In the News

The provincial government is inviting Manitobans to participate in the creation of a new provincial park. The park would be in north-central Manitoba at Little Limestone Lake, a 15-kilometre body of water north of Grand Rapids. The lake is in a limestone region with underground drainage and many cavities and passages caused by dissolution of the rock. It is referred to as a marl lake, since it changes colour when calcite precipitates in the water as the lake's temperature rises in summer. "Protecting one of the most amazing examples of a marl lake in the world is an important legacy we can leave for future generations," Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said. "Because of its rare geography, Little Limestone Lake stands out among Manitoba lakes for its annual cycle of magnificent colour changes." Ron Thiessen, executive director for the Manitoban branch of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said the current park reserve boundary is ...

Volunteers to help study vegetation, wildlife

RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK -- The three-woman boat crew plies the high seas of Clear Lake in glorious sunshine, chasing northern pike hard-wired with transmitters, and pulling up creels of slimy sculpin. For these summer students employed by the wildlife lab at Riding Mountain National Park, it's a dirty job but someone's gotta do it. Now, that someone could be you. The national park is launching a "citizen scientist" program where ordinary Joes and Josephines can join everything from this summer's archeological dig at the park's former POW camp to following transmitter-clad pike by boat using a hand-held antenna. For years, summer students have lined up for jobs to augment the wildlife lab's field work. The voluntary citizen scientist program hopes to expand that labour force further. The park gave the Free Press a tour of some research projects citizen scientists will be recruited for. The first ones started this ...

Public Consultations Underway Until Aug. 31

A new provincial park at Little Limestone Lake in north-central Manitoba is being proposed and the public is invited to have input in the process from mid-July to late August, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie announced today. “Protecting one of the most amazing examples of a marl lake in the world is an important legacy we can leave for future generations,” said Blaikie. “Because of its rare geography, Little Limestone Lake stands out among Manitoba lakes for its annual cycle of magnificent colour changes.” With the co-operation of the Moose Lake Resource Management Board, the province is developing a management plan for the proposed park to guide how it will be conserved and protected. This process involves the Mosakahiken Cree Nation, local citizens, industry, interest groups and the general public and will incorporate scientific and traditional knowledge. Little Limestone Lake is a 15-kilometre body of ...

Refurbished Marsh Trail at Falcon Lake Opening

Manitobans and visitors are invited to enjoy Canada’s Parks Day July 16 to 18 by taking in a wide variety of family-oriented activities including being an honourary natural resource officer, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie announced today. “We can be proud of the fine heritage of our parks,” said Blaikie. “This province features many popular campgrounds, beaches and picnic areas in beautiful, natural environments and this weekend is a great time to explore everything our provincial parks offer.” This year, Canada’s Parks Day celebrates the International Year of Biodiversity and more than 30 provincial parks are featuring special events in honour of Manitoba Parks 50th anniversary. Scheduled activities include:· · whirlwind tours in 25 minutes through the history of provincial parks celebrating the golden anniversary at amphitheatres at Grand Beach, Birds Hill, Big ...

OTTAWA -- The plummeting moose population in Nopiming Provincial Park demonstrates the animals need more space if they are going to survive, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said Friday. In its 2010 Review of Canada's Parks, the organization calls for more and bigger parks across the country that are connected to provide wildlife with improved mobility and migratory paths. "In the old days, we used to draw boundaries for parks based on political decisions, not ecological need," said CPAWS Manitoba executive director Ron Thiessen. "But the lack of parks, protected areas, and connections between them has led to a massive decline in species across Canada." Thiessen noted the fact Riding Mountain National Park and Duck Mountain Provincial Park are not connected via protected land cuts off wildlife species like elk and wolves from their traditional migratory routes. Instead of swaths of protected land connecting with each other from coast to coast, Canada's parks ...

Parks Canada making refuge more accessible

One of the most frustrating facets of tourism in Manitoba is the most famous park in the province is all but off limits to human visitors. Wapusk National Park exists primarily to protect the polar bears that hang out along the coast of Hudson Bay and build their summer dens several kilometres away from shore. For obvious reasons, it isn't safe to wander around this place. Polar bears are considered among the most dangerous predators on the planet, given their speed, strength, intelligence and incredible sense of smell. But since Churchill is Manitoba's top ecotourism destination, people have longed to visit this 11,000-square-kilometre park ever since it was created in 1996. Wapusk may be remote, but its proximity to rail-accessible Churchill means there are plenty of curious travellers who inquire about actually making the visit every year. Right now, their only spontaneous option is to take a helicopter tour. ...

Eastside says no to Hydro, yes to roads and eco-tourism

AS she surveys the bountiful boreal forest spreading out in all directions from the boulder strewn shore of Weaver Lake, Sophia Rebliauskas reflects on what this land on the east side of Lake Winnipeg means to her people. "It is our home," says the resident of Poplar River First Nation, who is the community coordinator for Pimachiowin Aki Corporation (PAC) World Heritage Project. Weaver Lake, which is located about 280 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg and is only accessible by float-plane or boat, has been home to a First Nations healing camp for the past decade. I was one of a group of five media representatives invited to spend two days recently at the healing camp meeting with participants and sharing in the opening session of the gathering. The healing camp, which ...

A group of Ojibwa elders returns prefers the lessons of the land to the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Keith Berens recalled being beaten at a residential day school on his Manitoba reserve. “They hit us with yardsticks across the back, or made us kneel all day on our knees,” said the soft-spoken Mr. Berens, as five men pounded out a primal rhythm on a traditional skin-covered drum. “Or they made you stand with outstretched arms with books in your hands. Why was that happening to our people?” An aboriginal elder from Berens River, Man., Mr. Berens is one of 40 first nations men and women affected by residential school experiences who are spending the week at a remote lake 280 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Just as thousands of people head into downtown Winnipeg to attend the first national hearing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on residential schools, the smaller ...

A group of First Nations from Manitoba and Ontario are working together to have their traditional lands deemed UNESCO World Heritage site. "There are fewer and fewer places in the world that have been left undeveloped, unchanged by human activity" said Gord Jones, with the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage group. The group involves the Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nations in Manitoba and the Pikangikum First Nation in Ontario, with support from Ontario and Manitoba's governments. The UNESCO designation would protect 40,000 square kilometres of forest, rivers and traditional territories. "Our people have lived here for thousands of years and without that land they wouldn't have been able to survive," said Sophia Rabliausku, who wants the land protected under the UNESCO designation. Hidehiro Otake, a freelance photographer from Japan, travelled to the area to capture images of the wild wolf because the animal is extinct in his homeland. "It's very important so this ...

It is important to note that a World Heritage site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg will be a huge economic boost for Manitoba. If Bipole III is constructed through the east side, we severely reduce our chance of receiving this internationally prestigious designation and consequently the best free marketing available for promoting eco and cultural tourism -- two of the fastest-growing industries in the world. I point to recent examples. UNESCO took the severe step of removing the World Heritage Site designation from Germany's Dresden Elbe River Valley in 2009, after construction began on a four-lane bridge through the heart of the area. In 2009, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador reversed its decision to construct a Bipole through Gross Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, because they were informed that doing so could jeopardize the park's UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. In the spring of 2010, the B.C. ...

TORONTO - Amnesty International's annual report sharply criticizes Canada in a number of areas, including aboriginal rights and the use of security certificates to detain terror suspects. The report says Canada failed to ensure aboriginal rights when issuing licences for mining, logging and oil and gas exploration. The annual report accuses Ottawa of continuing to make "baseless claims" that the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does not apply in Canada. The two pages spotlighting Canada also note the violence against aboriginal women and the lack of a national plan to address it. Oil and gas developments in northern Alberta come under sharp criticism as continuing without the consent of the Lubicon Cree who are in poor health and living in poverty. People detained under security certificates continue to be denied access to the evidence used against them, it states. The report makes note of the Afghan detainee controversy and that Omar Khadr remains ...

McFadyen holds a CD containing almost 10,000 letters from concerned international citizensToday, Manitoba Tory leader Hugh McFadyen got a message from nearly 10,000 international supporters of the proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site, who agree with the Province of Manitoba that the east side of Lake Winnipeg is no place for Manitoba Hydro’s next major transmission corridor – BiPole 3. The Manitoba leaders of the Boreal Forest Network, the Wilderness Committee and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society personally delivered the letters to McFadyen, the main proponent for an east-side hydro-corridor routing. The groups made it clear that a major hydro transmission pathway through the region would jeopardize Manitoba’s chance of UNESCO granting the area World Heritage Site status. People across North America are recognizing the ecological and cultural values of the largest intact boreal forest ...

Environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, surprised many people recently by joining with the logging industry to unveil the largest forest conservation agreement in history. The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement covers more than 72 million hectares of northern wilderness stretching from British Columbia to Newfoundland and Labrador. Under the agreement, 21 forestry companies, all members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, will halt logging on 29 million hectares of wildlife habitat while plans for new protected areas and caribou conservation are developed. This habitat is critical to the survival of woodland caribou and other endangered species. The forest companies have also agreed to shift from conventional logging practices to more ecologically sustainable forestry methods, called ecosystem-based management, on the rest of the land base. In return, the environmental groups will suspend their “do not buy” campaigns against companies participating in the agreement while it is being implemented. For many conservationists, the ...

