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Species at Risk Nature Notes from FON For the 402 species officially listed as at risk in Canada, June 11, 2002, was a good day. After many ups and downs, the House of Commons finally passed Bill C-5 (an act respecting the protection of wildlife species at risk in Canada) and has referred it to the Senate. The bill received first reading on February 2, 2001, and since then it has been the subject of parliamentary debate, committee hearings and public scrutiny - including input from Federation of Ontario Naturalists and many of the organization's supporters. The fate of the bill itself had frequently seemed at risk, and improvements made at the committee stage seemed to have been lost by the time the bill got back to caucus. A back-bench revolt and the hard work of several Members of Parliament (including Karen Kraft-Sloan, Clifford Lincoln and Charles Caccia) forced some significant changes to the bill, which resulted in it getting enough votes to pass through the House of Commons While Bill C-5 is not as strong as many people had hoped, enough last-minute gains were made to make it worthwhile, and most conservation organizations are at least modestly pleased and have congratulated the government. Canada is now poised to fulfil an international commitment it made 10 years ago at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. By signing and ratifying the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, Canada made a legal commitment to conserve biological diversity. Among the positive amendments to the bill is that listing of species will be left largely to scientists rather than politicians (cabinet would have to veto, within nine months, decisions of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). Provisions to protect habitat - the loss of which is the greatest threat to wildlife - have also been improved, and mandatory protection is now in place for areas of federal jurisdiction, such as federal lands and aquatic species. Unfortunately, the bill contains no specific additional provisions for birds, beyond the provisions already existing for federal lands and provisions in the existing Migratory Birds Convention The ultimate value of the new legislation will be determined by how effective it is in helping wildlife and safeguarding habitats. Its effectiveness will depend, in part, on the federal funding in place for implementation and on cooperation with the provinces and territories to provide a meaningful safety net for species at risk Ontario's Endangered Species List - Another Kind Of "Deficit" While discussions of species-at-risk legislation bring to mind the numerous federal attempts to establish a federal act, Ontario does already has an Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA, which came into effect in 1971, includes provisions to protect listed species and their habitat and it will ultimately form part of a federal-provincial safety net for species at risk. Ontario's ESA, though, protects only some of the province's endangered species. While three additional species received protection in 2001 and decisions regarding seven other species are pending, as of July 2002 there were still 31 Ontario endangered species missing from the provincial list, which also does not include an additional 39 threatened species. With representation from Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF), FON filed an application for review in 1999 of Ontario's endangered species list and made a formal complaint in March 2000 to the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. The review was declined, but SLDF and FON have now refiled their application for review and have urged the commissioner to address the situation. In the meantime, a great many of Ontario's endangered and threatened species remain unprotected - bad news for species such as northern bobwhite, Acadian flycatcher, barn owl, American ginseng, and wavy-rayed lampmussel. FON urges Ministry of Natural Resources to address the deficit in Ontario's ESA. |
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Mellon Lake This is a follow up to the Mellon Lake Article in the September issue. Ed.The Partnership for Public Lands (Federation of Ontario Naturalists, CPAWS-Wildlands League, World Wildlife Fund Canada) has confirmed that the Ministry of Natural Resources has denied a permit to establish a granite quarry at the Mellon Lake Conservation Reserve. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has informed the Partnership for Public Lands that the quarry proponent has been sent a letter denying the application. Quarry proponent Joseph Palu had until August 6, 2002 to satisfy the OMNR that his firm could meet a series of terms and conditions required for the permit. The request for a permit had been previously denied to Mr. Palu in January 2001, however the Aggregate Resources Act allows him to keep reapplying, as he did in this most recent instance. Located in eastern Ontario (northeast of Belleville on Hwy 41), Mellon Lake has long been known for its outstanding natural features and rare species. In 1983 it was designated as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest by MNR. It contains several provincially and regionally significant species including the Little Prickly Pear Cactus (provincially rare) and the Five-Lined Skink (Ontario's only lizard), which is designated as vulnerable/special concern in Canada. FON supports the government's decision to stop the quarry at the Mellon Lake Conservation Reserve. This issue is of great concern because of its potential to set a poor precedent regarding mining in protected areas. FON still has concerns that under the Aggregate Resources Act the proponent can re-apply indefinitely until a permit is granted, and would like to see a better permit system developed. FON would like to thank the efforts of all the people and groups involved in this victory including the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, who provided legal assistance to the Partnership for Public Lands and No Quarry @ Mellon Lake in their strong local opposition to the mine proposal.
