Coming
this October from James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers...The
Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada, Edited by Lorraine Johnson Posted August 16, 2007 Sweeping
from Toronto to Lake Huron and Lake Erie is a region of biological
richness unmatched in Canada. Here the native trees have unusual names
— Sassafras, Cucumber Magnolia, Tulip-tree, Black Walnut, Pawpaw
— evoking the distinctly southern character for which the region
is named. The Carolinian region is only a quarter of a percent of
the country’s total land area, but close to one-third of Canada’s
rare and endangered plants and animals live here. So does more than
a quarter of the country’s population. The Carolinian landscape
is one of the most threatened in North America. Since 1984 the Carolinian
Canada Coalition has been bringing together organizations, communities,
and individuals to conserve the special places and species of the
Carolinian life zone. It has become a powerful voice for protecting
the remaining fragments of Carolinian habitat. But much still needs
to be done. This book is a labour of love for the contributors, naturalists
and scientists who share their knowledge of the diverse richness and
rarity of the species and spaces in Carolinian Canada through engaging
and informative text, and who hope that this book will inspire, encourage,
and support the work of conserving this unique landscape. More...
Workshop
on Ecological Restoration Best Practices in Protected Natural Areas
& Canadian Council on Ecological Areas Annual General Meeting Posted July 30, 2007 You
are invited to a workshop focused on ecological restoration best practices
that is being held in Waterton Lakes National Park, October 2-4,
2007. The workshop is being co-hosted by Parks Canada and the
Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (CCEA) in association with the
CCEA Annual General Meeting and will show-case Principles and Guidelines
for Ecological Restoration in Canada's Protected Natural Areas, which
were recently developed by the Canadian Parks Council. We would encourage
you, or a member of your organization, to consider attending this
workshop and sharing your experiences in ecological restoration or
other protected areas topics with participants. More...
Atelier
sur les pratiques exemplaires en matière de restauration écologique
dans les aires naturelles protégées et assemblée
générale annuelle du Conseil canadien des aires écologiques Affiché le 30 juillet, 2007 Vous êtes invités à participer
à un atelier sur l’élaboration d’un guide
des pratiques exemplaires en matière de restauration écologique
dans les aires naturelles protégées. L’atelier
aura lieu du 2 au 4 octobre 2007, au Bayshore Inn, dans le parc national
des Lacs?Waterton, en Alberta. L’atelier est organisé
conjointement par Parcs Canada et le Conseil canadien des aires écologiques
(CCAE) et coïncidera avec l’assemblée générale
annuelle du CCAE. Cet atelier mettra en évidence des pratiques
exemplaires en matière de restauration écologique, mettant
par le fait même en lumière les Principes et lignes directrices
pour la restauration écologique dans les aires naturelles protégées
du Canada développées récemment par le Conseil
des parcs du canada. Nous vous encourageons, ou un membre de votre
organisation, à assister à cette réunion afin
de partager votre expérience en restauration écologique
et autres sujets reliés aux aires protégées avec
les autres participants. L’enregistrement doit se faire avant
le 7 septembre, 2007. Formulaire d’enregistrement
français
Call
for papers for a special issue on the topic of the effectiveness
of present or proposed protected areas to preserve biodiversity
in the face of climate change Posted July 30, 2006 Biodiversity, a peer-reviewed, international
journal on biodiversity and its protection, is issuing a call for
papers for a special issue on the topic of the effectiveness of
present or proposed protected areas to preserve biodiversity in
the face of climate changes. While science-based, the main audience
for this independent journal is researchers, policy makers and the
general public. The climate change special issue is planned for
the spring of 2008 and papers are now being considered. Please send
your abstracts to Stephen Aitken, Managing Editor at aitken@tc-biodiversity.org
and cc to Peter Hall, Chair, Biodiversity Publications Committee
at hallp@agr.gc.ca. More...
Request
for Expressions of Interest Posted
June 25, 2007 The Department of Environment
and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is launching
an ambitious program to improve our understanding of caribou demographics,
movement patterns, and population dynamics. Woodland caribou on the
island portion of the province are considered ‘secure’
but have recently entered into a population decline. The Wildlife
Division is developing a program to better understand the rates and
causes of the decline, and to determine effective management measures
that may be applied to mitigate the decline. More...
Ecological
Regions of the Northwest Territories - Taiga Plains Posted
June 15, 2007 This report provides a
summary of the revised ecoregions of the Taiga Plains. The report
integrates currently available physiographic, soil and vegetation
information, better spatial data, intensive aerial surveys and an
improved understanding of climate and landscape patterns to identify
45 new ecoregions within the Taiga Plains, as well as some larger-scale
landscape reassignments to the Taiga Cordillera and Boreal Plains.
More...