Notice from Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency: 5388.00 - EAST SIDE ROAD AUTHORITY INC. – ALL SEASON ROAD FROM PROVINCIAL ROAD 304 TO THE COMMUNITY OF BERENS RIVER 05-08-2010 Public comment invited on the Comprehensive Study Scoping Document Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Transport Canada invite the public to comment on the Comprehensive Study Scoping Document of the Lake Winnipeg East Side Road proposed by the East Side Road Authority. The project involves the upgrading and construction of an all-season road along the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The two lane road will extend from Provincial Road 304 to Berens River (approximately 160 km). The plan includes the utilization of the existing Rice River Road alignment for the first 74 km, improvement of the existing winter road from km 74 to Bloodvein (km 88) and a new right of way from km 88 to km 158 at Berens River. The scoping document describes ...

THE Selinger government is seeking public input as it prepares to create two new wilderness parks in Manitoba's far North. The two new parks would surround Nueltin Lake and Colvin Lake, respectively, in the province's northwest corner. The proposed Colvin Lake Provincial Park would run along the Saskatchewan border and extend close to Nunavut. It falls in a transition area between the boreal forest and the tundra. Its proposed size is 162,800 hectares (402,000 acres). The Nueltin Lake Provincial Park would lie to the east of the Colvin Lake park and extend to the Nunavut border. It would be about 447,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) in size. Both parks would lie within the traditional territories of Northlands Dene First Nation and Sayisi Dene First Nation. Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said he expects the government will make a formal decision on the new parks and their proposed boundaries before the end of the year. To obtain more ...

A major agreement between Canada's forestry companies and environmental groups will see logging in 29 million hectares of boreal forest suspended so a plan to preserve the woodland caribou can be developed. The move, which comes after years of negotiation, was announced Tuesday in Toronto by the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and nine environmental groups. At the same time that logging will halt, environmental groups have agreed to stop their "Do Not Buy" campaigns while the agreement is being implemented. The campaigns lobbied some retailers to avoid buying Canadian-produced paper. The agreement is also meant to guarantee an adequate wood supply for uninterrupted mill operations. 'Best and last chance' for protection Avram Lazar, the president and CEO of FPAC, said the agreement sets a new global standard. He said the move amounts to a business strategy for the forest industry, adding that old notions of environmental protection conflicting with economic growth are outdated. "That kind ...

OTTAWA—Most of Canada’s largest forestry companies announced a groundbreaking deal with environmental groups Tuesday that will restrict logging in vast northern forests. The agreement covers 690,000 square km – an area nearly twice the size of Germany— and ends years of battles over logging in Canada’s massive boreal forest, which environmentalists say plays a major role in fighting global warming by absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide. The forestry companies will stop all logging immediately on 75 million acres to protect woodland caribou herds under pressure from development. The two sides will then spend three years working out which restrictions to impose on logging in the remaining 95 million acres. In return, as the agreement comes into force, the green groups will end international “Do not buy” campaigns against Canadian lumber. “This is the way everyone hoped the world could work. Instead of fighting and having polarized discussions ... the way of succeeding tomorrow ...

TORONTO - Canada's top pulp and paper companies, and the environmental groups that spent years fighting them, have united in an unlikely alliance to stop logging 29 million hectares of threatened northern forests in what has been dubbed "the world's largest conservation agreement." The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, announced Tuesday in Toronto, comes after three years of negotiations and a fierce public relations campaign that criticized Canada's forestry companies for the degradation of the country's so-called boreal forests in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario. Environmentalists seated at one end of a table and industry leaders at the other — both on the same side — emphasized the precedent-setting nature of the three-year framework agreement, which calls for world-leading environmental standards, protecting species at risk and action on climate change. For their part, the nine environmental groups are suspending "do not buy" campaigns. "Old ...

Huge conservation deal will benefit caribou and maybe climate

An unlikely coalition of logging companies and environmental groups has reached an agreement to protect more than 300,000 square kilometres of Canadian boreal forest — an area larger than the United Kingdom — the biggest forest-conservation deal in history. An additional 385,000 square kilometres will fall under strict guidelines that will promote sustainable logging and protect ecologically and culturally sensitive sites. Under the agreement, unveiled on 18 May in Toronto, Ontario, 21 members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, which represents the majority of companies in the Canadian logging industry, will set aside slightly less than half of the land for which they hold leases across seven provinces. In exchange, nine environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Nature Conservancy, have pledged to suspend do-not-buy campaigns against the loggers' products, which range from construction lumber to toilet paper, and to actively endorse them. "We ...

Industry, environmentalists declare truce in bitter battle

OTTAWA -- Canada's largest forest companies and major environmental groups have reached a deal on logging practices in the country's massive northern forests in what one supporter said might be the "most important forest conservation initiative" in history. Sources said the agreement, to be made public today, will declare a three-year truce in the public relations war between the industry and environmentalists over the logging of one the word's most precious natural resources. The formal announcement involving 21 of Canada's biggest companies -- all members of the Forest Products Association of Canada -- and nine environmental organizations, is to be made in Toronto. The industry and environmental groups refused to release details Monday, but sources said it involves protection of the most sensitive parts of the country's so-called boreal forest in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario -- comprising about 70 million hectares of woodlands. Sources say environmental ...

OTTAWA — Canada's largest forest companies and major environmental groups have reached a deal on logging practices in the country's massive northern forests in what one supporter said might be the "most important forest conservation initiative" in history. Sources said the agreement, to be made public Tuesday, will declare a three-year truce in the public relations war between the industry and environmentalists over the logging of one the word's most precious natural resources. The formal announcement involving 21 of Canada's biggest companies -- all members of the Forest Products Association of Canada -- and nine environmental organizations, is to be made in Toronto. The industry and environmental groups refused to release details Monday, but sources said it involves protection of the most sensitive parts of the country's so-called boreal forest in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario -- comprising about 70 million hectares of woodlands. Sources say environmental groups have pledged to suspend international ...

The province is supporting world-class research into Arctic climate change by providing $3.5 million in funding to a newly created Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) that will be housed at the University of Manitoba. The province’s support for the project was announced today by Premier Greg Selinger today at an event welcoming the scientist who will lead the research to Manitoba. “This research has broad economic and environmental impacts that will increase understanding of the effects of a changing sea-ice environment,” said Selinger. “Gaining a better understanding of what climate change means in the Arctic region is crucial to the planet’s future and we are honoured to play a role in seeking that knowledge.” The research will focus on geomicrobial transformations as they occur in Arctic sea ice and sediments. It will look at the health of all of the inhabitants of the Arctic marine system. Sea ice is ...

Taking part in the first ever grand entry into the Manitoba Legislature was a special experience for a local First Nation chief. Chief Cornell Pashe of Dakota Tipi First Nation, along with over 30 other chiefs from Manitoba First Nations, participated in a sunrise ceremony, a pipe ceremony and a grand entry into the Manitoba Legislature Wednesday to mark the provincial government's declaration that May 12 will now be known as Treaty Day in Manitoba. "I never thought it would happen, but it did," Pashe said of the grand entry. Although the Dakota nations in Manitoba, including Dakota Tipi and Dakota Plain First Nation, were not part of the numbered treaties in the province, Pashe said, it was important to be there to support the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and to mark the importance of the occasion. Although treaties are between First Nations and the federal government, he noted, the provincial governments do ...

Bill Blaikie, Minister of Conservation, speaks about Manitoba's east side opportunity. Part of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce Speakers series.

Premier Signs Proclamation Acknowledging Treaties in Manitoba

A proclamation declaring May 12 as Treaty Day at the Manitoba legislative assembly was signed today by Premier Greg Selinger who said the document honours the Treaties of Manitoba and is designed to encourage and promote understanding of the significance of Treaties in the province. "This proclamation acknowledges the importance of the Treaties to all Manitobans," said Selinger. "Understanding the Treaty relationship between First Nations and the Crown is fundamental to living in Manitoba and Canada because the Treaties are living documents that inform us of where we've been and where we should be going." Provincial representatives welcomed First Nations Chiefs, the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Indian and Northern Affairs Canada to the Manitoba Legislative Chamber to recognize together the significance of Treaties with the proclamation, exchange gifts and make presentations, including a Treaty Advocacy Award to honour ...

University will join worldwide network

THE University of Winnipeg is about to become a worldwide hub for research into indigenous development. President Lloyd Axworthy announced Tuesday morning that U of W will join a world network of 22 universities which use money from the U.S.-based MacArthur Foundation to offer a master's degree in development practice. U of W will specialize in indigenous issues and perspectives. "We've been selected as the hub for indigenous development for the whole network," Axworthy said. "This leads us forward into a broad network of global universities. "This is as important as having a public health agency" come to the city, Axworthy said. The master's development program in the 22 universities on six continents brings together students from a wide variety of disciplines to tackle issues such as extreme poverty, climate change and human rights. Students do two 12-week practicums, one domestic, one international. Axworthy said U of W will attract about 25 students ...