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Breeding Bird Atlas Ontario's Second Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005 Ontario's second Breeding Bird Atlas project is underway! It will run from 2001- 2005. Like the first atlas (1981-1985), the project's goal will be to produce detailed maps of the distribution of all the bird species breeding in the province. Volunteer birders, known as atlassers, take on one or more 10-km squares and look for breeding evidence of every species breeding in the square. This time, we are also going to be collecting information on the abundance of each species in each square Atlas Update The second atlas field season has just wrapped up, and it was another successful year! This year, a number of point counts were completed which will be a big help in meeting our coverage goals. Also, a few atlassers set out by canoe, helicopter and foot, to atlas some of the more remote areas of the province. Stories of these adventures will be featured in our fall newsletter.
Draft maps of species distributions based on results to date can be found on our web page A training CD-ROM has been produced for the atlas. Bluebird was released in May 2002 and distributed to atlassers. The CD-ROM includes a picture and song for species that breed in Ontario. The birds are grouped into different learning lists (by habitat, song type, atlas region, or taxonomic group) and there is a quiz function that allows you to test your song id skills, visual id skills or both on any of the lists. We hope this will be a valuable tool in helping people to learn their bird songs! The next atlas newsletter will be mailed out to participants in October, 2002. It will feature information on results to date, stories of atlassing adventures in the north, an early atlassing calendar and other atlas updates. We welcome all stories, articles and drawings for future newsletters. Please submit to the atlas office. Previous newsletters can be found on our web page. We'd like to visit Field Naturalists Club meetings between now and May 2005 to talk about the Atlas. We'll provide a 45 minute talk including an overview of the project, results and highlights and discuss the different ways clubs and/or individuals can participate. If you'd like to have us talk at a meeting, please send the club name, date and time information to atlas@uoguelph.ca
If you would like more information contact:
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Trumpeter Swans Trumpeter Swan Treatment Centre The Trumpeter swans of the Wye Marsh Valley will soon have a new place to rest and recuperate. With the help of generous donations from the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (through the Nature Network Grant Program) and other partners, the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre is constructing a year-round treatment centre that can house up to four swans simultaneously. With two outdoor and two indoor pens, the centre will allow Marsh staff to care for and monitor sick or injured swans With the help of volunteers from the Midland community, completion of the centre is set for early fall. The centre will include a viewing room for the public that will incorporate educational signage about the Trumpeter Swan Reintroduction Program. The Wye Marsh program currently monitors 104 swans throughout the year, which is approximately a third of the Ontario population. For more information about Trumpeter Swans or the reintroduction program, contact the Swan Department at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, 705-526-7809 or wyemarsh@cryston.ca.
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FYI From the Globe and Mail Hollow laws endangering parks, report says: Canada's vast network of provincial and national parks is endangered by laws that fail miserably to ensure the parks' future, according to a new study by experts in environmental legislation. The report, which graded federal, provincial and territorial governments on their park-protection laws, gave Ontario the lowest score in the country and Alberta the second-lowest. Only Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and the national parks system received passing grades. "It is deeply disturbing to discover that the laws intended to protect these priceless treasures (parks) for present and future generations of Canadians are, for the most part, grossly inadequate for such an important task," says the report by environmental lawyers David Boyd and Liz Wheaton of the University of Victoria's POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. "Ontario stands out in this report as an example of how not to take care of our parks," says Evan Ferrari of the Wildlands League. "Currently there is logging in over 75% of Algonquin Park, uncontrolled development and expansion of private residences in Rondeau Provincial Park, and 23 parks face the potential threat of mine staking." The report also took aim at continuing oil and gas exploration in protected areas in Alberta, mining and logging in Manitoba and Saskatchewan provincial parks, and a drastic cut in park staff nationwide. Ontario's park management budget has been chopped 62% in the past 15 years, although parkland has doubled and visits have gone up 60 percent. Parks Canada has reduced staffing and budget levels 40 percent since the 1980's, the report says. Ontario Natural Resources Minister Jerry Oulette said his province is satisfied with its approach. "I've worked in the (logging) industry and I can see things from both sides," Mr. Oulette said. "So in general terms we are sticking with the status quo." The report gave the following scores out of 100: Parks Canada 70, Nova Scotia 70, Newfoundland 50, Manitoba 40, British Columbia 40, Quebec 30, Saskatchewan 30, New Brunswick 25, PEI 25, Yukon 25, Alberta 20, Ontario |