CCEA Gold
Leaf Award winner becomes member of National Round Table on the Environment
and the Economy Posted June 12,
2007 The Honorable John Baird, Minister
of the Environment, announced today the appointments Mr. Kerry
Morash and Mr. Robert Slater to the National Round Table on the
Environment and the Economy (NRTEE). Their appointments have been
confirmed by the Government and are effective immediately. More…
Lee
Anderson, University of Alberta - Winner of the 2007 Stan Rowe Home
Place Graduate Award Posted: May 10, 2007 CCEA is pleased to announce that Lee Anderson,
an MSc Candidate in Conservation Biology with the Department of Renewable
Resources at the University of Alberta is the first recipient of the
Stan Rowe Home Place Graduate Award for 2007. Lee was selected from
a field of 17 applicants from across the country and covering a diversity
of interests in protected areas design and management. Lee’s
research, which is being supervised by Dr. Fiona K.A. Schmiegelow,
will focus on the design of a network of protected areas in the boreal
forest. The work complements a recent CCEA initiative dealing with
“Protect Areas in Northern Canada:Designing for Ecological Integrity”
We look forward to hearing about progress on Lee’s research.
The applications for the graduate award were
reviewed by a committee consisting of Nik Lopoukhine, Chair of the
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, John Vandall, CCEA Treasurer,
Dr. Rob Wright, Saskatchewan Environment, and Peter Jonker, University
of Saskatchewan.
The
Latest Edition of Eco is Released! Posted:
May 23, 2007 The CCEA is pleased to
present the latest edition of Eco - the newsletter of the Canadian
Council on Ecological Areas. CCEA jurisdictions have been directly
involved in much of the work profiled in these pages. CCEA promotes
objective, scientific approaches to addressing protected areas issues.
CCEA also provides a valuable communications and networking service
to the protected areas community through newsletters, an online bulletin
board, organizing conferences, workshops and honouring outstanding
achievements through an awards program. More…
Protected
Areas in Northern Canada: Designing for Ecological Integrity (NPA
1). Posted: May 23, 2007 This report reviews and assesses science-based
approaches appropriate for the design of protected areas in northern
Canada. It contains results of a pan-Canadian survey of protected
area agencies and practitioners. A central thesis of this report is
that large protected areas with inherent ecological integrity are
cornerstones in efforts to conserve wildlife and the ecological processes
necessary to sustain them. 110 pgs, CCEA 2005 To order...
Protected
Areas in Northern Canada: Identifying Ecological Areas to Represent
Mammals (NPA 2). Posted: May 23, 2007 Building on the conclusions of NPA1, this report
is a case study of the Western Canadian Mammalian Province, which
is largely coincident with Canada’s boreal ecozones east of
the cordillera. The focus of this casestudy is the testing of an
optimization model for representing disturbance sensitive mammalian
species in protected areas large enough to maintain species diversity.
This paper contains potential applications by protected area agencies
and ENGOs conducting gap analyses throughout this region. 45 pgs,
CCEA 2007 To order...
The Marine
Ecoregions of North America Posted:
May 2, 2007 Marine Ecoregions of North
America, a new report and set of maps produced through cooperative
ventures sponsored by the Commission on Environmental Cooperation
(www.cec.org), has built upon the vast body of previous efforts and
literature. The initiative has attempted to depict natural and ecosystem
based units for the continent’s coastal and marine areas. More...
Canadian
Protected Areas Status Report 2000-2005 Posted: May
2, 2007 On October 13, 2006, Canada's federal, provincial
and territorial Ministers responsible for forests, wildlife, endangered
species, parks, fisheries and aquaculture, and the environment reviewed
and mandated the release of this Canadian Protected Areas Status
Report. More...
Government
Sets New Goals For Environment, Prosperity Posted:
April 23, 2007 Nova Scotia aims to be
internationally recognized for having one of the cleanest and most
sustainable environments in the world by 2020. An Act Respecting Environmental
Goals and Sustainable Prosperity was introduced March 22, 2007. The
act features more than 20 objectives to help Nova Scotia become cleaner
and more sustainable, including, establishing that twelve percent
of the total land mass of the province will be legally protected by
the year 2015. More...
Climate
change threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites Posted:
April 1, 2007 The threats posed by climate
change to natural and cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List
are outlined in a new UNESCO publication, "Case Studies on Climate
Change and World Heritage"*. The report features 26 examples
- including the Tower of London, Kilimanjaro National Park and the
Great Barrier Reef - case studies that are representative of the dangers
faced by the 830 sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. More...
Ontario
Introduces Proposed Endangered Species Act 2007 Posted:
March 28, 2007 Compared to the existing
Endangered Species Act, the proposed legislation provides broader
protection provisions for species at risk and their habitats, enhanced
support for volunteer participation from private landowners and partners,
a greater commitment to recovery of species and more effective enforcement
provisions. More…
Five-year
Report on Manitoba Ecological Reserves Posted:
February 27, 20007 The
Five-year Report to the Legislature on Ecological Reserves: April
1, 1999 – March 31, 2004 has been tabled and is publicly available.
This is the third such five-year report. Printed copies (in English
only) are available from Helios
Hernandez. The report is also available digitally.
For the first time, the report has been translated into French. Both
French and English versions of the reports are available on our Department’s
ecological reserves home page: http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/parks/ecological_reserves/index.html
Alberta
Integrated Land Management Workshop Posted:
January 5, 2007 The Alberta Government,
through the Department of Sustainable Resource Development, is hosting
an Integrated Land Management Workshop from January 22
to 24, 2007 in Edmonton, Alberta. The workshop will
highlight the work done to date by stakeholders working together to
manage and minimize their footprint on the public land base of the
province. The efforts of stakeholder working groups will also be featured.
