News

July 10 2010

Canadian wildlife need big connected parks or species will disappear

Review of Parks says New Brunswick Parks Too Small to Do it Alone

Fredericton – The health of wildlife and biodiversity is uneven in Canada’s national and provincial parks, says a new report prepared by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS).

In some cases, species are at risk of dying out and biodiversity is faltering because habitat has not been adequately protected. In others, good progress has been made to protect wildlife.

The review “How is Wildlife faring in Canada’s Parks?” makes the case that parks are a cornerstone of Canada’s efforts to protect biodiversity – the variety of flora and fauna that make up an ecosystem. However, it notes that bigger, better managed parks, and more of them, are needed if parks are to fulfill their critical role in protecting Canada’s wildlife.

CPAWS prepared its third annual review of parks to mark Canada’s Parks Day, July 17. The organization focused on biodiversity this year because the United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity.

“This report underscores that one of the best ways to protect biodiversity and wildlife is to strengthen our parks system,” says Éric Hébert-Daly, Executive Director of CPAWS.

New Brunswick Parks Need Improved Conservation and Help from Surrounding Lands

The report notes that there are serious concerns in New Brunswick for wildlife such as American marten, a member of the weasel family that needs habitats found in old forests.

Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick, says, “Conservation experts agree that New Brunswick parks, even Mount Carleton Provincial Park and Fundy National Park, are too small to do the job alone for conservation of wildlife such as the marten. This puts even more pressure on our parks to be managed to the highest conservation standards. CPAWS is recommending that our outdated provincial Parks Actbe updated to require conservation plans that will sustain habitat for marten and other wildlife.”

Clowater adds, “New Brunswick’s parks are so few and far between it is becoming difficult to have any confidence we can conserve our native wildlife. Since the New Brunswick government has decided to reduce the amount of old forests conserved on public lands, it is even more critical that we expand permanent protection around our largest parks, like Fundy National Park.”

Encouraging moves to protect biodiversity

The report praises government efforts over the past year to create new parks. Particularly noteworthy is the establishment of Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area off the coast of British Columbia

CPAWS also welcomes government decisions to create parks on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and in the Mealy Mountains of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Mealy Mountains is exceptional because the park will protect most of the range of a threatened herd of woodland caribou.

Large parks protect species

There are 500 species in Canada at risk of extinction and more at-risk species are identified every year.

“In Canada we have one of the best opportunities left in the world to create big parks that can protect wildlife that need large areas of wilderness to survive – before those species get in trouble,” Mr. Hébert-Daly points out.

CPAWS prescribes a range of measures, including:

• Creating new parks and expanding existing park boundaries;

• Maintaining and restoring wildlife movement corridors (so that wildlife have the large ranges they often need);

• Restricting roads and other damaging developments;

• Limiting recreational activities; and

• Practicing good park management that focuses on healthy ecosystems as a first priority.

Species struggle without adequate parks, good management

Among the good news stories highlighted in the report, where parks help protect vulnerable species, are the Ipswich savannah sparrow of Sable Island, the black dogfish of the Laurentian Channel of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the eastern wolf of Algonquin Park.

Sadly, some wildlife face an uncertain future, despite at least partly living in parks. They include the little brown bat in the Fisher Bay area of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba, the northern gannet, of Atlantic Canada, and New Brunswick’s American marten.

“In this International Year of Biodiversity, it is especially important that we focus on the role of Canada’s parks in keeping our wildlife healthy,” Mr. Hébert-Daly says.

March 23 2010

Public support grows to keep the Restigouche Wild!

Steve Reid News

Nearly 2,500 signatures collected, Facebook group growing

Fredericton — Barely two months after launching a special public campaign to protect the Restigouche River watershed, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) has already collected nearly 2,500 signatures! This sends a strong message that the people of Quebec, New Brunswick and other parts of Canada want to ensure this magnificent region is protected.

CPAWS has identified areas amounting to 100,000 hectares in the Restigouche River watershed that are crucial to keep wild and intact to maintain the area’s biodiversity and to support the region’s ecotourism industry.

“We’re asking people to support our request to the governments of New Brunswick and Quebec to work together to permanently protect the wildest parts of this natural jewel shared by our two provinces,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick, who is working in collaboration with colleague Sophie Paradis of the CPAWS Quebec chapter.

