Le gouvernement travaille sur la création du parc du Bassin Versant de la Restigouche et attend votre avis! Le nouveau parc proposé englobera 20 000 hectares de terres le long des rivières Restigouche, Kedgwick, Patapedia, Upsalquitch, et Little Main. Ce projet apportera une protection indispensable au réseau de la rivière Restigouche et offrira des possibilités touristiques.
Si vous souhaitez partagez votre avis, 3 journées portes ouvertes auront lieu la semaine prochaine:
Mardi le 12 novembre, 2019 à Auberge Evasion de Rêves, 11 Canada, St. Quentin de 17h à 20h **** Remis à la semaine prochaine à cause de la neige. ****
Mercredi le 13 novembre, 2019 à Robinsonville Community Fire Hall de 17h 20h
Jeudi le 14 novembre, 2019 au Parc Provincial Sugarloaf, Atholville de 17h à 20h
Mardi 19 novembre, de 17 h à 20 h, à l’Auberge Évasion de Rêves, 11, rue Canada, à Saint-Quentin; et
Mercredi 20 novembre, de 17 h à 20 h, dans la salle du Citoyen du Centre municipal, 4, rue St-Jean, Kedgwick
Si vous ne pouvez pas vous rendre aux journées portes ouvertes du parc du Bassin Versant de la Restigouche, mais souhaitez y participer, il y a un sondage en lign disponible ici: https://www.narrativeresearchsurveys.ca/SE/87/1172719/?lang=fr jusqu’au 6 décembre 2019.
The government is working towards establishing the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway park and is looking for your input! The new proposed park will encompass 20,000 hectares of land along the Restigouche, Kedgwick, Patapedia, Upsalquitch and Little Main Restigouche Rivers. This project will bring much-needed protection to the Restigouche River system, as well as providing tourism opportunities.
If you would like to have your voice heard, there will be 3 open houses happening next week:
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at Auberge Evasion de Rêves,11 Canada, St. Quentin from 5:00 to 8:00 pm **** Postponed until the following week due to snow ****
Wednesday, November 13, 2019 at the Robinsonville Community Fire Hall from 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Thursday, November 14, 2019 at Sugarloaf Provincial Park, Atholville from 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Auberge Évasion de Rêves, 11 Canada St., Saint-Quentin.
Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Salle du Citoyen, Centre municipal, 4 St-Jean St., Kedgwick
If you cannot make any of the open houses for the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway park but still wish to weigh in, there is an online survey available here: https://www.narrativeresearchsurveys.ca/SE/87/1172719/?lang=en until December 6th, 2019. [We have been told that some people have had difficulty submitting their survey. Government personnel have been notified about this. Sometimes it is a problem with the type of browser being used, so you might try changing browsers if you encounter difficulties.]
Here we are, about two weeks into the new year and settling in to our new resolutions and routines. You might have set some ambitious goals to for this year, and so has Canada. Through partnerships between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments, our country has set four major goals for biodiversity to reach by 2020.
These four goals include 19 different targets. Some of these goals and targets might be quite familiar to you. Target 1, for example, which aims to protect 17% of land and inland water and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020, comes up more frequently in the media than other targets. Other goals and targets might be less familiar as they relate to particular industries or actions. So, what exactly is Canada planning for our wildlife and ecosystems? Let’s break these biodiversity goals down.
Photo by Peter Reimer
Goal A: By 2020, Canada’s lands and waters are planned and managed using an ecosystem approach to support biodiversity conservation outcomes at local, regional, and national scales.
Through Goal A, Canada aims to safeguard our lands, waters, and the biodiversity within them against human impacts, ensuring that Canadian ecosystems can continue to deliver the many services that we depend on. Goal A includes Targets 1 to 5, which call for increased protected area coverage (Target 1); protection and recovery of species, including endangered species (Target 2); protection of wetlands and their many important functions, like water filtration (Target 3), better inclusion of biodiversity in municipal planning (Target 4), and an understanding of how Canadian ecosystems will adapt to climate change (Target 5). Goal A calls for the ecosystem approach, which means considering the complex relationships of an ecosystem, including relationships between biodiversity, with humans, and the non-living environment, when planning for conservation.