Presentations from the workshop will be posted at http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/land/u_ILM.html
at the conclusion of the workshop. Those interested in registering
should do so before January 15 at: http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/land/ILMWorkshop/intro.aspx
Manitoba
and Ducks Unlimited Canada Expand Protected Areas Posted:
December 22, 2006 The Province of Manitoba
and Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement
to include 3,443 hectares of DUC-owned land in the southwest prairie
parkland as part of Manitoba’s network of protected areas. More…
Alaska-Yukon
Arctic Ecoregional Assessment to be released on CD Posted:
December 20, 2006 The Alaska-Yukon
Arctic ecoregion includes northern Alaska and part of northwestern
Canada. The Nature Conservancy in Alaska has completed an assessment
of the ecology of the Alaskan portion of Alaska-Yukon Arctic, developing
for the first time a comprehensive picture of the patterns of biodiversity
in the region and identifying areas of high biological significance.
Reports and maps are available at www.nature.org/alaska,
or contact us for a brochure and CD. For more information contact
Amalie Couvillion.
Conference
Announcement and call for proposals Posted:
August 23, 2006 We invite you to join
us April 16-20, 2007, for "Rethinking
Protected Areas in a Changing World," the biennial George Wright
Society Conference on Parks, Protected Areas, and Cultural Sites.
GWS2007 will be a week of reflection, reconnection, and renewal along
the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.
Professionals from every field in natural and cultural resources will
gather at GWS2007 to create America's premier interdisciplinary meeting
on parks, other kinds of protected areas, and cultural sites. More…
CCEA
National Workshop: Apples and Oranges - Applying the IUCN Categories
to Canada's Protected Areas Posted:
May 25, 2006 The CCEA and protected
area jurisdictions have prepared and applied a draft Canadian Guidebook
to interpret the IUCN classification system for protected areas in
the Canadian context. The work was done in support of the implementation
of the Conservation Area Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS). This
workshop will provide a forum to share lessons learned from applying
the Canadian Guidebook, offer the opportunity to refine selected aspects
to achieve national consistency, and recommend a path to formal adoption
and approval by the responsible authorities. The Workshop will take
place on October 1-4, 2006 in Nova Scotia. More...
2006
EMAN National Science Meeting July
10, 2006 Ecological monitoring practitioners,
landscape managers and others interested in improving the effectiveness
of monitoring are invited to submit an abstract for the EMAN National
Science Meeting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 20-25, 2006. More…
Manitoba
adds the Delta Marsh Wildlife Management Area to its Network of Protected
Areas June 21, 2006 Delta Marsh, an extensive freshwater coastal wetland
at the southern end of Lake Manitoba, has been designated as a wildlife
management area and 8,125 hectares of the marsh were added to Manitoba’s
network of protected areas. More…
Proceedings
of the Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO) and Carolinian Canada
Coalition (CCC) Annual General Meeting 2005, Protected Areas and Species
and Ecosystems at Risk: Research and Planning Challenges June 22, 2006 The
focus at the Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO) 2005 Annual General
Meeting was on species and ecosystems at risk in parks and protected
areas but interest extended beyond this to include the roles of parks
and protected areas in conserving species and ecosystems at federal,
provincial and local scales. The proceedings contains over 40 papers
which fall into themes such as monitoring and assessment, herptiles,
fish, ecosystem management, ecosystem science, and planning. Of particular
interest are papers addressing species at risk in Ontario provincial
parks such as Rondeau, threatened fish and mussels in the highly stressed
streams of the Carolinian ecoregion, and progress with conservation
and restoration planning in the Sydenham River watershed. More...
A
new national framework of Canadian Protected Areas June
21, 2006 A new national framework of
Canadian Protected Areas has just been released by the Atlas of Canada
(Natural Resources Canada) in partnership with Environment Canada
(Canadian Wildlife Service) and the Canadian Council on Ecological
Areas (CCEA). This digital base includes all public Protected Areas
in Canada greater than 1000 hectares and is linked to attributes maintained
by Environment Canada/CCEA in its Canadian Conservation Areas Database
(CCAD). This database is currently evolving into a distributed network
of provincial-territorial databases known as the Conservation Areas
Reporting and Tracking System (CARTS). Whereas the Atlas framework
provides a generalized national overview of Protected Areas, CARTS
will provide the detailed view from the source agencies. This Atlas
Protected Areas framework has been integrated with other Atlas frameworks
at the 1:1M scale (populated places, watersheds, hydrology, administrative
boundaries, transportation, census subdivisions). More...
Protected
Areas in Northern Canada: Designing for Ecological Integrity June 12, 2006 CCEA
has published Occasional Paper No.16, entitled 'Protected Areas in
Northern Canada: Designing for Ecological Integrity', as a background
Phase 1 report of the Northern Protected Areas Project. The report
includes a literature review of northern ecological area requirements,
a survey summary of northern state-of-protected areas knowledge and
planning, and prescriptive guidelines for maintaining ecological integrity
of northern protected areas. Printed copies of the report can be obtained
from the CCEA Secretariat at a cost of $15 each, or 5 copies for $60.
