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This blog was written by Nature Canada member Steve Gahbauer and edited by our Professional Writing Intern, Blair Scott. I hope all of you had a relaxing long weekend at Easter, good maple syrup outings, and an enjoyable March break. I also hope that you have not missed the nature events of January and February – male raccoons leaving their winter dens to search for females; Eastern Grey Squirrels starting their first annual breeding season; Snowy Owls returning to their Arctic breeding grounds. And I trust you did not forget to celebrate Earth Hour on March 19. In our region – around the Rouge Urban National Park – we had a mild winter with very little snow and only a few extremely cold… read more →
I’m happy to report that comments Nature Canada provided on the draft management plan for Aulavik National Park in 2011 have received a nod in the official 2012 version of the plan, which was tabled in Parliament earlier this summer. We received a hard-copy of that official, legal version of the plan on Tuesday and it is available for download here. Aulavik National Park is located on Banks Island in the Northwest Territories and fully encompasses another federal protected area, the Banks Island No. 2 Migratory Bird Sanctuary, as well as the globally significant Thomsen River Important Bird Area. The sanctuary was integrated into the park when it was established in 1992 and is managed through a Memorandum of Understanding between Parks Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service, the government… read more →
According to a provincial court in Alberta, about $1,868. Syncrude Canada has been sentenced to pay an award of approximately $3 million CAD for the death of over 1,600 ducks that dove into its 12 square kilometre tailings pond north of Fort McMurray in Alberta. Syncrude had been found guilty in June 2010 of violating both the federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. How does it add up to $3 million? – $300,000; the maximum fine under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, which will be paid to the federal Environmental Damages Fund (EDF) – $500,000; the maximum fine under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Half of this money will be used for the… read more →
Parks Canada has released a map of the recommended boundaries for the new Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve and adjacent waterway provincial park in Labrador. We’re happy to tell you that 3 of the 7 important bird areas (IBAs) in the Mealy Mountains region and surrounding coastal areas have been included in the new protected area. This is excellent news for avian conservation in Canada!The South Growswater Bay Coastline IBA, Cape Porcupine IBA and Tumbledown Dick Islands and Stag Islands IBA all fall within the recommended boundaries for the new national park. However, it appears that only the offshore islands of the South Groswater Bay IBA are inside the park boundary, leaving the mainland coastal sections of this IBA unprotected.Bird… read more →
A Joint Review Panel, tasked by the government to report on the environmental, socio-economic and cultural effects of the Mackenzie Gas Project, released its findings December 30, 2009, over two years after the panel’s hearings ended in 2007. The panel concluded that if all of its 176 recommendations were fully implemented, the project would likely be beneficial and have no significant adverse impacts. Nature Canada has argued publicly that the National Energy Board should obtain firm, funded commitments from the federal and territorial governments to implement the recommendations of the Joint Review Panel of the Mackenzie Gas Project before approving it. Ninety of the recommendations require action by the federal government, and fifty more require action by the Northwest Territories… read more →
On Tuesday, the Globe and Mail reported that Syncrude has pleaded “not guilty” to charges in relation to the deaths of 1,600 migrating waterfowl in one of the large toxic tailings ponds near Fort McMurray Alberta. The charges were laid under the Federal Migratory Birds Convention Act and provincial wildlife legislation. While the plea is disappointing, it is perhaps expected from an industry that appears to operate largely with its own rules and criteria that do not appear to be the same by which others are judged. There is no arguing that Syncrude provides thousands of jobs and pays significant taxes. That is not the point. The point is that this fact does not give a company the right to… read more →
In a plea bargain made this week, energy giant Exxon Mobil has agreed to pay $600,000 (US) in fines for the deaths of 85 protected migratory birds in the company’s wastewater ponds in five states. The company has also agreed to spend millions of dollars to cover its natural gas well reserve pits and wastewater storage facilities, to avoid killing more birds in the future. From CNN: Waterfowl, hawks and owls protected under an international treaty were killed after landing in uncovered pools, where they were coated with or ingested fatal doses of hydrocarbons, federal officials said. The birds killed over a five-year period were identified by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service as ducks, grebes, ibis, passerines, shore birds,… read more →
I just got back from a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, where Nature Canada and Boreal Songbird Initiative drew attention to the 60,000 petitioners, from 117 countries, who joined the Save Our Boreal Birds Campaign. Dr. Jeff Wells, from BSI, kindly agreed to write a guest post about the petition, and the need to protect the Boreal Forest: Last night as we slept one of the world’s most awesome wildlife spectacles happened over our heads. It will happen again tonight and the next and the next through early June and then it will start again in the fall. Every spring night a massive wave of birds–10-30 million, yes million of them—migrate back to Canada from wintering grounds in… read more →
We’re making one last push to recruit signers of our petition to Save the Boreal Birds, before we officially submit the signed petitions to leaders in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal on May 12. Canada’s Boreal Forest, a 1.4 billion acre green garland stretching from Yukon to Newfoundland, is one of the world’s most unique and important ecosystems. The billions of birds raised in North America’s Bird Nursery leave their nests in the fall and migrate to winter locations throughout North, Central and South America. Many of our favorite backyard birds began their lives in the Boreal. In recent years, we have seen long-term declines in many Boreal bird species. Rusty Blackbirds have declined by 95%, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Boreal Chickadees, Bay-breasted… read more →
At last the federal government under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act and the provincial government of Alberta under the Alberta Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act have moved to prosecute Syncrude for the death of 500 waterfowl in April 2008. If successful, Syncrude could face fines of up to $800,000 CAD, which works out to $1600 per duck. The Globe and Mail reported today that this fine represents less than one hour of production removed from the mining activity. After sitting on the fence for ten months, it seems likely that the combined governments’ actions were triggered by the charges filed against Syncrude in December by a private individual with the backing of several environmental groups. (UPDATE: Globe story is no… read more →