Photo by Julie Reimer
Goal B: By 2020, direct and indirect pressures as well as cumulative effects on biodiversity are reduced, and production as well as consumption of Canada’s biological resources are more sustainable.
Goal B includes eight of the 19 targets directed at natural resource use in Canada and the impacts of these uses on biodiversity and ecosystems. Some targets under Goal B focus on particular industries, including forestry (Target 6), agriculture (Target 7), aquaculture (Target 8), and fisheries (Target 9). Other targets aim to reduce pollution in Canadian waters (Target 10); to prevent the spread of invasive species (Target 11); to maintain the sustainable use of natural resources by Indigenous Peoples (Target 12); and to apply new ways for conserving biodiversity. To reduce cumulative effects, planners must consider how different actions and uses of biodiversity and ecosystems interact to create bigger problems. Goal B deals with changing the ways that Canadians interact with biodiversity to improve conservation and ensure future use.
Goal C: By 2020, Canadians have adequate and relevant information about biodiversity and ecosystem services to support conservation planning and decision-making.
Goal C aims to better prepare our planners and decision-makers by arming them with the best available knowledge to make informed decisions when it comes to conservation. Through its four targets, Goal C calls for new and more accessible biodiversity science (Target 14); stronger respect for and inclusion of Indigenous knowledge (Target 15); a complete list of Canada’s protected areas (Target 16); and an improved economic understanding of biodiversity and the benefits provided by ecosystems (Target 17). This goal is all about improving science and knowledge of Canada’s biodiversity.
Photo by Justin Dutcher, Dutch Elm Studios
Goal D: By 2020, Canadians are informed about the value of nature and more actively engaged in its stewardship.
Goal D is about encouraging Canadians to become better acquainted with our biodiversity. The final two targets call for the inclusion of biodiversity in elementary and high school lessons (Target 18) and growth in the number of Canadians getting outside and into nature (Target 19). Goal D is one that each and every one of us can get involved in today, tomorrow, or this weekend!
These are some ambitious goals! With 30% of the boreal forest, 20% of the world’s freshwater, the world’s longest coastline, and many vibrant ecosystems, there is a lot of biodiversity in Canada worth conserving. We know what needs to be done to protect nature and to ensure that all Canadians continue to benefit from healthy ecosystems, now we need to get to work. In this last year of action, CPAWS-NB encourages New Brunswickers to engage with their local officials and communities to spread the conservation message. Not only do we need more protected areas and new strategies for conserving natural resources, but we also need more passionate New Brunswickers to speak up for nature in 2019!
To read Canada’s four goals and 19 targets, check out this flyer.
Read more on the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada here.
Julie Reimer is a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Board Member of CPAWS-NB. Having worked in the whale watching industry in New Brunswick and conducted her Master’s research on conservation planning for the North Atlantic right whale, Julie is an advocate for MPAs in New Brunswick. Julie’s current research attempts to see the “bigger picture” of conservation, reaching beyond protected areas to understand the synergies between conservation actions and ocean industries. To connect with Julie, visit http://juliereimer.wixsite.com/hello.
Shh—do you hear that owl hooting? Frog croaking? Moose calling?
The sounds we encounter as we move through nature make up a soundscape that is as much a part of our wilderness experiences as what we see. Unfortunately, nature’s hubbub isn’t the only thing reaching our ears as we enjoy the outdoors. Increasingly, so is the noise of human activities, like the boom of pile drivers, the roar of boat and ATV engines, and the hum of traffic. The chatter of animal life we hear as we move through nature is an integral part of healthy ecosystems. Bernie Krause, a renowned naturalist and musician who has spent over 40 years recording and studying the sounds of nature, calls this soundscape the biophony of an ecosystem.
Bull elk bugling in Mammoth Hot Springs photo by Jim Peaco; Creative Commons License 1.0
This is how a biophony works: each species occupies a particular space within the soundscape of their ecosystem, like a forest or an ocean (Krause, 2012). There they can make the sounds that help them communicate within their environment. They can chirp, growl, yap, click, or tweet without interfering with other species in the habitat. Each ecosystem has its own natural conversation that follows rules and norms, similar to a human conversation where each person has their say and can be heard when talking in a group. For species in an ecosystem, who can be heard, when and how can mean the difference between life and death.