Manitoba Aboriginal comminities are justified when they feel bombarded by crown licensing actions with little notification, short time lines, and poor information. In Manitoba, where we operate without an environmental bill of rights, environmental assessment regulation, or environmental commissioner, frustration is common when a community is affected by a crown land use license. We are also operating without transparent consultation standards for Aboriginal Peoples. All open crown lands in Manitoba are likely aboriginal traditional territory. Few people would debate that Aboriginal peoples occupied and used these lands and waters to live, trade, hunt, hold gatherings and councils, worship, and travel freely, until treaty times. Many parts of what is now Manitoba are still intact, and lack impacts from industrial and urban development. This makes Manitoba a rare, valuable, remarkable territory. Other areas in our province show the consequences of development decisions made before planning, and consultations. Yet the pattern of Aboriginal ...

VICTORIA, B.C. - Proposed changes to federal environmental law are an effort to cut aboriginal people out of talks around sensitive projects - including one announced just this week - and conflict will be the result, native leaders say. The Aamjiwnaag First Nation of Sarnia, Ont., and about 20 other First Nations have written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper demanding he withdraw the amendments to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Ron Plain, an Aamjiwnaag member, said Thursday the proposed amendments - part of the Conservatives' Jobs and Economic Growth Act - could result in some sensitive projects proceeding without environmental assessments and proper consultations with aboriginals. "It's looking for ways to not consult when it pertains to environmental assessments on major projects," Plain said Thursday in an interview. "Without a federal environmental assessment, we won't be notified of anything of these federal projects. They will just go ahead." Plain's letter to Harper says the proposed ...

Proposals Would be First Step Toward Protecting, Promoting Province's Linguistic Heritage: Robinson

New legislation which would recognize Cree, Dakota, Dene, Inuktitut, Michif, Ojibway and Oji-Cree as the Aboriginal languages of Manitoba was introduced today in the legislature by Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson. “Indigenous languages have vanished or are in danger of disappearing in many parts of the world and the same fate is possible for Manitoba’s Aboriginal languages if we don’t act now to protect them,” said Robinson. “This legislation is the first step toward preserving and promoting Manitoba’s proud Indigenous language heritage for the benefit of future generations.” According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, it is estimated that 25.2 per cent of Aboriginal Manitobans have knowledge of an Aboriginal language, down from 27.8 per cent from 2001. It is remarkable any of Canada’s indigenous languages are still spoken following a century ...

OPEN HOUSE - WINNIPEG RIVER LEARNING CENTRE (3 WALNUT STREET, PINE FALLS) - THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 6:30 TO 8:00 PM With the future of the Pine Falls newsprint mill in limbo, the communities in eastern Manitoba are setting their collective eyes on other economic opportunities that exist in the vast boreal forests located in their back yard. The Manitoba Model Forest, a non-profit organization in Pine Falls, is leading the way by offering an intensive 2 week training course on "non-timber forest products" or NTFPs. The course explores the sustainable harvest, production and marketing of a wide variety of natural products from the forest. This includes wild edibles (berries, fiddleheads, mushrooms, teas, fruit leathers, flavored birch sap), crafts (evergreen, dogwood and wild rose wreaths, diamond willow furniture, driftwood art, tamarack coat racks) and personal care products (salves, soaps, essential oils). NTFPs represent an ideal business opportunity for communities ...

Native leaders, including former national grand chief Ovide Mercredi, are in Ottawa this week lobbying for a speedy end to a flood settlement lawsuit that is mired in secrecy and 20 years of delays. As the case dragged on in federal court in Winnipeg this week, three northern chiefs met with Tory and opposition MPs, senators and senior Indian Affairs officials hoping to convince them it makes more sense to negotiate instead of litigate. "Our approach is not to embarrass the government," said Mercredi, the chief of Grand Rapids First Nation. "Our approach is to get them to co-operate. Reasonable people should come to the table." Nearly 20 years ago, the three bands sued Ottawa for failing in its duty to protect them in the early 1960s when Manitoba Hydro and the province built the Grand Rapids dam. The dam flooded thousands of acres of prime hunting and trapping land, shattering the First ...

Manitobans Encouraged to Celebrate Their Parks: Blaikie

On March 26, 1960, Manitoba’s first Provincial Parks Act was passed in the Manitoba legislature and 50 years later Manitobans and visitors have access to great outdoor experiences in a variety of provincial parks, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said today in marking the 50th anniversary of organized provincial parks. “Manitoba’s provincial parks provide countless opportunities to get outside and be active and this anniversary year gives Manitobans another reason to celebrate their parks,” said Blaikie. “Diversity provides park users with a variety of outdoor experiences including day trips to the beach, modern fully serviced campgrounds and remote experiences.” To mark this occasion, Manitobans and visitors are asked to share their favourite park memories by submitting photos and short stories to a 50th anniversary contest. There will also be a number of special 50th anniversary interpretive events across the province. Details on events and contests will be ...

Province Would Commit $10 Million for Fund to Protect Pristine Boreal Environment: Blaikie

The province continues its commitment to protect more than 40,000 square kilometres of boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg with a $10-million fund which would be established through the proposed Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Fund Act, Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said today after introducing the legislation. “The Pimachiowin Aki Corporation continues its hard work towards a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination,” said Blaikie.” The act includes a proposed fund to generate income to be used for programs and initiatives that protect, promote and celebrate the natural and cultural features of the area and support the operation of a world heritage site through fundraising activities.” Part of the revenue earned from investment will be dedicated to providing direct benefits to First Nation communities by funding community-driven projects that are related to a world heritage site. ...

FOR a budget awash in red, there was little in the way of green for environmentalists and that had them feeling blue. The Conservation Department saw its budget cut by 5.4 per cent -- placing it squarely in the category of the spending-priority have-nots. "The environment is not a luxury; it's something that we need to take care of in good times and in bad," said Ron Thiessen, Manitoba director of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. In her budget speech, Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk listed several government environmental initiatives, but few of them were new. The government will eliminate the sales tax on shredded tires used in municipal road construction to encourage the use of recycled products. It will also invest an untold amount to reduce the amount of methane released from landfills in Winnipeg and Brandon. And it will "green" its building codes to improve water and energy efficiency in new homes ...

By Susan Casey-Lefkowitz

The political opposition in Manitoba, Canada has revived a proposal to run a major hydropower transmission line directly through the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. It’s an odd choice for an election issue. The current government had already made a decision to work with local communities to protect one of North America’s most outstanding sanctuaries for woodland caribou, timber wolves and songbirds – the Heart of the Boreal – as a World Heritage Site. That means that local communities make decisions about what to protect and how to encourage environmentally healthy development. It means that there can be local roads and businesses, but that the bulk of this untouched wilderness of emerald forests, marshes, lakes, and rivers is recognized for its ecological and cultural values. It means no industrial transmission line in a ...

By Bruce Owen

WINNIPEG - Environmental groups counter-attacked Wednesday in the growing war of words over Manitoba Hydro’s plan to build a $1.1-billion power transmission line down the west side of the province.

Manitoban, Canadian and U.S. groups launched an education blitz to urge the Manitoba government to keep its commitment and not construct the Bipole III hydro line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

Spearheading the attack is a new website called The Heart of the Boreal at www.heartoftheboreal.ca.

"We feel it’s important that proponents of an east side hydro corridor are aware of the tremendous support for keeping the region intact and unspoiled," Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Manitoba spokesman Ron Thiessen said.

CPAWS, the Boreal Forest Network, the Wilderness Committee and the Natural Resources Defense Council say they’re confident the Selinger government will protect the east side from development to help win an UNESCO World Heritage Site for the area.

But

...

Canadian, Manitoban and U.S. groups launched a new eduction blitz today as part of an effort to urge the Manitoba Government to keep its commitment to not construct the BiPole III hydro transmission line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Heading up the attack is a new website called The Heart of the Boreal. It’s at www.heartoftheboreal.ca. Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Manitoba spokesman Ron Thiessen said environmentalists are confident that the Selinger government will stand firm on attaining an east side UNESCO World Heritage Site for the area. "We feel it’s important that proponents of an east side hydro corridor are aware of the tremendous support for keeping the region intact and unspoiled," Thiessen said. CPAWS, the Boreal Forest Network, the Wilderness Committee and the Natural Resources Defense Council also called on the public, in Canada and the United States, to lobby the province to stay true to its word to ...

[caption id="attachment_445" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Credit: The Interlake Spectator"][/caption] While Fisher River Chief David Crate and Ron Thiessen, executive director of the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), are pleased the province will designate the Ochiwasahow (Fisher Bay) Park Reserve a provincial park by this October, they fear the province won't expand the park's boundaries. "The boundaries proposed by the Fisher River Cree Nation are based on the best marriage of ecological, cultural, and economic considerations," said Thiessen. "The danger is they may be compromised by a lack of political will within the Manitoba government." Fisher River, with CPAWS, raised awareness of one of the species that would benefit from the new boundaries by sponsoring a brown bat presentation by Craig Willis, a wildlife biologist at the University of Winnipeg, for 30 Charles Sinclair school students in Winnipeg last Wednesday. "There are six ...