Beyond
Islands of Green: A primer for using conservation science to select
and design community-based nature reserves June 9, 2006 An 80 pp. conservation biology primer containing
21 principles for land trusts and other conservation NGO's to consider
when designing a nature reserve system or responding to land acquisition
opportunities as they arise. Beyond Islands of Green
- English, 3.0 MB More
about Canadian Wildlife Service - Ontario...
The
Spring Edition of “The Golden Cod” Newsletter June 1, 2006 The Gilbert Bay Steering Committee is pleased
to announce that the spring 2006 issue of its newsletter is now
available online at:
http://www.gilbertbay.com/the_golden_cod_issue_2_spring_2006.pdf.
The newsletter gives an overview of the research being conducted
in the Gilbert Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA) as well as information
of significance to users of the MPA. For more information on the
Gilbert Bay MPA, visit us online at www.gilbertbay.com.
Review
of Ontario's Species at Risk Legislation May 23, 2006 The Ontario government is undertaking a review
and update of the province's species at risk legislation to provide
for broader protection and recovery of species at risk and their
habitats. More...
Integrating
Land Management in Alberta May
23, 2006 Alberta is moving forward
to integrate land management on its Crown land. Key stakeholders from
the oil and gas, forestry, conservation, recreation and municipal
sectors have been engaged to help define how to
work together to minimize and manage the footprint that activities
have on public land. The project is expected to be completed by February
2007. Watch for project updates to be posted on the website. More...
The
April Edition of the CCEA Newsletter May
23, 2006 We at the CCEA are pleased
to present the latest edition of Eco - the newsletter of the Canadian
Council on Ecological Areas. The newsletter features many articles
of local, regional, national, and international interest. More…
Nova
Scotia Private Lands Designated as Wilderness April
28, 2006 The Town of Antigonish has
had 1,340 hectares of town land, including its drinking water supply,
designated in the new Eigg Mountain-James River Wilderness Area.This
designation marks the first time that lands not owned by the province
have been designated under the provincial Wilderness Areas Protection
Act. More...
New
Off-highway Vehicle Laws in Nova Scotia Improve Nature Protection April 28, 2006 New
Nova Scotia off-highway vehicle legislation improves protection of
vulnerable areas such as wetlands, watercourses, sand dunes, and coastal
and highland barrens from the impacts of off-highway vehicle use.
It also supports existing prohibitions to off-highway vehicle use
in protected areas such as parks, nature reserves, wilderness areas,
cultural sites, and endangered species core habitat. More…
Albanel-Témiscamie-Otish
Park Project April 21, 2006 The government of Québec has confirmed its
intention to work in partnership with the Cree Nation of Mistissini
to create Albanel-Témiscamie-Otish Park, a vast park totalling
11,093 km2, representative of the boreal forest in Northern Québec. More (English)… More (French)….
CCEA Establishes the Dr. Stan Rowe Home Place Memorial Fund April 2, 2006 In March 2006, the CCEA Board established a scholarship
fund to honour Dr. Stan Rowe’s memory and life’s work.
Dr. Rowe, a founding member of CCEA, was a professor at the University
of Saskatchewan who inspired many individuals to pursue a career
in ecology. The fund will be known as the Dr. Stan Rowe Home Place
Memorial Fund. More about the Dr. Stan
Rowe Home Place Memorial Fund… More about CCEA Donations...
Kejimkujik
- Help Us Plan the Future March
27, 2006 The public is invited to assist
Parks Canada in developing a new management plan for Kejimkujik National
Park and National Historic Site of Canada. The plan will provide strategic
direction for the long-term management and operation of Kejimkujik.
Please read the newsletter (English
or French) for more
information. More…
Best
Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series March
6, 2005 The WCPA PA Management Best
Practice Guidelines are now also available in HTML version (in addition
to the PDF format already on our website). This is part of an IUCN
online publishing pilot project, where publications are digitized
and tagged following a well established standard. There are two main
advantages to this new system: 1) they can be easily captured by search
engines like Google and the like; and 2) they are cross-referenced,
both within the publication and also to outside sources, which greatly
facilitates access to related links. More…
April 27th -28th, 2006 PRFO AGM on Cross-Border Approaches to Protected
Areas, Heritage Conservation and Tourism. February
17, 2006 Niagara Falls, Brock University
and Niagara Parks Commission (NPC). The AGM will focus on the role
of cross-border protected areas in heritage conservation and tourism
on April 27th, volunteer paper invited on theme or other protected
areas, conservation and tourism topics. Speakers include: Scott Slocombe
(Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo), Sabine Jessen (CPAWS Vancouver),
and Lee Stochasky (International Commission on St. Croix River, NB/
Maine). New Parks and Protected Areas dialogue afternoon of day two.
Interested persons should contact Gordon
Nelson or PRFO
coordinator. More…
A
Guide to the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves of Newfoundland and
Labrador February 15, 2006 The Parks and Natural Areas Division, Department
of Environment and Conservation, recently released a new brochure
titled A Guide to Our Wilderness and Ecological Reserves in honour
of the 25th Anniversary of the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves
Act (1980-2005). This Guide provides an introduction to some of Newfoundland
and Labrador’s most spectacular natural heritage areas, our
Wilderness and Ecological Reserves. For more information visit
www.gov.nl.ca/parks or download a copy of the Guide
(2.66 MB).
