2020 process was initiated, and the Indigenous Circle of Experts and National Advisory Panel appointed to advise Ministers on this work.

“In New Brunswick, there has been no progress on working towards the national protected areas targets,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick. “There are steps that can be taken by the province immediately to help Canada reach our goals, including setting a target to increase protected areas, developing an action plan to 2020 and beyond, and protecting the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway.”

“With less than 3 years to fulfill our 2020 commitment, we need to get going now,” adds Hébert-Daly. “In the report we identify places across Canada where a considerable amount of work has already been done on proposed protected areas. By acting now to permanently protect these sites, while also planning for what’s needed to conserve nature in the long term, Canada has a chance to move from laggard to leader.”

Clowater adds, “The New Brunswick government could create a world-class wilderness tourism destination by establishing the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway – a wide protected corridor along the river, on Crown land. Currently, 97% of the New Brunswick portion of the Restigouche watershed is open to development, and industrial development is eating away at the region’s wild forests and rivers year by year. By conserving this area’s special nature, promising ecotourism businesses could reliably promote a quality wilderness destination to nature-seeking tourists around the world.”

Protected areas are important to conserve wildlife and wilderness, as well as provide clean air and water for all Canadians, store carbon, and play a major role in improving our health and well-being. They also make economic sense. Protected areas around the world generate US$600 billion per year in direct spending, while costing less than US$10 billion per year to manage.

For over 50 years, CPAWS has been working with all levels of government, and other partners across the country to protect more of Canada’s public lands. As the only nationwide charity dedicated to the protection of our public lands and water, we are uniquely positioned to help governments protect what nature really needs.

For interviews, contact: Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; 506-452-9902

Related Resources

Related Resources
Media Coverage

Read the full report. http://cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS-Parks-Report-2017.pdf

Read the Executive Summary with recommendations. http://cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS-Parks-Report-Executive-Summary-2017.pdf

June 7 2017

CPAWS expresses concern about Canada’s approach to Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures

Steve Reid News

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) today responded to Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s announcement about Fisheries and Oceans Canada policy and sites regarding Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs).

“While we appreciate the efforts that Minister LeBlanc and his department have made to be the first government in the world to develop explicit policy on marine OECMs, we are concerned that neither the policy nor the sites announced today meet the test set out by the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect biodiversity as a whole”, said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS National Ocean Program Director. “As long as other industrial activities are being allowed in these areas, it is difficult to see them as ‘marine refuges’, as DFO has labeled them.”

Signatory countries, including Canada, to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), have agreed to meet Aichi Target 11, which commits governments to:

By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.

Under the CBD convention, in-situ conservation of biological diversity means that the areas counted towards Aichi Target 11 should be managed to achieve the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings. With only 3 years left to meet these ambitious targets, countries around the world are racing against the clock to put new protection measures in place. In Canada, only 1% of our ocean territory is currently protected.

“In Canada, the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (www.ccea.org) has been working for the past 5 years with the protected areas community of practice to develop science-based guidance for the identification and reporting of OECMs on land and in the sea. We are concerned that DFO’s approach is not consistent with emerging guidance from the CCEA and could also undermine efforts to define OECMs on land”, said Alison Woodley, CPAWS National Parks Program Director.

“The DFO policy is also not consistent with the emerging international consensus on OECM guidance being developed for the CBD by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)”, noted Jessen. “The draft IUCN guidance and the CCEA guidance are clear that any sites contributing toward the CBD Aichi Target 11, should be effective at conserving biodiversity. That cannot happen if these areas are left vulnerable to industrial-scale fishing, oil and gas exploration and development, and other industrial uses, which should be expressly prohibited.”

“In reviewing the sites that are being counted, we are concerned that the ancient and globally unique Strait of Georgia glass sponge reefs in BC, while protected from all bottom contact fishing, remain vulnerable to anchoring and cable laying and fail to consider the ecosystem linkages between the surface waters and seafloor ecosystem,” said Jessen.

“In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, based upon the information provided so far, the scallop buffer zones only restrict scallop fishing, and all other activities would be allowed to continue,” noted Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS-New Brunswick. “This single restriction is not likely to contribute much to protecting overall biodiversity in these zones from current or future industrial activity.”

“In the case of the 3O coral closure, we are concerned that scientific advice that the closure should include areas within the 400m to 800m depth contour, has not been addressed,” noted Tanya Edwards, Co-Executive Director, CPAWS Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter. “In addition, while corals and sponges are being protected through the prohibition of bottom contact fishing, the other ecological values and linkages within the pelagic realm are being completely ignored.”

“While these sites each have some interim steps toward protection of specific elements of biodiversity, CPAWS believes that they all need additional measures to provide long-term protection for all elements of biodiversity, before they can count towards meeting the CBD target”, said Jessen.