A First Nations group is calling for an environmental audit of Manitoba Hydro. The Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) says the provincial utility is putting Manitoba's environment at risk by manipulating water levels to produce electricity. The SCO, an advocacy group for First Nations people in southern Manitoba, has requested the Public Utilities Board to grant intervener status at upcoming hearings on Hydro. Grand Chief Morris Swan Shannacappo said his organization has been asking Hydro for an environmental assessment for more than a year without a response. "I think not only the First Nations, but Manitobans, have to get onside and able to ask those questions: What is the environmental damage you are causing by keeping these waters in the reservoirs really high?" Swan Shannacappo said communities such as Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation and Peguis First Nation have experienced serious flooding because of Hydro's practices. The utility should be looking at generating more electricity through wind ...

WINNIPEG — Journalists and First Nations elders won't be barred from a hearing into whether Canada must hand over hundreds of secret documents that could prove Ottawa at fault for hydro-dam flooding that devastated three northern Manitoba reserves. A Federal Court judge rejected Monday a Crown request to ban journalists, aboriginal elders and the public from court while lawyers haggle over whether 259 briefing notes, legal opinions and letters are covered by lawyer-client privilege and must be kept secret forever. But the victory could prove somewhat hollow. Federal Court Prothonotary Roger Lafreniere — a special judge who handles many pre-trial and administrative matters — said the court must always err on the side of openness. But if the lawyers find they need to discuss the content of any disputed document, the courtroom will need to be cleared to protect Ottawa's possible claim of confidentiality. That means the 50-or-so elders and First Nations leaders who ...

More than 50 First Nations people, many of them elders, are packing a downtown federal courtroom this morning, hoping to persuade a judge to make public more than 250 documents that could prove Ottawa culpable for the hydro-dam flooding that devastated three northern reserves. The elders, from Grand Rapids, Chemawawin and Opaskwayak, will argue that Ottawa doesn't have the right to keep the documents confidential under provisions of lawyer-client priviledge. "We have a problem," said Grand Rapids Chief Ovide Mercredi as court staff scrambled to accomodate the standing-room only crowd. "Too many Indians." The case, which started in the early 1990s and has dragged on for years, began when the bands sued Ottawa for failing to protect their interests when Manitoba Hydro and the province built the Grand Rapids dam in the mid-1960s. The case could be worth tens of millions in compensation to the bands, if the First Nations can prove Ottawa knew ...

Bruce Owen

BACKERS of a proposed provincial park at Fisher Bay think little brown bats could be the big hook that gets the province to designate the area as Manitoba's newest wilderness getaway. Fisher River Cree Nation Chief David Crate and a local bat expert said the area near Lake Winnipeg is home to huge colonies of little brown bats that hibernate in remote limestone caves and spend the summer gobbling up moths, beetles, and other insects by the kilo. "There aren't many of these sites around," University of Winnipeg wildlife biologist Dr. Craig Willis said Wednesday. "When we find them, we have to protect them." The tiny bats number in the thousands right now -- one cave is said to contain 25,000 of them -- and appear to be in good health. But that could change quickly if the area is not protected by the province. The area under consideration is four times ...

Say Hydro, province took away livelihood

By Mary Agnes Welch A group of native trappers and elders is suing Manitoba Hydro and the province for $64 million, compensation the trappers say they are owed for flooding that eradicated their livelihood and culture. The trappers from the Chemawawin First Nation say flooding from the Grand Rapids dam has led to a 50 per cent drop in their standard of living and cost them and their families at least $64 million in lost income for as many as 118 trappers or their descendents. That's according to a statement of claim filed last month in the Court of Queen's Bench in The Pas. Though Hydro paid to relocate the Chemawawin band in the mid-1960s and paid out millions in compensation since then, trappers like Malcolm Thomas, Fred Thomas and Edward Thomas say they were left out of that process. But lawyer Brian Maronek, who is acting for the ...

More and larger protected areas are needed in addition to emissions cuts

TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ - Today international experts are urging all governments in Canada to not to neglect the role of 'natural solutions' to the climate change crisis. As stated in an Open Letter to the First Ministers released today:

"We are writing you today to seriously consider expanding and strengthening your respective protected areas systems. Without taking such steps you risk exacerbating the problem of climate change. Right now Canada has just under 10% of its land base protected. We urge you to significantly increase this amount as part of your respective climate change strategies."

"Without protected areas, the challenges would be even greater, and their strengthening will yield one of the most

...

Ottawa, Feb. 1 - Traditional knowledge held by Canada's Aboriginal people about the Boreal Forest offers western scientists a vitally important information source, according to a report published by the David Suzuki Foundation, the Canadian Boreal Initiative, and the Boreal Songbird Initiative. With the Boreal Forest facing increasing threats from climate change, habitat loss and fragmentation, and invasive species, this knowledge is more important than ever. The report, Conservation Value of the North American Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective, describes the deep botanical and ecological knowledge that Canada's Aboriginal peoples have gained over thousands of years of using the Boreal Forest as grocery, pharmacy, school, and spiritual centre. The report notes that the value of the Canada's Boreal Forest to Aboriginal people in terms of subsistence (plant and animal) foods alone could reach up to $575.1 million. Many other values have yet to be quantified. "The deeply rooted knowledge of indigenous ...

Roundtable Forum Also to be Held This Spring

Manitoba will invest $5 million over five years in a new Crown-Aboriginal Consultation Participation Fund and co-host a roundtable discussion with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs on consultation and accommodation, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson announced today. “I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Consultation Participation Fund to support the participation of First Nations, Métis and other Aboriginal communities in Manitoba’s Section 35 consultations,” said Robinson. “Our government remains committed to honouring our duty to consult with Aboriginal communities on provincial decisions or actions that may affect their Aboriginal and treaty rights. This fund will help these communities to effectively participate in our consultation efforts.” The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled, under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, the Crown has a legal duty to consult with Aboriginal peoples about any action or decision that might ...

Six First Nation communities are planning a blockade in the Ring of Fire to halt further mineral exploration on their traditional lands. “Exploration on our traditional land is getting out of hand,” said Marten Falls Chief Elijah Moonias, explaining there are more than 100 mineral exploration companies with staked claims in the Ring of Fire area. “Mineral Exploration companies are not respecting our interests.” First Nation leaders and representatives from Marten Falls, Webequie, Long Lake #58, Ginoogaming, Eabametoong and Aroland will be closing operating camps and ice landing strips beginning Jan. 18 to make it impossible for mineral exploration companies to continue their work. “We believe there will be development happening in this area, but we want to be a part of the development so we can benefit from it in the long term,” Moonias said. The blockade will be held at Koper Lake, which is located in the Ring of Fire area about ...

Mystic Lake Declaration lays out Indigenous solutions

(Original news release from November 23, 2009) PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – Nearly 400 Native leaders, scholars, elders and Tribal College students from across the country, joined by scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), came together at a watershed gathering, the Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop II, to formulate a collective response to the far-reaching impacts of climate change on Native lands and communities. The Climate Change Workshop, held November 18-21 at the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, was designed to build on and enrich the recently released 2009 U.S. National Climate Change Assessment. The first Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop was held in 1998 in Albuquerque, NM, and the report from that workshop, Circles of Wisdom, was later included in the first National Climate Change Assessment issued ...

Some forests may sequester less carbon as climate warms

As global warming lengthens the growing season for many ecosystems, trees may suck more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere – or so some have hoped. A study of a subalpine forest, however, shows that the exact opposite can happen. Researchers studied nine years of data on a Colorado forest composed mainly of pine, fir, and spruce. During the years with the longest growing seasons, the trees actually took up the least carbon dioxide, they found. The reason, it appears, is that longer growing seasons were caused by shallower winter snow pack, and trees depended heavily on water from snow melt to support photosynthesis. The results, reported in Global Change Biology, don’t apply to all ecosystems. For instance, other research has suggested that boreal forests do increase their carbon uptake with longer growing seasons. But the study doesn’t bode well for the mountainous Western ...

By Heather Robbins

The Fisher River Cree Nation could see a net gain of $38 million annually if the province approves new boundaries for the proposed Fisher Bay Provincial Park, according to a study released by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS). The study, conducted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a national non-profit First Nation-directed group, found Fisher River would lose more than $2 million in logging and guided hunting industry revenue through the park's creation, but would gain slightly less than $40 million through tourism spending, cottage and other ecological industries. "The results of this study were more extreme than we expected," said Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba executive director. "The benefits of the provincial park, if it's designated as we've proposed, would be 18 times greater than if the area were harvested for logging, mining and non-Aboriginal hunting. That's a huge increase." The report based its economic benefit estimates on ...