“Furthermore, we’re asking our governments to better protect the old-growth forests, wildlife habitats and river banks in the Restigouche – which is one of the wildest river valleys in eastern Canada,” says Clowater.

“This place is home to rich and varied wildlife such as salmon, bear, lynx and bald eagle, and the enthusiasm for our petition is evidence that people want to protect this wilderness,” says Sophie Paradis.

CPAWS’ goal is to collect 3,000 signatures by April 2010, when the government of New Brunswick is expected to announce a shortlist of candidates for protected areas status.

July 17 2009

News Release: Progress on New Brunswick’s parks slow in 2009

Steve Reid News

New report marks Canada’s Parks Day, July 18th

Fredericton – In The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, its second annual review of the state of Canada’s parks, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) reports that the pace of new parks creation slowed significantly in the past 12 months compared to 2008, which it had hailed as a “banner year”. In New Brunswick, establishment of new small protected areas was overshadowed by concerns about lack of ecosystem protection in provincial parks.

GOOD NEWS – More protected areas established, government commits to adding more

The bright spots for New Brunswick include the establishment of 5000 hectares of new protected natural areas in 30 small sites. Also a step forward is the government’s acquisition of natural areas next to Grand Lake Protected Natural Area and The Anchorage Provincial Park, which should help conserve the ecological integrity of these protected lands.

Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick, says, “Perhaps the most hopeful sign is the government’s announcement this year of a future expansion of the protected natural areas system by between 50 and 100 percent. CPAWS is encouraging the government to at least double the small protected areas system, which now stands at 4 percent of Crown land. Conservation scientists have indicated that even at that rate, New Brunswick will not have protected sufficient amounts of important wild areas and habitats to secure wildlife, forests and rivers for the future.”

BAD NEWS – Provincial Parks not managed to protect habitats and ecosystems

The bad news is that the New Brunswick Parks Act does not include any mandate to protect the ecological integrity of provincial park ecosystems, develop conservation management plans, or consult the public about potential uses of park lands.

Ms. Clowater adds, “Provincial parks are managed in such a piecemeal way that the public doesn’t know from year to year what the intentions are for future management of any park. The fate of wildlife and habitats in provincial parks is not necessarily secure, since internal decisions by government could result in developments that are incompatible with nature conservation. We have a recent example in the tree cutting that happened at Mactaquac Provincial Park last summer, even though there was no available evaluation of impacts the new development might have on wildlife and ecosystems.”

“Recent budget cuts that threaten environmental education programs and operations at Mactaquac and have eliminated all Protected Natural Areas local advisory committees are worrying signs that the provincial government may not be as committed to parks and community engagement as they should be,” says Clowater.

THE UGLY – Risk of degradation of Fundy National Park because of activities surrounding park

On the “ugly” side, CPAWS is reporting a lack of progress in addressing problems in Fundy National Park where industrial or development activities within or close to its boundaries are threatening to harm the sensitive ecosystems the park was intended to protect.

“Fundy National Park, despite its fame across Canada, is too small to really protect enough habitats for wildlife in both land and water. The endangered Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon, black bears and marten would all benefit from more protected habitats around Fundy National Park. Scientists and people who care about Fundy have been calling for the park to be expanded for decades, and renewed efforts to expand the Park seem to be stalled,” notes Ms. Clowater.

In every province and territory, CPAWS is working with other organizations, First Nations and governments to create more protected areas that will conserve our extraordinary wilderness heritage.

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For interviews, contact:
Roberta Clowater, Executive Director, CPAWS New Brunswick; 506-452-9902; cpawsnb@nb.sympatico.ca

View full report, related map and video at www.cpaws.org/parks

June 1 2009

Commentary: Should Fundy National Park’s Boundaries be Expanded?

Steve Reid News, Parks Campaigns

National Parks bring a wealth of values to New Brunswickers – habitat and wildlife conservation, protection of water quality, outdoor recreation, and the jobs and other economic benefits associated with research, park operations and tourism. For over thirty years, ecologists and park users have been trying to figure out how to expand the conservation value of Fundy National Park. The Park’s boundaries are not large enough to allow park managers to conserve populations of wide-ranging mammals, watersheds and other wildlife (such as the now endangered population of Inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic salmon). The “State of the Parks Report” (1997) notes that Fundy National Park has experienced the second highest number of wildlife extirpations (the loss of a species from a region) of all national parks, behind only tiny Point Pelee in southern Ontario. With the predicted impacts of climate change on ecosystems, we need to conserve the ability of Fundy natural areas to respond and bounce back from additional stresses in temperature, drought, floods and storms.