Contacts:
Sabine Jessen, 604-657-2813 sabine@cpawsbc.org
Roberta Clowater, 506-452-9902 rclowater@cpaws.org
Tanya Edwards, 709-726-5800 tedwards@cpaws.org

For further information about the CCEA guidance on OECMs see: http://www.ccea.org/aichi-target-11-guidance/

For further information about the IUCN guidance on OECMs see: https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/wcpa/what-we-do/other-effective-area-based-conservation-measures-oecms

April 10 2017

Commentary: New Brunswick needs to protect more natural areas

Steve Reid Forest Campaigns, News Parks and Protected Areas, Restigouche

[The following commentary appeared in The Daily Gleaner on April 5, 2017.]

For the first time since 1992, Canadian governments are working together to expand our network of protected areas to conserve nature. The federal government and all provinces and territories recently agreed to work on a plan to meet international targets for protected areas.

In 2010, Canada committed to protecting at least 17 per cent of land and 10 per cent of our ocean by 2020, under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

New Brunswick needs to contribute to this plan and report on actions. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – NB Chapter (CPAWS NB) is eager to support our government to put nature conservation at the forefront of our nation building.

CPAWS NB has a three-point plan for how the provincial government can do this. First, New Brunswick should commit to a new action plan to have at least 10 per cent of the province in legally protected natural areas and nature-oriented parks.

This would bring us up to the national average, and be more comparable to the action plans of all the other provinces.

We need a road map showing how New Brunswick will contribute to the nation-wide targets. We should focus not only on quantity, but also on the quality of protection. Our province’s researchers already have the information to identify the right areas for protection of nature, and the right ways to protect them.

Second, the New Brunswick government should work with the federal government to create protected areas around key coastal habitats. This could include some mud flat habitats that are vital stopovers for hungry migrating shorebirds. It could include ocean waters that surround protected island nature reserves, or inter-tidal zones next to coastal parks, like Fundy National Park.

Third, the province could step up the protection of remaining old forest habitats on Crown land.

They could give protected natural area status to ecologically rich wetlands, lakes and river headwaters. Most of the old forest habitats on Crown land remain open to all kinds of industrial development. This puts at risk these forests’ ability to be resilient to climate change impacts, and to continue providing us with flood protection or habitat for pollinators.

We have an opportunity to protect a special ecotourism gem in the Restigouche region. It’s already known for its salmon angling and canoeing. However, industrial development is eating away at these wild forests and rivers year by year. We could create a world-class wilderness tourism destination – the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway – a wide protected corridor along the river, on Crown land. It would help protect the million-dollar salmon angling economy. If we conserve this area’s special nature, promising ecotourism businesses could reliably promote a quality wilderness destination around the world.

CPAWS NB, our volunteers, partners and supporters stand ready to help our province achieve this goal. On Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation, there could be no better gift than well-protected nature – the iconic symbol of our cultures. As the climate changes, protecting natural areas is even more important, because the habitat we save might be our own.

ROBERTA CLOWATER is executive director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – New Brunswick Chapter, in Fredericton.

February 4 2017

Commentary: Conservation action needed on our oceans

Steve Reid News, Ocean Campaigns Bay of Fundy, oceans

The oceans around New Brunswick influence our culture, contribute to our economic well-being and continue to shape our natural environment. The world recognizes the Bay of Fundy for its natural riches. From the world’s highest tides, to concentrations of endangered whales and coastal stopovers for migratory sandpipers, it has been in the running alongside the world’s natural wonders. The Gulf of St. Lawrence supports some of the richest fish and shellfish spawning and feeding grounds in Canada. Together, our ocean waters support over 7,000 tourism and recreation jobs, and over 11,000 jobs in fishing and seafood processing in New Brunswick.

These important values depend upon a resilient and robust ocean system. However, industrial uses in our oceans are expanding. We are faced with proposals for more crude oil tanker traffic, large open-net salmon aquaculture sites, oil and gas exploration, tidal turbines, and a proposed underwater cable across the Bay of Fundy to transport power from New Brunswick to Massachusetts. We are already feeling the effects of climate change, including changes to locations or amounts of whales, seabirds, fish, and the tiniest zooplankton at the bottom of the food chain. Too often, the health of our oceans is out of sight (under the water), and out of mind. We haven’t established the ocean protection measures to minimize those risks.

We need to balance these risks with the insurance policy that comes from establishing marine protected areas (also called MPAs). These are places in the ocean that government legally designates for conservation purposes. Places where we minimize human impacts in the ocean to ensure we can maintain the natural environment well into the future. MPAs provide long-term protection for the sea floor and the water column all the way to the surface, along with the wildlife that live in or swim through that area. Usually, MPAs would not permit industrial activities and construction that damage the sea bottom, and would restrict some kinds of fishing.