Bloodvein First Nation is joining four other east-side bands in a bid for a UNESCO World Heritage site. The band, located 210 kilometres north of Winnipeg on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, is adding about half its traditional territory to the protected area, which is already the size of Belgium. The four bands -- Poplar River, Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids in Manitoba and Pikangikum in Ontario -- are preparing a bid due in 2012 to turn a huge swath of virgin boreal forest into a UNESCO site. The hope is that will protect their traditional areas from development and also attract tourists. Like the other four bands, Bloodvein is in the process of creating a land-use plan for its territory, which will determine exactly which parts of Bloodvein's land will be included in the UNESCO bid. city.desk@freepress.mb.ca

Chris Kornacki

Bloodvein River First Nation has become an active member of Pimachiowin Aki Corp. joining with four other First Nations to have a portion of the Manitoba-Ontario boreal forest designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The four other First Nations are: Pikangikum, Poplar River, Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids. Bloodvein River’s decision means that additional lands will be added to the UNESCO project planning area. Bloodvein River anticipates more than 50 per cent of its traditional territory will be added to the 40,000 square kilometers currently in the project’s area. “Our community knows that a World Heritage Site can help protect the boreal forest and our culture. We want to be closely involved in the development of the nomination to UNESCO and in the future management of this potential new World Heritage Site,” said William Young, a spokesperson for Bloodvein River. The UNESCO nomination document for World Heritage Site is due in 2012. ...

An Essential Step in Addressing and Adapting to Climate Change

Two Manitoba First Nations are stating their support for a resolution to protect more than 50% of Canada’s Boreal Region in a network of protected areas that allow for species to migrate and adapt to climate change. Last month, over 1500 scientists, conservationists, and concerned citizens from 51 countries around the globe passed the resolution in Merida, Mexico at the World Wilderness Congress. The resolution, proposed by the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), calls for achieving this goal through First Nations community-based land-use planning including eco-system based resource management across the remaining landscape. “People from all over the world are joining the growing movement to safeguard the Boreal Region,” stated Ron Thiessen, Executive Director of CPAWS Manitoba. “Manitoba has the grand opportunity to become a Canadian leader by announcing a process that works with First Nations ...

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

COPENHAGEN — Negotiators have all but completed a sweeping deal that would compensate countries for preserving forests, and in some cases, other natural landscapes like peat soils, swamps and fields that play a crucial role in curbing climate change. Environmental groups have long advocated such a compensation program because forests are efficient absorbers of carbon dioxide, the primary heat-trapping gas linked to global warming. Rain forest destruction, which releases the carbon dioxide stored in trees, is estimated to account for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The agreement for the program, if signed as expected, may turn out to be the most significant achievement to come out of the Copenhagen climate talks, providing a system through which countries can be paid for conserving disappearing natural assets based on their contribution to reducing emissions. A final draft of the agreement for the compensation program, called Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest ...

By Heather Robbins

The Fisher River Cree Nation could see a net gain of $38 million annually if the province approves new boundaries for the proposed Fisher Bay Provincial Park, according to a study released by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) last Thursday. The study, conducted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a national non-profit First Nation-directed group, found Fisher River would lose more than $2 million in logging and guided hunting industry revenue through the park's creation, but would gain slightly less than $40 million through tourism spending, cottage and other ecological industries. "The results of this study were more extreme than we expected," said Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba executive director. "The benefits of the provincial park, if it's designated as we've proposed, would be 18 times greater than if the area were harvested for logging, mining and non-Aboriginal hunting. That's a huge increase." The report based its economic benefit ...

By Heather Robbins

Groups supporting environmental projects on two Interlake reserves are receiving money through the provincial Sustainable Development Innovations Fund, according to Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie's announcement last Wednesday. The Ways of Our People program in Peguis will receive $10,000 to teach youth traditional First Nation hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering methods, while the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a national non-profit First Nation-directed group, will receive $20,000 for research and developing awareness of the existence and needs of at-risk species on Lake Manitoba First Nation traditional lands. "Manitobans are doing their part to protect the environment and improve the quality of life within their communities," said Blaikie. The province selected 36 projects to receive a combined total of more than $567,000, including an Invasive Species Council of Manitoba project to establish an early detection and rapid response network for new invaders and infestations, University of Manitoba projects studying mosquito's natural enemies to ...

Tropical deforestation is a climate change crisis, but scientists fear for boreal wilderness, too

OTTAWA - North of Canada’s capital, underneath an endless expanse of spruce, pine, and birch, ticks what some scientists are calling a carbon bomb: Peat. A thick layer of the black spongy soil, the remnants of ancient forests, wraps the globe’s northern tier. Deeper than 15 feet in places, the peat layer extends over more than 6 million square miles across Russia, Scandinavia, China, Canada, and the United States. Carbon that those forests absorbed from the air over thousands of years is stored in the peat and suspended in waterlogged bogs or permafrost. When it is disturbed or drained - as is happening in some areas - the peat can start to decompose and dry out, unleashing greenhouse gases. In North America alone, the peat and the trees growing in it hold as much carbon as would be ...

Kaskatamagan and Kaskatamagan Sipi Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) Added to Protected Areas

On the eve of the Copenhagen climate-change summit, Manitoba is announcing two new protected areas with significant carbon stores and committing to a new boreal peatlands stewardship strategy, Premier Greg Selinger announced today. “We are adding almost 400,000 hectares in the boreal tundra transition area to our protected land base,” Selinger said. “Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Area is 259,530 hectares and is home to the western Hudson Bay sub-population of polar bears from July to November and caribou in the summer. The Kaskatamagan Sipi WMA protects 133,820 hectares of wilderness in the boreal Arctic tundra transition zone and is recognized as a globally significant bird area.” For a couple of weeks each year, beluga whales, polar bears and caribou can all be found along the coast at the same time, making it a unique destination for ecotourism activities such as ...

WINNIPEG - The creation of a provincial park proposed around Fisher Bay would add $38 million to the Manitoba economy, according to a new study. Conducted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, the study shows current industries in the area of Fisher River Cree Nation — logging, non-aboriginal hunting and mining — generate about $2.2 million annually for Manitoba’s economy. An industry sustained by park management as well as ecological and cultural tourism would bring in about $40 million per year, the study concluded. An area around the bay was granted interim protection by the province as a potential park site in 1999. A study done in 2006 recommended those boundaries be expanded "according to the best ecological and cultural considerations, rather than political lines," said Ron Thiessen, executive director of Manitoba’s chapter with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. The most recent study, released today, examined the prospects of that broader area. The ...

Award Recognizes Dedication of Province To Protecting, Sustaining Boreal Forest

Manitoba is extremely honoured to receive a 2009 Boreal Award in recognition of the province’s efforts, in co-operation with First Nations, to protect and sustain Canada’s boreal forest, Deputy Premier Eric Robinson, minister of Aboriginal and northern affairs, said today. “Since 1999, Manitoba has permanently protected 871,000 hectares of land in parks, wildlife management areas and ecological reserves,” Robinson said. “We are committed to expanding on this by adding more protected areas. On behalf of the province, former premier Gary Doer and Premier Greg Selinger, it is a distinct honour to accept the Boreal Award in recognition of this important conservation work.” The award was presented by the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) yesterday at a ceremony in Ottawa. CBI works with First Nations, conservation organizations, industry and other interested parties to link science, policy and conservation initiatives across ...

MANITOBA'S polar bears have a friend in Premier Greg Selinger. So does the vast expanse of bog that covers much of northern Manitoba and acts like a huge carbon sink. Monday's throne speech confirmed two environmental initiatives that could pay huge dividends. Manitoba will make a major contribution to establish a new Polar Bear Research and Arctic exhibit at Assiniboine Park Zoo. "The polar bear is a good focus because it will attract tourists to Manitoba," Selinger said. Margaret Redmond, president of Assiniboine Park Conservancy, said the province's commitment will help the conservancy gets its fundraising going. "This money gives us the confidence to continue our design phase," Redmond said. "We hope with other funding in place that we could see those pieces completed as early as 2011." The exhibit will be part of a $180-million makeover of Assiniboine Park over the next decade. It will include a conservation centre that will work in tandem with the ...

Manitoba's northern trappers are having a miserable time getting started this year due to unusually mild November weather. In such remote places as Lac Brochet, trappers typically travel to their trap lines at this time of year by crossing lakes and rivers on snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles. That's impossible right now because of unsafe ice. "I was hoping to get up there this year, but I haven't got anywhere yet cause of the weather," said Napoleon Denechezhe, who traps about 100 kilometres from La Brochet. "It's really hard right now. I don't know if anybody is going to be doing any trapping this year — from here, anyway." It takes roughly one hour to reach La Brochet by airplane from Thompson, which is about 750 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Other trappers with road access to their lines will attempt to get there this weekend. One of those, Richard Danielson, traps near Cranberry Portage, which is ...

OTTAWA - Climate change threatens to destroy roads, buildings and pipelines in Canada's North and the communities are not prepared to deal effectively with those challenges, a new report warned Thursday. The report, by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, an independent federal advisory panel, offered a grim picture of what degrading permafrost, melting ice roads, storm surges and coastal erosion could do to the country's far north. It also warned that increased snowfall and changing ice conditions will add stress to buildings, and energy and communications infrastructure that were built for different snow and ice conditions. "Climate change is moving fastest in Arctic areas, requiring Canada to be a world leader in adaptation practices, more than we had even contemplated," said Round Table chair Bob Page. The report noted that winter roads melting earlier in the spring can force communities to airlift supplies, while melting permafrost can destabilize foundations ...