The
Ecological Survey of the Eastern Georgian Bay Coast February
13, 2006 The Nature Conservancy of Canada
(NCC), Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and several additional
partners including the Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT) worked in partnership
from 2001 to 2005 to complete the first comprehensive ecological survey
of the eastern coast of Georgian Bay, a World Biosphere Reserve and
one of the largest freshwater archipelago systems in the world. The
project included two years of field inventories and several years
or research and analysis. More…
Protected
Areas in Québec February
6, 2006 Please have a look at the following
paper for Quebec’s protected area highlights for the 2005-2006
year. There are plenty of links to take you to their many accomplishments. More…
Québec
Biodiversity Atlas February 6,
2006 Based on data held by the Centre
de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec (CDPNQ),
a member of the NatureServe network, the atlas provides an overview
of existing knowledge on Québec's threatened and vulnerable
species, discusses related conservation efforts to date and presents
an approach for identifying conservation priorities. The atlas also
proposes a draft regional action framework designed to ensure that
biodiversity elements are taken into account in conservation and land
management initiatives. More...
Valuing
Nature: Stewardship and Conservation in Canada 2006 February
5, 2006 Stewardship and Conservation
in Canada is a national conference (July 5-8, 2006). Following the
success of two previous national stewardship conferences, Valuing
Nature: Stewardship and Conservation in Canada 2006 will be held in
Newfoundland and Labrador. It is appropriate that at a time when issues
of environment and economy are often competing for attention, this
conference will focus on the value of stewardship across Canada, and
how environment and economy can complement each other. More...
Nearly
200 Volunteers Work to Develop Management Plans for Protected Natural
Areas January 24, 2006 New Brunswick Minister of Natural Resources Keith
Ashfield has appointed almost 200 volunteers representing a diversity
of stakeholder groups to Protected Natural Area Advisory Committees.
Local Committees were formed to develop draft Management Plans for
Class II Protected Natural Areas. A Scientific Advisory Committee
has begun work, and a Provincial Advisory Committee will keep the
Minister apprised of all the committees' work and recommendations.
For more information please contactVince Zelazny. More…
The
2004-2005 Annual Report of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System December 29, 2005 Annual Report is now available in PDF format
from the CHRS
website. The CHRS was established in 1984 by the federal, provincial
and territorial governments to conserve and protect the best examples
of Canada's river heritage, to give them national recognition, and
to encourage the public to enjoy and appreciate them. CHRS promotes,
protects and enhances Canada's river heritage, and ensures that
Canada's leading rivers are managed in a sustainable manner. Responsible
river stewardship is the ethic it engenders. Cooperation and public
support are the strengths it builds upon. More...
Standards
and guidelines for ecological restoration in Canadian protected
areas. December 28, 2005 Parks Canada proposes to develop a reference document
to guide ecological restoration in protected areas. It will build
on the ecosystem restoration primer published by the Society for Ecological
Restoration International, and have a level of detail similar to that
of the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places
in Canada. Parks Canada wishes this to be a collaborative effort of
benefit to all Canadian protected area custodians. It seeks volunteers
to be part of network of interested parties who can work via email
to provide inputs, comments, reviews and assist with adoption of the
final product by their respective organizations. If you wish to offer
your expertise, please contact David
Welch. To discuss restoration theory and practice, please contact
Don Rivard,
Parks Canada. More
about Society for Ecological Restoration... More
about Conservation of Historical Places in Canada...
Goldman
Sachs Environmental Policy Framework December
19, 2005 Goldman Sachs recognizes that
diverse, healthy natural resources - fresh water, oceans, air, forests,
grasslands, and agro-systems - are a critical component of social
and sustainable economic development. Forests are particularly important
for the environment and biodiversity. They are vital to water and
air quality, and help regulate climates. Forests are home to thousands
of wildlife species, and, at the same time, represent a natural source
of timber. The key challenge for society is to manage the competing
human demands on land, soil and vegetation without undermining crucial
ecosystem functions. More…
Boreal
Habitat Conservation Initiative December 19, 2005 The Boreal Habitat Conservation Initiative is
a three-year partnership involving the Suncor Energy Foundation,
the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) and Alberta Parks and
Protected Areas. Suncor has committed $1 million to acquire ecologically
significant habitat. Jennifer Straub with the Alberta Conservation
Association in Peace River is the main contact for the project.
She can be reached at: Jennifer.Straub@gov.ab.ca More…
Great
Lakes Conservation Blueprint for Biodiversity
December 2, 2005 The Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR) and the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) have worked
together to complete the Great Lakes Conservation Blueprint for Biodiversity,
a shared vision for natural heritage conservation. It identifies a
portfolio of sites representing high quality terrestrial and freshwater
areas that can support a broad range of natural biodiversity, including
species at risk. The Great Lakes Conservation Blueprint contributes
to the goals of Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy. More...
St.