When animals become stressed by an unexpected or traumatic event, such as human-generated noise, the biophony is disrupted. Species go silent, sounds become chaotic, and animals flee. Eventually animals will re-find their voices and return to their natural place within the soundscape, but until this happens animals are stressed and more vulnerable to predators. Getting back to a healthy soundscape can take days, months, or even years.
Humans disrupt the soundscape more and more. However,it isn’t the only aspect of natural areas that are affected by our noise, and the consequences are numerous. Studies show that human noise can affect species physiology and behaviour, which can affect their health and survival. For example, ship engines and ocean resource exploration increase the stress hormones in whales living in the Arctic, and, in some cases, cause them to leave the feeding grounds that they have relied on for years. Our noisy activities impact wildlife communication, reproduction, ability to avoid predation, and physiological health. Noise affects habitat selection and the ability to find food. It even impacts the survival of plants by altering the behaviour of pollinators, like birds and butterflies. The impacts tend to ripple through an ecosystem, affecting wildlife from small plants to large predators.
Deepwater horizon response photo by Patrick Kelley; Creative Commons License 2.0
Human noise is increasing and impacting more places on the planet, including wilderness and protected areas. The most significant noise comes from road and airplane traffic, resource extraction, construction, city expansion, and energy production, like dams. Oceans in particular are experiencing an alarming rise in human noise. According to research conducted by the Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab, ocean noise levels have been doubling every decade for the past 50 years. Scientists say that shipping and resource drilling and exploration have created a underwater droning that is now constant and heard almost everywhere. They warn if we continue to increase our noise, wildlife like whales may have nowhere to go to escape it.
Clearly, human noise is a serious problem, but with protected areas we may be able to preserve nature’s soundscape from the impacts of noise. Protected areas are often quieter than surrounding lands, especially when protecting wilderness away from roads or other developments. This suggests that protecting wilderness areas has an important role in preserving natural soundscapes and reducing the negative impacts of noise. When creating protected areas, we should consider all components of a healthy ecosystem, and that includes the soundscape.
Other regions have been successful at protecting the soundscape from human noise. In Colorado, an air traffic corridor directs planes away from Rocky Mountain National Park and concentrates the noise of air and road traffic in one area. In the ocean, restricting the number and speed of ships in areas that are important for whale mating, feeding and migrating can reduce harmful noise impacts to whales that rely heavily on the soundscape. Some protected areas also aim to reduce noise coming from everyday users, like those of us enjoying a hike in a park. In California’s Muir Woods National Monument, quiet areas and quiet activities are encouraged and have successfully reduced noise when quiet signs are posted. Protected areas in New Brunswick might also benefit from efforts to reduce noise impacts from our highways, cities, and daily activities.
Traffic in Mount Carleton Provincial Park photo by Mark D’Arcy
When we think of nature, we often think about the “peace and quiet” of wilderness. For the health of all species, including humans, we need to preserve the quiet of these special places. Protected areas might be our best opportunity to preserve the pristine and healthy ecosystems of New Brunswick on land and at sea. With new protected areas, New Brunswick ecosystems may be filled with the songs of birds, the calls of coyotes, and the conversations of whales long into the future.
Krause, B. (2012). The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, Hachette Book Group.
National Research Council (US) Committee on Potential Impacts of Ambient Noise in the Ocean on Marine Mammals. (2003). Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Stack, D.W. & Newman P. (2011). Reducing visitor noise levels at Muir Woods National Monument using experimental management. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America,129, 1375.
Stafford, K. (2016).How human noise affects ocean habitats. Ted Talk. Retrieved December 3, 2018 from https://www.ted.com/talks/kate_stafford_how_human_noise_affects_ocean_habitats?language=en#t-560025 Oceanographer
From microscopic organisms to seed-hoarding birds to the tallest trees, an ecosystem is a collection of individual plants and animals in careful balance. Just like in your workplace, circle of friends, or each organism has an important role to play. Some examples include:
The garbage collector – the person in your life who will lick everyone’s plate and never lets food go to waste. In an ecosystem, this might be fungi or decomposing bacteria. These species work to breakdown decaying organisms and recycle their nutrients back into the ecosystem.