Today, the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) released its new report entitled Caribou and You report. The report tells the story of the woodland caribou’s decline and how saving the threatened species from extinction will help slow the affects of climate change. Download the report (PDF, 4.5 MB) Woodland caribou require immense, unbroken Boreal wilderness to find enough food and avoid predators. As the Boreal is the world’s largest land-based storehouse of carbon, these vast intact spaces also help to curb climate change. “By protecting the caribou’s home in our Boreal wilderness, we slow the accelerator pedal on climate change,” says Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba Executive Director. “Humans need big protected Boreal spaces as much as caribou do.” Canada’s Boreal stores more than 186 billion tons of carbon – 27 years’ worth of global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. When the Boreal is developed or ...

By Richard Black, Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Money invested in protecting nature can bring huge financial returns, according to a major investigation into the costs and benefits of the natural world.

It says money ploughed into protecting wetlands, coral reefs and forests can bring a hundredfold return on capital. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity study (Teeb) is backed by the UN and countries including the UK. The project's leader says governments should act on its findings at next month's UN climate summit. Teeb is the first attempt to evaluate the economic value of "ecosystem services" - things that parts of the natural world do for free, such as purifying drinking water or protecting coasts from storms - on a systematic and global basis. "We have now evaluated 1,100 studies ranging across different countries and different ecosystem services," said study leader Pavan Sukhdev, a Deutsche Bank economist. "And we find that with protected areas, for example, ...

Report Calls for Global Climate Talks to Consider Boreal’s Impact

OTTAWA, Ontario—When the world thinks of forests and their value to offset global warming, tropical forests come to mind. A report released today shows that the global impact of Canada’s boreal forest, which stores nearly twice as much carbon per hectare as tropical forests, has been vastly underestimated. “The Carbon the World Forgot” identifies the boreal forests of North America as not only the cornerstone habitat for key mammal species, but one of the most significant carbon stores in the world, the equivalent of 26 years of global emissions from burning fossil fuels, based on 2006 emissions levels. Globally, these forests store 22 percent of all carbon on the earth’s land surface. “Past accounting greatly underestimated the amount and depth of carbon stored in and under the boreal forest,” said Jeff Wells, an author of the report. In addition to carbon storage ...

The Merida Message aimed at Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference

Merida, Mexico -- The Chairman and Executive Committee of the 9th World Wilderness Congress (WILD9) issued today The Merida Message (Mensaje de Merida) calling for the protection of critical land and sea wilderness areas to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity and healthy ecosystems that provide products and services vital to human well-being. The Merida Messages states that runaway carbon emissions are driving the climate towards irreversible tipping points, we are contaminating our planet with pervasive toxicity, destroying the diversity of life on our planet, exhausting freshwater supplies and causing acidification in our oceans, and over-exploiting our oceans, causing fisheries to collapse. As a result, we are deepening poverty, weakening social structures and threatening global security. This situation is in stark contrast to the world we can have if wilderness and its contribution to natural life support systems are properly valued and protected. Wilderness sustains us, generating the essential services that make possible our ...

CPAWS welcomes the announcement today by the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment, of a historic memorandum of understanding between the countries of North America to work together to create a “well-connected continent-wide network of protected areas”. “Making a commitment to create networks of protected wilderness areas is a significant step in safeguarding Canada’s and North America’s ecosystems, and we welcome it wholeheartedly,” says CPAWS National Executive Director Eric Hebert-Daly, who is returning from the Merida, Mexico “Wild 9” Congress where the minister made his announcement. Canada and most other developed countries have until now focused on developing a “representative system” of national parks to protect remnants of existing natural ecosystems – called by some, the “polka dot” approach. In the past decade, conservation biology research has convincingly made the case that in order to keep ecosystems healthy, we need to create large interconnected networks of protected areas that ...

At a farewell dinner for Gary Doer on October 17th, the outgoing Premier stated “Do not ever give up on the dream of protecting the east side of Lake Winnipeg.” – CBC news Other comments from Gary Doer about the east side of Lake Winnipeg during his last month of Premier:

“I commend our First Nations partners for their vision and leadership toward securing UNESCO World Heritage status for the unique place they call home east of Lake Winnipeg. Today’s commitment (10 million dollar trust fund) will help ensure their efforts will result in a sustainable international attraction that benefits the people who live there.”- MB government press release “Let's have a world UNESCO site in Manitoba with that beautiful, beautiful boreal forest." – CBC news "The value of this is $120 million a year to the people living in the area if properly stewarded into the ...

WINNIPEG, Oct. 13 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, in his final days in office before becoming Canada's Ambassador to the United States, Manitoba's Premier Gary Doer announced a $10 million trust fund for conservation. The fund will support the on-going work of several First Nations involved in designating their Boreal homelands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Spanning an area larger than Vancouver Island, this 40,000 square kilometre region straddling the Manitoba-Ontario border is one of the most ecologically intact Boreal forest ecosystems in the world. "Premier Doer deserves credit as a tireless champion for the World Heritage site. This fund ensures that First Nations will have the resources to manage and protect their homelands," said Larry Innes, Executive Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI). "We're proud to stand here today with the Province and the communities to celebrate their vision and leadership." The Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Pikangikum ...

$10 Million Investment in East Side Stewardship To Initiate International Fundraising Campaign Manitoba will contribute $10 million to establish a trust fund expected to be worth a minimum of $20 million in support of the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Project, Premier Gary Doer announced today. "I commend our First Nations partners for their vision and leadership toward securing UNESCO World Heritage status for the unique place they call home east of Lake Winnipeg," said Doer. "Today's commitment will help ensure their efforts will result in a sustainable international attraction that benefits the people who live there." The Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage project is an initiative led by the Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Pikangikum First Nations with support from the governments of Manitoba and Ontario. The group is currently preparing a bid to secure a UNESCO World Heritage designation for lands within a 40,000-square-kilometre area of pristine boreal forest in eastern Manitoba and western Ontario. The site is under tentative UNESCO consideration with ...

ROBERVAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2009) - The Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec and Member of Parliament for Roberval−Lac-Saint-Jean, announced today on behalf of the Minister of Environment Canada, the Honourable Jim Prentice, the contribution of 210,000 dollars to six Aboriginal organizations in Quebec, including a 42,000 dollars contribution to the Conseil des Montagnais du Lac Saint-Jean as part of the Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk Program. This amount comes from the budget that the Government of Canada recently committed to the Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk Program. This amount will be allocated to six projects and be used to support Aboriginal organizations and communities in building capacity to enable their participation in the protection and recovery of species at risk on Aboriginal lands. "The Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk Program is a concrete example of ...

WINNIPEG - Greg Selinger reaffirmed his commitment to protect the boreal forest on the east side of Lake Winnipeg this afternoon and unveiled a plan for aboriginal-led economic development and eco-tourism for the area. "It is a responsibility for all of us to protect the boreal forest and get it established as a UNESCO world heritage site," Selinger said. "We will work with communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg to build a plan to protect the forest while providing sustainable economic opportunities for the people who live there." Selinger released the plan while meeting with members of the Manitoba Young New Democrats, who are holding a leadership vote tonight at the University of Winnipeg. Some 108 delegate spots at the Oct. 17 leadership convention are up for grabs. MYND members from outside the city were sent ballots by mail. Those mail-in votes will also be counted tonight. Unlike the delegate selection process in ...

The Chitek Lake and Poplar/Nanowin Rivers park reserves have received a five year extension of their protection from industrial developments. A park reserve is an area placed in interim protection while a decision making process ensues to determine a permanent designation. The park reserve process obligates the province to consult with local communities and receive input from industrial stakeholders and Manitoba citizens. The province has been shamefully slow at moving park reserves’ processes forward. Over the last decade, we have witnessed the extension of the majority of Manitoba’s park reserves’ deadlines due to the Manitoba government’s failure to take the steps necessary to complete the job. CPAWS encourages the province to deal with this issue by allocating the human and other resources required to establish protected areas in our wilderness regions. For more detail and maps of the Chitek Lake and Poplar/Nanowin Rivers park reserves, please visit: http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/public_consult/index.html

Fisher River Cree Nation, a community working with CPAWS to establish a Fisher Bay provincial park around the south basin of Lake Winnipeg, won a tourism award today for the Leigh Cochrane Memorial Visitors Centre. The Visitors Centre is proposed to serve as the hub for the candidate park. At the Interlake Tourism Awards ceremony today, Wayne Copet of Travel Manitoba spoke highly of Fisher River’s Visitors Centre. “Sometime in life, projects start as one thing and somewhere along the path they verve sharply,” said Wayne. “This is the case for the Leigh Cochrane Memorial Visitors Centre that started as a project to teach some Fisher River Cree Nation residents how to build log cabins. Now it’s a site for country music acts such as Charlie Major, Marty Stuart and Johnny Reid. When you ...