Governments and ocean stakeholders around the world recognize MPAs as an effective tool for helping to sustain ocean health and local economies. Studies show that fish populations in MPAs thrive, and can spillover to enhance fisheries outside MPAs. Marine protected areas can help safeguard the natural areas that local tourism businesses need, and that international tourists want to experience.

Many sites in the oceans around New Brunswick are sensitive or highly valuable natural spaces. Whales and basking sharks come to feed and congregate in the deep waters of the outer Bay of Fundy. Concentrations of mussel reefs, corals, kelp forests and sponge clusters act like“ecosystem engineers” and provide refuge for all kinds of fish, sea squirts, jellyfish and anemones. In the inner Bay of Fundy, vast mudflats create the right habitat that allows 80 per cent of the world’s semipalmated sandpipers to feed on mud shrimp and rest during their fall migration. All of these functions, and more, need to be included in networks of MPAs along both coasts.

As part of global efforts to help conserve our oceans, the federal government has committed to significantly increasing Canada’s marine protected areas. We are committed to protecting 10 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2020, and we are now at less than one per cent. The ocean waters around New Brunswick only have less than half of one per cent in marine protected areas. The Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Coast Guard and the Department of Environment and Climate Change are identifying potential candidates for the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The federal and provincial governments will need to work together to ensure that the oceans around New Brunswick receive the conservation action we need. For the most effective solution, we will all have to co-operate – business owners, the fishing community, conservation groups, and citizens. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – New Brunswick Chapter is eager to work with all stakeholders and the public to make sure MPAs are established in an open way, and using strong objectives for ocean habitat protection. Plans are in the early stages.

If we do this right, marine protected areas will forever protect special places in our sea, restore and sustain healthy oceans and maintain vital ocean-based economies.

*********

The above article was published in The Daily Gleaner on Feb. 4, 2017.

December 26 2016

Out With the Old Year, In With the New!

Steve Reid News Bay of Fundy, climate change, nature education, oceans

Working on nature conservation issues in New Brunswick can be challenging, but also rewarding. Over this past year the staff and volunteers of CPAWS NB have been quite busy, and we expect to be just as busy in the year(s) to come. As the new year is about to dawn we thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of the highlights of our work.

One exciting area of work has been on the topic of

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Following the last federal election, the government made a commitment to reach a target of protecting 10 percent of Canada’s oceans by 2020. We have been involved in meetings with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, environment supporters and people in the fishing community and the towns around the Bay of Fundy, and we anticipate many, many more. We will not be content until MPAs are brought to the Bay of Fundy, protecting its many important ecosystems and species. For more about this, see http://www.protectbayoffundy.ca/ and add your voice at the bottom of the page.

You might have seen in the news this year many stories about the development of snowmobile trails in and around Mount Carleton Provincial Park. When we learned about it we became quite concerned, and worked with the Friends of Mount Carleton to bring a temporary halt to plans to develop a trail up Mount Carleton itself. We are now in the middle of an Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed work – the proponents of the plan have submitted their plans and report, we have submitted our comments, and soon it will go to the Department of Environment for a full analysis. We feel that the mountain is no place for motorized vehicles, so we intend to stay on top of this issue. Stay tuned to our website for updates, and please let the government know how you feel about it.

This past year the provincial government put together a committee to receive input from the public on climate change and what New Brunswick should be doing about it. Roberta Clowater, our executive director, made a presentation to the committee, emphasizing the importance that the conservation of natural areas in and around our communities can play in buffering us from the effects of climate change. The government has now released its action plan on climate change, and it is very promising. The plan recognizes the importance of nature, of working with NGOs and communities to develop local and regional plans, and of taking climate change into consideration for all decisions about activity in this province (including forestry!). We can see that this file is going to keep us very busy.

Along with the above, we have also continued our school program, Watch Your Paws, educating our youth about the importance of nature. We held a number of outings with citizens of all ages in different areas of the province. We have participated in the Get Outside NB program, placing young Park Leaders in provincial parks in the summer to guide activities and increase nature interpretation for our visitors. We have worked with community leaders on developing climate change adaptation plans. We have continued to advocate for the conservation of nature in our province at every available opportunity. (Information about these things and many more are found throughout our website.)

And in the coming year, we are going to continue to do all this and more! That is why it is important to us to have the support of citizens of New Brunswick, who provide us with the encouragement to continue this work. We also rely on donations to pay for this work, so if you can, take a moment to donate to us this year. You can do that online or by contacting our office. The nature of New Brunswick is important to all of us, and together we can make sure it is here for future generations to experience.

Happy New Year, everybody, and be sure to keep in touch!