Photo by Steve ReidThe one who always has food – possibly the mom of the group. Alternatively, “primary producers” in an ecosystem, which are all of the organisms (such as plants) that can make their own food, usually through photosynthesis. The primary producers are essential to the food chain, creating the baseline energy that all other organisms rely on.
The one who holds you all together – your boss, your family’s matriarch, or your most organized friend. In ecosystems, some species have the important job of physically holding the ecosystem together. For example, the roots of trees or underground stems of grasses help to hold soils in place.
The engineer – some species are exceptionally good builders, like your friend who could make anything from popsicle sticks and a roll of tape. Consider beavers: when beavers dam a waterway, they are changing the way that ecosystem works. These species build, change, and maintain habitats in the ecosystem.
The control freak – someone who has more control than others over how the rest of the group acts. In an ecosystem, this could be a “keystone species”, often predators who control populations of prey. Without these species, ecosystems tend to look and work entirely different.
Organisms aren’t just grouped by the typical food chain – producers, consumers, predators, decomposers – they can also be grouped based on shared behaviours and their roles in creating a healthy ecosystem. In ecosystem conservation, the goal is to protect as many organisms in each role as possible. Instead of protecting just species that are threatened or endangered, we need to protect a collection of species whose behaviours support the health of others. Instead of protecting only one species in each role, we need to protect multiple species to create some redundancy and resilience to unexpected change, like wildfire or floods.
Photo by Julie Reimer
Protected areas designed to include multiple species within each role are well-equipped to preserve a healthy functioning ecosystem into the future. When protected areas are large enough and well-managed to reduce threats from industry and development, they can ensure that biodiversity is in balance.
CPAWS-NB sees protected areas on land and at sea as the best opportunity to conserve and restore ecosystems. Currently, New Brunswick lags behind other Canadian provinces in creating protected areas, but in the Pathway to Canada Target 1, New Brunswick has an opportunity to contribute to Canada’s goals of protecting 17% of land and freshwater by 2020. CPAWS-NB is eager to work together with Indigenous, federal, provincial, and municipal governments in creating protected areas that secure our habitats for the benefit of all New Brunswickers.
Julie Reimer is a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Board Member of CPAWS-NB. Having worked in the whale watching industry in New Brunswick and conducted her Master’s research on conservation planning for the North Atlantic right whale, Julie is an advocate for MPAs in New Brunswick. Julie’s current research attempts to see the “bigger picture” of conservation, reaching beyond protected areas to understand the synergies between conservation actions and ocean industries. To connect with Julie, visit http://juliereimer.wixsite.com/hello.
The nature of New Brunswick is nothing short of astounding—with coasts on three sides, expansive winding rivers, and more than 200 lakes, this province is home to all kinds of ecosystems, habitats, and landscapes. But what most people think of when it comes to New Brunswick’s backdrop are the trees. When people visit for the first time they are struck by the lush green mixed forests that dominate the landscape, making day trips more scenic and wildlife so abundant.
The forests of New Brunswick build deep roots for culture, biodiversity, and the economy. They provide all kinds of important services to New Brunswickers: storing carbon and helping to reduce impacts from climate change; helping to cycle the nutrients that all life depends on; preventing flooding by holding water in their soils, and creating a sense of ease, happiness, and spirituality for the masses. Two of New Brunswick’s major industries, tourism and forestry, depend on our vibrant and resilient forest. It is without doubt that forests are among the most important resources in New Brunswick, and therefore should be managed with the utmost care.
Fundy Park Forests, Photo by James Mann, Creative Commons License 2.0
Forests and forestry products are a renewable resource, which means that with proper management and a keen eye for sustainable use the industry can persist. Unfortunately, this seems to be easier said than done. All over the world in all sorts of industries, renewable resources are being depleted faster than they can recover and reproduce. We have not yet come to terms with the role of climate change in the management of forests. This can lead to unsustainable management that creates risk for industries and for the families, communities, and economies depending on their success.