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is asking Premier Doer to "Make Forests Count" at the Governors' Global Climate Summit 2, On the Road to Copenhagen, which continues today and tomorrow in Los Angeles. To date, the Manitoba government has left protection of the Boreal Region's carbon stores out of its Climate Change Strategy. As the Boreal's forests and wetlands are the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet, it's shocking the province has yet to include large-scale Boreal protection from industrial developments as part of its Climate Strategy. Canada's Boreal stores more than 186 billion tons of carbon – 27 years' worth of global carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels! But when the Boreal Forest is developed or logged, its ability to absorb and store carbon is lost or reduced, which degrades its ability to help ...

Source: Cpaws Manitoba News Release

The recent accounts in the Winnipeg Free Press that Manitoba NDP leadership candidate Andrew Swan, if elected, will reconsider the party’s decision to run a major hydro corridor down the east side of Lake Winnipeg are false. It’s important to note that the reports in the Winnipeg Free Press indicating that Andrew Swan would revisit the BiPole III issue do not contain any direct quotes to that effect. Here is Andrew Swan’s response to the claims: “I want to be crystal clear on the Bipole lll issue because I know how important it is to Manitoba’s future, said Swan. “After extensive consultation with stakeholders, the decision on the location of Bipole lll was made. I believed the decision was the right one then, and I believe it is the right one today. I look forward to hearing all ideas about how we can create a better future ...

CPAWS wishes to congratulate all the candidates who ran in the August 19th election in Fisher River. Fisher River Cree Nation is working to establish a First Nation designed and co-managed provincial park on the south basin of Lake Winnipeg. The park will respect and uphold all Treaty rights and access for traditional activities while protecting the natural setting from industrial developments. [caption id="attachment_242" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Chief David Crate, Councilor Carl Cochrane, Councilor Dion McKay, and Councilor Darrel Thaddeus. Councilor Vince Crate was unavailable for the photograph."][/caption] To find out more about Fisher River Cree Nation's quest for a provincial park - http://cpawsmb.org/conservation/fisherbay1.php

We often write about the challenges facing Canada - the lack of a credible plan to address climate change, the over reliance on tar sands to fuel our energy needs and economy, the snail's pace with which we work to protect endangered species and their habitat, including iconic wildlife like polar bears and caribou. But Canada Day got us thinking about all we have to celebrate. Thanks in large part to the efforts of individual Canadians, First Nations, and environmental organizations, our municipal, provincial, and federal governments have made some great strides to protect Canada's natural heritage. Just last month, the federal government and the Dehcho First Nation announced a plan to permanently protect more than 30,000 square kilometres of boreal wilderness in Nahanni National Park Reserve in the Northwest Territories. That's an area the size of Vancouver Island! The announcement came on the heels of a new law introduced in Ontario that ...

WINNIPEG — An American charitable foundation is giving $30,000 to help secure a UNESCO World heritage designation for Manitoba’s boreal forest. The Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has donated the money to the University of Winnipeg on condition that it be used to help the First Nation communities of Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi develop management plans for their traditional territories and to help identify the lands to be included in the UNESCO nomination. The U of W will administer the project for the foundation. Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said the MacArthur contribution confirms the government’s position that the UNESCO bid has international support. Struthers said the Doer government has committed $531,000 this year for the UNESCO bid. The UNESCO bid has been made by a local native group. If successful, the boreal forest that straddles the Manitoba-Ontario forest will join recognized sites like the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Taj Mahal, the ...

Source: Toronto Star When does "No" mean "No?" In Ontario's Far North, the answer still isn't clear despite recent changes to two major laws governing that vast wilderness of boreal forest and tundra. The region has been off-limits to most development, with the exception of the De Beers Canada Victor diamond mine near the James Bay coast and a claim-staking rush for additional diamonds and other minerals. That activity, and the prospect of far more, has angered environmental groups and caused conflict between mining companies and some of the 37 aboriginal communities that collectively claim most of the 425,000 square kilometres as traditional territories. The proposed Far North Act and the new Mining Act are intended to resolve the competing demands. Half the region is to be off-limits to development, apart from tourism; nothing substantial is supposed to happen elsewhere until land-use plans are created. The government says those plans will require the approval of any ...

Manitoba Government Press Release First Nations on the east side of Lake Winnipeg will play a major role in ensuring better protection, management and development of traditional lands under the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Areas Act, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said today. “Under this new legislation, east side communities now have the option of using this legal tool to plan their traditional lands and to protect lands that have significant cultural and environmental value,” said Struthers. Struthers said First Nations themselves will determine if they want to take advantage of using the East Side Traditional Lands Planning and Special Protected Areas Act and noted no First Nation will be required to use the act. The first of its kind in Canada, the legislation provides First Nations the option to provide interim and permanent legal protection of traditional lands on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. It ensures any new ...

By Matt Walker, BBC News The first global review of their status has found that populations are declining almost everywhere they live, from Alaska and Canada, to Greenland, Scandinavia and Russia. The iconic deer is vital to indigenous peoples around the circumpolar north. Yet it is increasingly difficult for the deer to survive in a world warmed by climate change and altered by industrial development, say scientists. Reindeer and caribou belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus. Caribou live in Canada, Alaska and Greenland; while reindeer live in Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Worldwide, seven sub-species are recognised. Each are genetically, morphologically and behaviourally a little different, though capable of interbreeding with one another. These differences between sub-species dictate how each is affected by human impacts. [caption id="attachment_196" align="alignright" width="226" caption="Reindeer and caribou numbers worldwide: red denotes herds in decline, green indicates those on the increase and dark grey means no data is available. Reindeer and caribou do ...

Role of communities needs to be front and centre in new law, coalition says

TORONTO – A coalition of leading environmental groups applaud legislation introduced today that would enshrine Premier Dalton McGuinty’s commitment to protect at least 225,000 square kilometres of the northern boreal forest. The Far North Planning and Protection Act, if passed, would help Ontario fight climate change, protect ecosystems and ensure First Nations have control over land-use decisions as they plan for cultural renewal and economic prosperity. The draft legislation makes progress on commitments made last year by Premier McGuinty to protect the boreal forest and improve relationships with Aboriginal people. The coalition notes that for the first time in Ontario history, First Nations will lead planning for their traditional territories. It also welcomes a commitment in the legislation to create a new body to help with implementation and coordination of planning. “The Premier has made good on his promise ...

On June 9, the Ontario government introduced new legislation that would allow for the permanent protection of at least half of the 450,000 square kilometres that makes up the northern Boreal Forest region of Ontario -- one of the last great, undeveloped spaces on our planet. CPAWS Manitoba joins its colleagues in Ontario, Wildlands League, in applauding this important next step taken by Ontario. CPAWS Manitoba also hopes the Manitoba government will soon join the impressive ‘Boreal Leaders’ club and make its own spectacular protection commitment. Both Quebec and Ontario have made commitments to protect 50% or more of their Boreal Regions. “The proposed Far North Act would place Ontario among world leaders in boreal protection and represent the largest land protection commitment in North America to fight climate change,” Ontario Minister Donna Cansfield said in that province’s legislature yesterday. “It would also set the stage for carefully managed sustainable ...

THOMPSON—The Province of Manitoba is responding to growing business opportunities in the north by supporting a program to support entrepreneurs who harvest and develop non-timber forest products, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk and Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport Minister Eric Robinson, acting minister of Aboriginal and northern affairs, announced today. “The Non-timber Forest Products program is designed to encourage potential, new and existing entrepreneurs and youth to take advantage of opportunities to launch and grow businesses based on harvesting, developing and marketing wild-harvested products available in and around northern communities,” said Wowchuk. “Many products have been identified and marketed but many more are success stories waiting to be discovered.” “Employment from non-timber forest products generates business and job-income opportunities for youth, individuals and communities in Manitoba’s northern regions,” said Robinson. “Developing these locally available products leads to self-employment and diversifies northern economies creating sustainable ...

Boreal birds are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, say Bridget Stutchbury, Jeffrey Wells and Caroline Schultz

Source:Globe and Mail International Migratory Bird Day, which falls tomorrow, reminds us of the remarkable phenomenon we witness every year at this time: an amazing spring migration, with millions of birds flying thousands of kilometres from South and Central America and the southern United States north to Canada's vast boreal forest. But with each passing year, the number of these avian visitors diminishes. In fact, migratory songbirds are experiencing one of the most precipitous declines of any animal group on earth. We have already seen startling declines in the populations of some species that depend on the boreal forest. The olive-sided flycatcher and the Canada warbler, once common boreal breeding species, are now listed as threatened by the Committee for the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Trends in long-term breeding-bird surveys have revealed population declines ...

Source: The Toronto Star editorial The province has rightly committed to protecting the woodland caribou, a threatened species that lives in a remote part of northern Ontario. However, the government's plan may fall short of its objective. Public consultation on the draft Caribou Conservation Plan wraps up today. Environmentalists and wildlife advocates have dismissed it as inadequate. They say the Ministry of Natural Resources is trying to address conservation concerns without sufficiently holding back the logging industry. In other words, "suck and blow" at the same time. If the government cannot find the appropriate balance between just two interests – caribou and logging – how will it manage the even bigger challenges inherent in developing land use plans for the entire far north, an area twice the size of the United Kingdom? Legislation laying out the principles for northern land use is expected to be introduced in the coming days, before the Legislature rises ...