Lawrence Islands National Park doubling in size November
28, 2005 Canada’s smallest national
park is being doubled in size through collaboration amongst several
partners, and with strong local support. Parks Canada, Ontario’s
St. Lawrence Parks Commission, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, the
Thousand Islands Heritage Conservancy and the Biosphere Network are
the key partners and supporters involved. The additional lands will
enhance the park’s ecological health and improve representation
of this part of Canada in the national park system, and will also
greatly expand experience opportunities for visitors. For more information
contact Gordon Giffin, Superintendent, at (613) 923-1050. More...
Proposed
Legislation for Ontario's Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves November 3, 2005 The Ontario government is introducing new, stronger
legislation for the permanent protection of provincial parks and
conservation reserves. The proposed act would make ecological integrity
the first priority when planning and managing provincial parks and
conservation reserves, as well as enhancing transparency by requiring
the Minister to report on the state of the provincial park and conservation
reserve system. The new legislation would make into law key policies
for planning and management of protected areas. More...
The
Urban Imperative: Urban Outreach Strategies for Protected Area Agencies October 31, 2005 How those responsible for protected areas
can better serve people in large cities and build stronger urban constituencies
for nature conservation. The proceedings of a workshop at the Fifth
World Parks Congress, Durban, South Africa, 8-17 September 2003 includes
26 articles, 34 authors from 11 countries on 6 continents. It looks
at the challenges and opportunities posed for nature conservation
by a rapidly urbanizing world. More...
Protected
Areas and the Regional Planning Imperative in North America October 18, 2005 This timely collection of essays presents
new protected area theory, method, and practice
as an explicit part of regional planning. With a North American focus,
these essays consider the history of ecology, policy, and planning
of protected areas in the context of the fundamental need for a linkage
with ongoing regional planning. Protected areas and regional planning
must be pursued not as separate, but rather as interrelated activities
if both will achieve their place in decision-making in North America. More...
Thinking
Big, Wild Ideas in Carolinian Canada October 18, 2005 Carolinian Canada Coalition brings together
hundreds of groups and individuals to protect some of the richest
ecosystems in Canada. New Releases: Multi-media proceedings; Species
at Risk & How to Help for landowners; Signature Sites Guide
profiling community action and more. Contact
Michelle Kanter
for more information. More...
Parks
and Protected Areas Research in Ontario, 2004: Planning Northern Parks
and Protected Areas October 17, 2005 The theme day of the Parks Research Forum
of Ontario (PRFO) 2004 Annual General Meeting (AGM) examined issues
related to Planning Northern Parks and Protected Areas in Ontario.
The aims of the conference were to: identify common challenges facing
researchers, planners and managers working in parks and protected
areas in Northern Ontario; identify and prioritize needs for social
and ecological research in parks and protected areas in Northern Ontario;
identify opportunities for collaboration; and, provide an opportunity
for presentation and discussion of a wide range of research on parks
and protected areas. More...
Social
Science in Parks and Protected Areas: Proceedings of a Symposium held
at the Algonquin Park October 17, 2005 This
is the third in a series of joint publications for parks and protected
areas issued by the Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO) in cooperation
with Forum partners. On March 26 and 27, 2003, a symposium focusing
on social science research in parks and protected areas was hosted
by Ontario Parks, Algonquin Provincial Park, the Friends of Algonquin
Park and PRFO. This report, now issued as PRFO Occasional Paper No.
3, contains summaries and abstracts of the symposium presentations. More...
Climate
Change and Ontario's Parks: Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO)
State of the Art Workshop I October
17, 2005 The aim of this Parks Research
Forum of Ontario (PRFO) workshop was to explore the evidence for climate
change, the uncertainties involved, and the measures that have been
taken and might be taken to adapt to them. The workshop was primarily
intended for Ontario’s park managers and other staff so that
they have an opportunity to gain state of the art knowledge about
climate change as it bears on their current and future responsibilities. More...
Building
the Great Arc: An International Heritage Cooridor in the Great Lakes
Region October 17, 2005 The Great Arc Initiative (GAI) involves building
cross-border cooperation in the conservation and sustainable use
of a unique landscape or ecoregion which extends along the great
curve of the Niagara Escarpment and its extensions from approximately
Rochester, NY, through central Ontario, the Bruce Peninsula, Manitoulin
Island, Michigan, Wisconsin into Illinois. The GAI began in 1997
with initial planning in the Heritage Resources Centre at the University
of Waterloo. This second GAI proceedings contains papers from a
conference held in 2004 on the theme of Heritage-based Recreation
Along the Great Arc. More...
Ontario
Launches Review of Protected Areas Legislation October
1, 2004 For the first time in 50 years,
the government of Ontario is reviewing the legislation for Ontario’s
protected areas – provincial parks, conservation reserves and
wilderness areas. The review was launched in September 2004. A discussion
paper is available that includes background information on Ontario’s
protected areas network and eight legislative proposals for public
comment. The proposals generally focus on incorporating in law important
protection provisions that are currently in policy. More...