When it comes to forests, sustainable management ensures that the industry can prevail, while also safeguarding forest ecosystems for the many other benefits they provide. CPAWS-NB looks to the important link between conservation and sustainable industry when it comes to the forests. When forests are protected from industrial development and extraction, they become more resilient and safeguarded against the unknown. Protected forests will continue to deliver the non-forestry benefits that are lost when trees are harvested, ensuring a productive forest ecosystem now and in the future.
Winter at Irishtown Reservoir, Photo by James Mann, Creative Commons License 2.0
This summer, the New Brunswick Department of Energy and Resource Development released a revised Forest Strategy that will, among other management strategies, allow the province to re-build commitments to conservation. The revised Strategy might open the door for increasing protected area coverage, which is currently only 4.6% of the province. CPAWS-NB is optimistic that this Strategy is a good start to building a foundation for conservation and hopes that the province will go further to make forest integrity and resilience an urgent priority in forestry management.
As put by the CPAWS-NB Executive Director, Roberta Clowater, “a modern Forest Strategy needs to have a serious insurance policy of significant areas where nature is permanently protected from industrial development.” Listen to an interview with Roberta on the Strategy and forest conservation in the province here.
As the provincial election approaches, consider New Brunswick’s forests before you cast your ballot. Remember that, as a province, we need to be working together to create a healthy industry rooted in a healthy forest, and this will mean a serious investment in protected areas.
Julie Reimer is a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Board Member of CPAWS-NB. Having worked in the whale watching industry in New Brunswick and conducted her Master’s research on conservation planning for the North Atlantic right whale, Julie is an advocate for MPAs in New Brunswick. Julie’s current research attempts to see the “bigger picture” of conservation, reaching beyond protected areas to understand the synergies between conservation actions and ocean industries. To connect with Julie, visit http://juliereimer.wixsite.com/hello.
Fredericton – Following New Brunswick’s first ever election forum on nature conservation, held yesterday by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the group is delivering a list of 5,000 people to Premier Graham today who support keeping the province’s most spectacular wilderness, the Restigouche, forever wild.
The Green Party, the New Democratic Party and the Liberal Party sent representatives to participate in the forum. The NDP representative, Genevieve MacRae, stated that the NDP wants a comprehensive plan that will achieve long-term diverse and sustainable jobs and a healthy forest environment, and was supportive of an increase in protected areas. The Liberal Party representative, Greg Byrne, stated that the Liberals believe the decision they announced previously, with a small increase in protected areas and an increased focus on plantations, is a balanced approach they are committed to following. The Green Party representative, Jean-Louis Deveau, said that they would support increasing the target for establishing new protected areas so that the wildest parts of the Restigouche could be legally protected, in conjunction with more ecosystem based management of public forests. Much to the disappointment of the 60 people in the audience, they were not able to hear from the Progressive Conservative or People’s Alliance parties.
“We were disappointed that despite repeated efforts to confirm representation from the Progressive Conservative and People’s Alliance parties, they chose not to take this opportunity to speak directly with citizens who care about nature conservation. We very much appreciate the Liberal, NDP and Green parties’ participation in this very interesting evening,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick Chapter.
Clowater adds, “Our Keep the Restigouche Wild campaign has so far gained support from over 5000 people online and through postcards. These are people from New Brunswick, Quebec and all over Canada who understand the value of Restigouche wilderness to our province’s ecological health, the survival of wild Atlantic salmon and Canada lynx, and hundreds of sustainable nature-based tourism jobs. New Brunswickers and tourists alike understand this is a valuable natural asset that needs to be protected. We hope that all parties realize its importance to the competitiveness of both our tourism and forestry industries. They are both competing in a marketplace where top level environmental sustainability is now expected by consumers.”
The CPAWS New Brunswick and CPAWS Quebec chapters are working together to encourage the two provinces to protect the wildest parts of this cross-provincial watershed. “The Restigouche is home to rich and varied wildlife such as salmon, bear, lynx and eagles – a wilderness respite for local people and visitors. The enthusiasm for signing our petition shows how much the public wants to preserve its wilderness,” said Sophie Paradis, co- Executive Director of CPAWS Quebec.
CPAWS New Brunswick plans to continue pressing for more protection in the Restigouche with the provincial government, once the election is over.