Park staff should be praised for bringing this question to the attention of a wider audience, and for speaking with provincial government departments to explore options for management of Crown land next to the park. The next step is clearly to involve the public in a broader discussion of how we solve these conservation challenges and address concerns about ongoing recreational use and other commercial activities.

Expanding the park’s boundaries would have real benefits. More habitats and watersheds would be well protected from development under the Canada National Parks Act. Federal parks have access to significant management resources, increasing the likelihood that conservation plans will be acted upon.

Another conservation tool available now is a provincial protected natural area designation. This legislation was established in 2003, and there are already three small Protected Natural Areas in the region west of Fundy NP – McManus Hill, Point Wolfe River Gorge and Little Salmon River Gorge. These three areas by themselves are adding only minimally to the ecological integrity of the Park. A more sizeable protected natural area abutting Fundy National Park, managed in coordination with the national park management plan, would greatly enhance the Park’s ability to protect the waters, woods and wildlife of the Fundy region. With a protected natural area designation, hunting and trapping would be permitted, while industrial activities would be prohibited.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – New Brunswick Chapter (CPAWS NB) believes that the Fundy National Park needs to be expanded, one way or another. The concerns about the continued persistence of the wildlife, rivers and forests of Fundy National Park are real, and must not be dismissed because some people can’t imagine a good compromise or are unwilling to explore options. The provincial government has announced they plan to expand the protected natural areas system on Crown land. CPAWS believes we have an opportunity to find a compromise and increase land and water protection in the Crown lands surrounding Fundy National Park. We have an obligation to future generations, and ourselves as citizens, to resolve a question that has hung around unanswered for far too long.

Roberta Clowater is the Executive Director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, New Brunswick Chapter, based in Fredericton.

January 30 2009

New crown forest management plan a step backwards for New Brunswick environment and industry

Steve Reid News forests

New crown forest management plan a step backwards for New Brunswick environment and industry

Fredericton – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is extremely disappointed with the New Brunswick government’s announcement today of a new direction for public forest management and is calling on government to make changes.

“This direction is a step backwards for the environment and for the future of New Brunswick’s forest products in the market place. It’s out of line with the direction of every other jurisdiction in Canada to improve forest conservation. It’s also out of step with the changes we need in forest management to address climate change,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS’ New Brunswick chapter.

Unless the strategy is changed, it will lead to a decrease in the amount of forests that are conserved. It will also lead to a significant loss of old forests and a 45{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} reduction in forests managed for wildlife habitat.

Under the strategy, tree plantations will increase from 8{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} to over one-quarter of the forest — well above the upper limit considered safe by conservation scientists for preserving biodiversity.

“The government appears to have rejected the strong environmental values expressed by a large proportion of the public during recent consultations. If we are going to conserve biodiversity in New Brunswick, we need to create a comprehensive network of protected areas – comprising more than 10{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} of the public forest.

“The government’s vague goal of raising the amount of protected forest from 4{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} to between 6{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} and 8{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} of the province continues to place New Brunswick behind the rest of Canada,” says Clowater.

“I have no doubt that this new forest management regime will do little to increase sales for New Brunswick products in international markets. Increasingly, these markets are seeking products that can prove their links to environmental sustainability and progressive forest conservation,” adds Aran O’Carroll, CPAWS National Manager of Legal and Regulatory Affairs.

Clowater states, “CPAWS wants to work with industry to reverse this unfortunate decision by government. Our aim is to work with government and industry to conserve our forests and ensure a stable footing for our province’s products in the marketplace. This new forest management strategy will not help us achieve these goals.”

Less than 3.5{a3162b1395e34f5bc6dd788a255c8e2a209e2a614c3b42176989b624267eff88} of New Brunswick is permanently protected, placing it dead last among Canada’s provinces. The proportion of New Brunswick forests certified under the Forest Stewardship Council – the international gold standard in recognizing responsibly managed forests – is second to last in Canada.

CPAWS’ goal is that Canada will protect biodiversity in its eastern woodlands, covering New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario, through creation of a comprehensive network of protected areas and carefully managed industrial activities.