Proposed amendments do little to prevent conflicts

TORONTO – In response to proposed changes to Ontario’s Mining Act, Mushkegowuk Council, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug and Ardoch Algonquin First Nation call on the province to respect the right of First Nations to say NO to all aspects of mining from prospecting to exploration to full mine development in their traditional territories. The First Nations clarify that the Ontario government must respect and adhere to Constitutional duty of consultation and accommodation and the internationally recognized right of free prior and informed consent. This has not been addressed by the proposed changes Minister Gravelle introduced on April 30, 2009. “The Supreme Court of Canada has said that consultation and accommodation have to be meaningful. How can they be meaningful if we don’t have the right to say NO to mining that will impact our lives and culture?” says Grand Chief Stan Louttit of the Mushkegowuk Council. The ...

New Resources to Support Traditional Lands Planning, Nomination Document: Struthers

Source: Manitoba Government News Release Manitoba is providing $531,000 in additional new financial and staffing support in 2009-10 for traditional lands planning and a UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination for the east side of Lake Winnipeg, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers announced today. “As First Nations pursue their bid for a world heritage designation in eastern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario, the province will increase support for their efforts with investments in traditional lands planning,” said Struthers. The minister noted the Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nations will receive priority attention as their land-use plans will be an essential component of the nomination document for the UNESCO world heritage designation. The minister notes this investment includes a 30-per-cent increase in grant funding for the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation to prepare the nomination document and video. Manitoba Conservation funding in 2009-10 will increase by $80,000 ...

Source: Manitoba Government News Release A memorandum of understanding to further improve the working relationship between First Nations and the Province of Manitoba was signed today by Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport Minister Eric Robinson, acting Aboriginal and northern affairs minister, Conservation Minister Stan Struthers, and Treaty One chiefs. “We welcome the opportunity to have a more productive working relationship with the Treaty One First Nations and this agreement signifies the movement toward developing a government-to-government relationship,” said Robinson. “Treaty One has a number of issues to address with the province and this document helps create the forum for discussions.” “This agreement will further improve and strengthen the work done by the First Nations and the provincial government on treaty rights and provides the opportunity for greater clarity and understanding,” said Struthers. “As well, existing levels of treaty knowledge in the provincial government will be enhanced through this initiative.” “The ...

Norway House sets goal for 2020

By Aldo Santin, Winnipeg Free Press MARCEL Balfour is challenging the 5,500 residents of Norway House Cree Nation to become proficient in Cree by the year 2020. Balfour, chief of Norway House, persuaded the band council earlier this week to adopt a multi-faceted motion that will make Cree the community's official language and will encourage residents to speak Cree as often as possible. Balfour, 40, readily admits he is far from being proficient in Cree but adds he's prepared to do whatever it takes. "I'll have to roll up my sleeves and get with the program," Balfour said. The resolution also designates the third Monday of September as Cree Language Day and a local holiday, when all band employees and members will speak only Cree. "We want to have councillors go into the schools and have the students see them speaking Cree," Balfour said. Balfour estimates that about 75 per cent of ...

Bill Would Expand Manitoba Floodway Authority's Mandate To Manage Road Construction on East Side of Lake Winnipeg: Lemieux

Source: Manitoba Government The Government of Manitoba has introduced legislation that would enable the Manitoba Floodway Authority (MFA) to oversee construction of an all-season road on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux announced today in the legislature. "For many years, First Nations people living on the east side of Lake Winnipeg have been calling for an all-season road that would permanently link communities as well as improve access and economic development opportunities for the region," said Lemieux. "The construction of this road provides an incredible opportunity to help lower transportation costs, increase economic development opportunities and enhance the quality of life for residents living in the remote and isolated communities of this region." The proposed legislation would formally expand the MFA's mandate to assume responsibility for the East Side Transportation Initiative. The initiative includes construction of a 170-kilometre, all-season road from PR 304 ...

Construction on first 90 km to start this year

By Bruce Owen, Winnipeg Free Press The province and First Nations groups took the first step Thursday on an ambitious plan to build an all-weather road system through a wilderness area the size of England on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. The huge area is home to about 22 communities -- many of which are the most isolated in the country. The people who live there have waited more than a decade for a more reliable and economical way to travel other than winter roads and aircraft. "If they can build Confederation Bridge over the ocean we can build this," Oxford House Bunibonibee Cree Nation Chief Bailey Colon said. "There's no reason it can't be done." Construction of the road up the east side of Lake Winnipeg will start this year with the upgrade of ...

By Ron Evans for the Winnipeg Free Press Pity nobody asked First Nations about the biggest review of Manitoba land-use policies in the last 15 years. This month, the Doer government announced the province will overhaul its policies on land use to better balance the competing interests of development with industry and conservation, heritage and environment. The last time this happened was 1994. Decisions are probably a year away so the blueprint isn't set yet; but once it is, that plan will help to chart the course of Manitoba into the 21st century. Eight town hall forums are planned, from April 20 to May 4, in various locations around the province, including one meeting at the Norwood Hotel in Winnipeg April 27. A 64-page document entitled Provincial Land Use Policies, Draft for Consultation, includes some perfunctory references to First Nations. They're restricted to references to the outstanding 1.4 million acres in treaty land entitlement obligations ...

Press Release, Canadian Boreal Initiative

OTTAWA, April 9, 2009: The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) welcomes the release of the scientific report on woodland caribou, issued today by Environment Canada. Going forward, the success of the recovery strategy will hinge on habitat protection and land use planning in partnership with Aboriginal communities. “This report is a good first step,” said Larry Innes, Executive Director of CBI. “To be truly successful, the strategy must now engage with First Nations communities in consultation and accommodation to ensure that they are fully involved in woodland caribou conservation.” The woodland caribou, which live in Canada’s Boreal region, are listed as ‘threatened’ under the federal Species At Risk Act. The scientific report describes methods for identifying critical habitat necessary to for the recovery of viable populations of woodland caribou. "Woodland caribou won’t survive a business-as-usual approach,” said Mr. Innes. “Woodland caribou are a primary indicator of healthy, intact Boreal forest, ...

Calls for halt to logging and road building in remaining intact habitat

Winnipeg – Today, the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) welcomes the release of a groundbreaking scientific report from Environment Canada on Boreal caribou. The report underscores the importance of protecting large areas of habitat from human-caused threats in the Boreal Forest. It also confirms that threats to woodland caribou need to be managed at the range-level and significant parts of those ranges need to be protected. The Environment Canada report, titled Scientific Review for the Identification of Critical Habitat for Woodland Caribou, shows that woodland caribou are in worse trouble than what was previously thought, the groups says. “Woodland caribou is an icon of Canadian wilderness, and this new report shows that immediate action is needed in Manitoba and across the country,” says Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba Executive Director. CPAWS, a national conservation organization, ...

Chief says NDP stalling -- but minister denies that

By Larry Kusch, Winnipeg Free Press The Fisher River Cree Nation and an environmental group accused the Doer government Tuesday of foot-dragging in the development of a provincial scenic wilderness park on the southwest basin of Lake Winnipeg. FRCN is proposing the creation of a park four times the size of Winnipeg to permanently safeguard the area from industrial development and allow it to create jobs in tourism. However, 10 years after land was first set aside for the park, the project appears to be stalled, according to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), which is assisting the First Nation. On Tuesday, Fisher River Chief David Crate, joined by several supporters, including Ron Evans, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and Liberal Leader Jon Gerrard, called a news conference to plead his case. "We wanted to stress to the government that it's time now ...

By Jason Halstead, Winnipeg Sun An Interlake First Nation and a wilderness protection group called on the province Tuesday to step up and create a new provincial park on the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Representatives from the Fisher River Cree Nation and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) have been working together for several years to secure provincial park status for the area along Fisher Bay about 170 kilometres north of Winnipeg where the Fisher River meets Lake Winnipeg. The groups were at the legislature Tuesday to present the 10,000th letter of support for their initiative to government. The province has already declared a part of the area a park reserve, meaning it is protected from industrial development while consultations take place about giving the area full park status. However, the protected area is smaller than what is being proposed by the groups for a provincial park and the groups say the protected ...

A northern community’s efforts to convince the Doer government to create a provincial park in its area is moving to Winnipeg today. The Fisher River Cree Nation is holding a news conference at 11:30 a.m. in room 334 of the Legislative Building. Fisher River chief David Crate said the province created the Fisher Bay park reserve 10 years ago the studies needed to establish a park in the area have not been carried out. "We’re asking the province to finish the job and create the Ochiwasahow (Fisher Bay) provincial park," Crate said in a prepared statement. Ron Thiessen, executive director of the Manitoba Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said the establishment of the park is supported by a large cross-section of Manitobans, including politicians of every political stripe. "It would be a crime if the province misses this opportunity to permanently protect the Fisher Bay region," Thiessen said. More details will be released ...