PLANET IN PERIL

The Tyee A conservation group says British Columbia should establish "safe havens" for wildlife in the southern Rockies to preserve habitat where animals will be able to flee the effects of climate change. Details here.

as well as the site nominated for the UNESCO world heritage  site. Government of Manitoba. No New Peat Licences in the Province  Until Peatland Stewardship Strategy in Place Manitoba is banning peat mining in provincial parks and in the nominated  UNESCO World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg as one of several new peatland protection initiatives through TomorrowNow - Manitoba's Green Plan, Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today. Peat bogs (r.) provide habitat for rare plants.  They also store vast amounts  of carbon,  which  helps  mitigate  the impacts of climate change.  Source:   Wilderness Committee.    "I am proud of our record on parks and protected areas.  Seven million hectares of land, which amounts to almost 11 per cent of the province, are already fully protected and we will continue our work on reducing industrial developments in parks," said Mackintosh.  "While I recognize the

GRANDVIEW:  The Green Party of Manitoba condemns the NDP government for allowing the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting company to start construction of a mine in Grass River Provincial Park without approval or public consultation. “If allowed to proceed, the Reed Lake Mine will destroy the woodland Caribou herd which the Park was intended to protect,” says Kate Storey, Green Party councillor and former researcher of the Reed Lake woodland caribou herd. Kate uses radio telemetry to track movements  of woodland caribou at  Reed Lake Grass River Provincial Park is a small park surrounding Reed Lake. This park is a rare area of ideal woodland caribou habitat. Woodland caribou depend on the islands of Reed Lake for protection of their young calves from wolves. Every spring the caribou mothers leave their wintering grounds in old growth forest and swim out to the many islands on Reed Lake where their calves are born in safety. Kate examines a caribou calf. 

Show Details Photo Credit - National Geographic. Dear Larry, Time’s running out to  show your support for the Peel ! An historic decision is about to be made about the future of Yukon’s world-famous  Peel Watershed. The  Yukon Government  is about to throw out six years of hard  work and compromise by a diverse range of  stakeholders on the Peel Commission's  proposed management plan for the region, in favour of a proposal  they developed  unilaterally  which would allow roads  and  surface access throughout the region. The battle for the protecting Peel Watershed has become as much an issue of  supporting democracy as it  is one  of  protecting  the landscape. Speak up now to  protect the Peel. We need YOUR voice  to support the Peel Commission’s Final Recommended Plan  for the  Peel. If we don’t  act  now to protect the  Peel, it will be too late.  Take action NOW!

On February 19 - 22, 2013 the Alberta Prairie Conservation Forum and the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists will jointly host the 10 th Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference (PCESC). Details here. PLT photo (r.) Cape May Warbler. "Use of certain insecticides to control spruce budworms causes steep declines in Cape May Warbler numbers. Logging, especially in the western portion of the species' range, may eventually pose risks to the Warbler because of reduced availability of the mature forests needed to support spruce budworms." (Source - Cornell Lab of Ornithology )

Manitoba Eco-Network The largest remaining undammed river in this province's north, the wild, unspoiled essence of the Seal and the lands that feed it, hold a mythic quality in the hearts and minds of those aware of it natural richness. Details here.  Another Manitoba river which, to me, evokes similar sentiments, is the Waterhen, above. PLT photo.

What will the future hold for Suffield National Wildlife Area? Dear Larry, Loggerhead Shrike: istockphoto Please send your letter to Ministers Kent and MacKay, and ask them to deny Cenovus' request for a permit to expand its drilling operations within the Suffield NWA. Nature Canada is working with other conservation groups to protect the Suffield NWA from expanded industrial activity. Other members of the Suffield Coalition are Alberta Wilderness Association, Nature Alberta, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Nature Saskatchewan, Southern Alberta Group for the Environment, and Grasslands Naturalists. Suffield National Wildlife Area near Medicine Hat, Alberta, is a special space of rare prairie grassland, sand hills and ancient glacial valleys. It's home to at least 15 federally listed species at risk, including the burrowing owl and the loggerhead shrike. But a proposal by energy giant Cenovus to add 1,275 shallow gas wells and

CPAWS Mar 28'12 Holly Postlethwaite True to my Canadian heritage, I love winter.  As soon as the first snowfall hits, I look forward to the crystal white... Details here. PLT photo

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives  Mar 11-'11 Sustainable development and the precautionary principle must not be forgotten in this debate. Full story here.

No. 22 '10 Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society www.kananaskis.com Calgary -- The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s national board of trustees is voicing outrage... EDITOR'S NOTE: In response to CPAW's request, I wrote a letter to Alberta's elected officials which is reproduced, directly below. After that, you will see a response from an Opposition member in Alberta. l.p. ===== Dear Mr. Chase, Having lived in Calgary for 10 years, I had the opportunity to visit many of your beautiful parks. I would plead with you to take pity on their vulnerability and err on the side of conservation, not   exploitation. I plead with you, please withdraw this Parks Act Bill! Sincerely, Larry Powell ======= Dear Larry, Thank you very much for speaking out about Bill 29. With your permission, Mr. Chase would like to table your letter in the Legislature as being opposed to Bill 29 and your email will become part of the permanent record of the Legislature.  I look fo

Manitoba Wildlands - 25 August 2010 Fire Destroys Woodland Caribou Habitat - "MW" calls for action. Hinterland Who's Who

Manitoba News Release ............................................................ October 22, 2009 PROVINCE RULES OUT PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT MEDITATION LAKE - - - Government Renews Commitment to Work with Tim Horton Children's Foundation To Build Camp for Underprivileged Youth: Struthers Based on water testing results at Meditation Lake and feedback from public consultations, the province and Tim Horton Children's Foundation will now seek another location in Whiteshell Provincial Park for a youth leadership camp. The decision was announced today by Conservation Minister Stan Struthers and Tim Horton Children's Foundation vice-president Dave Newnham. "We will look at an alternate location in the Whiteshell to meet the program and wilderness experience needs required by the youth leadership camp proposal while keeping in mind the needs of current and future park visitors," said Struthers. "The public review held in the spring on the Meditation Lake propos

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2009 For over three years, Ecojustice has been assisting a coalition of 11 groups seeking to protect.... Read full story by clicking headline.