Saskatchewan
Launches Consultations on Building a Green Strategy September
9, 2005 Saskatchewan is launching a series of public
consultations called Green Forums, to discuss a proposed Green Strategy
for Saskatchewan. Starting in September, six Green Forums will be
held across the province. Each two-day Forum will focus on a different
aspect of the proposed Green Strategy:Reduced Waste and Waste Management;
Water Stewardship; Parks and Representative Areas; Human Society and
The Environment; Stewardship Of Renewable Natural Resources; and Green
Economy and Innovation. More... Parks
and Representative Areas
New
Protected Lands in Nova Scotia In 2004-05,
Nova Scotia designated over 10,000 hectares of land including two
new wilderness areas at Gully Lake and Eigg Mountain - James River
and five new nature reserve properties. The designation process for
wilderness areas included completion of a socioeconomic analysis which
discussed the potential effects of designation a range of interests
including forestry, mining, recreation, tourism climate change mitigation,
water regulation, and biodiversity maintenance. Nova Scotia now has
33 wilderness areas totaling more than 294,000 hectares, and 11 nature
reserves totaling 3,140 hectares. More...
Nova
Scotia Nature Reserve Legislation Updated Several
important amendments were made to the provincial Special Places Protection
Act making it easier to designate additional nature reserves in Nova
Scotia. Nature Reserve designations now run with the land and bind
subsequent land owners. Management plans are no longer required prior
to designation -- they will now be developed as necessary, such as
for highly visited nature reserves that may need special measures
for protection. The amendments also re-establish the special places
advisory committee with an updated membership structure to provide
advice on all aspects of nature reserves. More...
Linking
Ecological Monitoring to Decision-Making at Community and Landscape
Scales August 2, 2005 Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring
& Assessment Network (EMAN) Coordinating Office is pleased to
release a new report entitled “Linking
Ecological Monitoring to Decision-Making at Community and Landscape
Scales.” This document profiles six Canadian initiatives
that are improving local decision-making through collaborative, multi-stakeholder
community based monitoring. Contributors provide insights and best
practices from academic, industry, government, and non-government
perspectives. More...
EMAN
National Science Meeting Call for Papers Environment
Canada’s Ecological Monitoring & Assessment Network Coordinating
Office is pleased to announce the Call for Papers and Posters for
the 2005 EMAN National Science Meeting to take place November
20-26 in Penticton, British Columbia. The theme of the 2005 meeting
will be Sustainability at the Landscape Scale: Supporting the Process
through Multi-party Stakeholder Participation. More...
CCEA
Workshop ’04, Protected Area Data and its Uses September 1, 2004 CCEA jurisdictional representatives and
other interested protected area professionals are invited to participate
in a national workshop in Ottawa, October 28 and 29 in Ottawa. The
workshop is being held in conjunction with CCEA's Annual General meeting
on October 27 which is open to interested persons. Workshop topics
will include aspects of the Conservation Area Reporting and Tracking
System (CARTS) – the Canadian portal to discover and access
Canada’s protected areas. More...
PALnet June 30, 2005 The
protected areas of the world are at risk. These sites which harbor
the world's most valuable diversity of life and the sources of ecosystem
services for people face a growing set of global changes that threaten
the existing capacity to protect and maintain these resources. PALNet
is designed specifically to enable PA managers, policy makers, and
stakeholders to adapt their policies, strategies, and practices to
anticipate these threats and at the same time, capture the new opportunities
generated by these changes. More...
New
book and map identify 28 marine priority conservation areas June 13, 2005 The Commission for Environmental Cooperation
(CEC) and Marine Biology Conservation Institute (MCBI) launched a
new book and map that identify 28 aquatic environments that marine
experts consider essential to safeguarding the biological diversity
of the west coast of North America. The book, entitled Priority
Conservation Areas: Baja California to the Bering Sea, presents
key information regarding the biodiversity, ecological significance
and threats found in each area. More...
Federal
Marine Protected Area Strategy June 13, 2005 On June 8th, Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries
and Oceans, and Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment,
released the Federal Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Strategy. This is
a joint initiative of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada,
and the Parks Canada Agency and will allow for the coordination of
the development and implementation of a federal network of marine
protected areas. More...
Legislative
review for Ontario’s parks and protected areas moving ahead May 24, 2005 Ontario is moving forward with its review
of protected areas legislation, according to a May 24, 2005 newsrelease.
The Ontario Parks’ Board of Directors, a citizens’ committee
that advises the Minister of Natural Resources, has provided recommendations
for the review based on presentations the board received from major
stakeholders and input from the public consultation. The government
intends to introduce legislation later this year for comment. More...
Parks
Research Forum of Ontario and Carolinian Canada April 30, 2005 The upcoming annual PRFO conference is being
held together with Carolinean Canada, May 5-7th, 2005 at the University
of Guelph. The conference theme is "Parks and Protected Areas
and Species and Ecosystems at Risk: Research and Planning Challenges".
For more information and to register, email the coordinator@prfo.ca,
or phone (519) 888-4567 x2702. More...
Protected
areas highlighted in National Forest Strategy review April
14, 2005 In celebration of "National
Forest Week", the Sierra Club of Canada released a database of
forest management across Canada, viewable at: www.sierraforestwatch.ca.
The database evaluates provincial/territorial ‘progress’
towards meeting commitments in the National Forest Strategy (NFS),
including completion of a network of protected areas. More...
Canadian
Sustainability Indicators Network April
14, 2005 CSIN is a place for Canadian
sustainability indicator and reporting practitioners to exchange ideas,
data, and methods and to circulate announcements. The Community of
Practice approach assists and enables practitioners to share lessons
learned, discuss relevant issues of theoretical, strategic, technical,
and practical importance, and start developing mechanisms for collaboration
among the multitude of indicator and reporting initiatives. For information
on how to join CSIN, contact the CSIN coordinator at csin@iisd.ca. More...
New
Website for Newfoundland and Labrador's Parks Newfoundland
and Labrador's Parksand Natural Areas Division of the Department of
Environment and Conservation has just launched their newly designed
and upgraded website. The new site is much more user friendly with
easy navigation and evocative images. New content includes more information
on the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves and Heritage Rivers Programs,
information About Protected Areas and the province's Protected Areas
Strategy, an enhanced Library of resources, and more info About Us
(PNAD) and our partners. More...
New environmental assessment for Ontario protected
areas January 15, 2005 The
Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) for Provincial Parks and
Conservation Reserves was approved by government in September 2004
and took effect on January 10, 2005. The Class EA document describes
the evaluation requirements and consultation processes that MNR follows
for the different categories of projects. The Class EA was approved
under the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA). More...
Wild
spaces for wild life workshop proceedings In
September 2003, a workshop on Wild Places and Wild Life, sponsored
jointly by CCEA and the Circumpolar Protected Areas Network, was held
in Yellowknife. The workshop and the proceedings are important contributions
to CCEA work that focusses on designing protected areas for long-term
viability and sustainability. More...
Coming
this October from James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers...The
Natural Treasures of Carolinian Canada, Edited by Lorraine Johnson
Lee
Anderson, University of Alberta - Winner of the 2007 Stan Rowe Home
Place Graduate Award 
The
Latest Edition of Eco is Released
Protected
Areas in Northern Canada: Designing for Ecological Integrity (NPA
1). 
Protected
Areas in Northern Canada: Identifying Ecological Areas to Represent
Mammals (NPA 2). 
Canadian
Protected Areas Status Report 2000-2005
Climate
change threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites
Ontario
Introduces Proposed Endangered Species Act 2007
Manitoba
and Ducks Unlimited Canada Expand Protected Areas
Alaska-Yukon
Arctic Ecoregional Assessment to be released on CD
CCEA
National Workshop: Apples and Oranges - Applying the IUCN Categories
to Canada's Protected Areas
2006
EMAN National Science Meeting
Manitoba
adds the Delta Marsh Wildlife Management Area to its Network of Protected
Areas
Proceedings
of the Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO) and Carolinian Canada
Coalition (CCC) Annual General Meeting 2005, Protected Areas and Species
and Ecosystems at Risk: Research and Planning Challenges
A
new national framework of Canadian Protected Areas
Beyond
Islands of Green: A primer for using conservation science to select
and design community-based nature reserves
The
Spring Edition of “The Golden Cod” Newsletter
Integrating
Land Management in Alberta
The
April Edition of the CCEA Newsletter
Nova
Scotia Private Lands Designated as Wilderness
New
Off-highway Vehicle Laws in Nova Scotia Improve Nature Protection
Albanel-Témiscamie-Otish
Park Project
CCEA Establishes the Dr. Stan Rowe Home Place Memorial Fund
Best
Practice Protected Area Guidelines Series
The
Protected Landscape Approach, Linking Nature, Culture and Community
A
Guide to the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves of Newfoundland and
Labrador
The
Ecological Survey of the Eastern Georgian Bay Coast
Québec
Biodiversity Atlas
Valuing
Nature: Stewardship and Conservation in Canada 2006
Nearly
200 Volunteers Work to Develop Management Plans for Protected Natural
Areas
The
2004-2005 Annual Report of the Canadian Heritage Rivers System 
Standards
and guidelines for ecological restoration in Canadian 
Armit
Meadows and Birch River Ecological Reserves Added to Manitoba’s
Network of Protected Areas
Boreal
Habitat Conservation Initiative
Great
Lakes Conservation Blueprint for Biodiversity
St.
Lawrence Islands National Park doubling in size
Proposed
Legislation for Ontario's Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves
The
Urban Imperative: Urban Outreach Strategies for Protected Area Agencies
Protected
Areas and the Regional Planning Imperative in North America
Thinking
Big, Wild Ideas in Carolinian Canada
Parks
and Protected Areas Research in Ontario, 2004: Planning Northern Parks
and Protected Areas
Social
Science in Parks and Protected Areas: Proceedings of a Symposium held
at the Algonquin Park
Climate
Change and Ontario's Parks: Parks Research Forum of Ontario (PRFO)
State of the Art Workshop I 
Building
the Great Arc: An International Heritage Cooridor in the Great Lakes
Region
Ontario
Launches Review of Protected Areas Legislation
Saskatchewan
Launches Consultations on Building a Green Strategy
New
Protected Lands in Nova Scotia
Nova
Scotia Nature Reserve Legislation Updated
Linking
Ecological Monitoring to Decision-Making at Community and Landscape
Scales
EMAN
National Science Meeting Call for Papers
CCEA
Workshop ’04, Protected Area Data and its Uses
PALnet
Legislative
review for Ontario’s parks and protected areas moving ahead
