The Official Newsletter of the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas

...from the CCEA Chair
Ed Wiken

The attitude that Canadians have about protected areas has greatly changed throughout the 1990s. At one time, protected areas were thought of as a means to bring people and conveniences to the wilderness. Urbanites could venture off to distant and scenic spots - there to enjoy nature from the comfort of a hotel balcony or a roadside camp. While these simple forms of enjoyment were once the mainstay in the past, the other fundamental roles that protected areas serve have become more apparent.

What has changed so much to cause people to think so differently? It is difficult to isolate any single factor and perhaps few of them even happen within protected areas. The expanding expanses of altered landscapes, the shrinking base of natural resources, the loss of species, the widening occurrences of air/water/soil pollution and the overall trends among any of these are all worrisome signals to Canadians. When transformed landscapes and seascapes are compared to conservation areas, the worries are quite broad - our place within ecosystems is suspect and our reliance on them is much closer than we thought.

... in a world of change, protected
areas are increasingly becoming the
sentinels within a global network.

Canada's economy has prospered to a large degree on the basis of the nation's ecosystem diversity and the resources which are contained within them. Our prosperity in the timber industry is one of many examples. Having harvested many parts of Canada's forested ecosystems, we in a sense more fully acknowledged the past debts that are owed to nature; we are also attempting through mechanisms like the National Forestry Accord to look more carefully at the sustained use of ecosystems and resources. But what is the basis for sustainability for almost any resource sector? To address sustainability from an ecosystem perspective, you basically need to know what your starting point is and where you are going. Having modified much of the world's ecosystems, people naturally turn to protected areas as the yardsticks to judge what is needed to sustain life-support systems, essential ecological processes, species and resources. Protected areas have acted as selective reservoirs of nature's assets. They provide a pool of biophysical resource, serve as baseline references and provide a means to measure and plan progress.

Having a means to sustain resources is one matter, drawing connections to human health/ecosystem health is another. The world's landscapes and seascapes have often been drastically altered. The movement of pollutants from Russia and Japan to northern Canada, the impacts of agricultural croplands on native prairie species, the transmission of pesticides from the Gulf of Mexico to Baffin Bay, and the impacts of over-harvesting fish on communities and industries all illustrate that one way or another everything is connected. In a world of change, protected areas are increasingly becoming the sentinels within a global network. The research and monitoring conducted in them are acting as indicators upon which to judge our successes and failures.

In last year's AGM in Calgary, we had the opportunity to concentrate our efforts on discussing the role of protected areas within a resource base economy. For representatives from conservation and industrial groups, it was a successful meeting. The discussions further illustrated the need to look at conservation and resource use as a very much linked continuum.

Summary of CCEA Framework Documents

CCEA believes our collective goals should be to achieve for Canada a nation-wide network of ecological areas developed on the basis of representation and integrity and managed to the highest standard of ecological protection.

This Framework document promotes a comprehensive approach to establishing and conserving ecological areas that are representative of Canada's ecosystems, flora and fauna. With this systems Framework, CCEA is underscoring the fundamental mission of completing a representative network of ecological areas as an essential element of Canada's conservation agenda.

• This Framework recognizes the mosaic of ecological areas systems plans in Canada already set in place by various responsible agencies. We call upon all jurisdictions to develop and complete their own systems plans. CCEA stresses the need for a unified and integrated approach to encourage, support, and emphasize coordination, collaboration, and partnerships.
• Given the magnitude of the task, system planning must now assume high priority across Canada. Jurisdictions must set dates for completion of their systems plans and measurable targets within those system plans.
• CCEA calls for increased and adequate representation of Canada's territory in protected areas systems through a spectrum of mechanisms including legislated ecological areas.
• CCEA urges all jurisdictions and interested groups to adopt a minimum acceptable short-term goal of the establishment of at least one representative ecological area in each ecoregion on a national scale. CCEA recognizes that, in some cases, there may be a pressing need to establish a number of ecological areas in a given region under severe development pressure. CCEA also recognizes that different jurisdictions may set different targets for the size of ecological areas to meet objectives for their area.
• Given the small size of many ecological areas, CCEA believes that it is prudent to replicate representative areas. CCEA endorses the general rule that when in doubt about the adequacy of size for an ecological area, every effort should be made to adopt larger size areas.
• CCEA supports the right of all jurisdictions to adopt the classification scheme most appropriate for their needs. CCEA has used the Terrestrial Ecoregions classification of Environment Canada as one example of a framework within which ecological areas could be established but regard it as the coarsest scale at which candidate ecological areas should be evaluated and established.
• The fundamental basis on which ecological areas are established must be representation followed by maintenance of integrity.
  Representation should be judged initially in relation to enduring features of the landscape, such as landforms and physiographic conditions that control regional ecosystem development and patterns. Landscape representation should be assessed initially on the basis of regional surveys rather than isolated site-specific surveys. Jurisdictions must develop landscape representation targets and corresponding site evaluation procedures which may be best facilitated, for example, through some form of gap analysis.
• A management authority must prepare a management plan for the area(s) under its jurisdiction. A successful management strategy must define goals, define ecosystem boundaries and primary components, adopt a management strategy, and monitor effectiveness of the management strategy.
• Effective management requires specific regulations within the legislative framework of either a provincial or federal statute with a mechanism to deter those who would damage a protected area. Monitoring and patrolling of ecological areas is essential to effective management and enforcement and require adequate budgets to ensure regular patrols and trained staff.
• Management policies and regulations must be flexible yet ensure the physical protection of rare species and habitats and allow for scientific research and monitoring. The general public also must be part of the management strategy to secure a constituency of support.
• Jurisdictions are urged to designate new ecological areas as quickly as possible bearing in mind the direction and guidance to be found in the Framework. CCEA stresses that an ecological area should be established in every ecoregion in Canada but that the first priority must be to designate pristine or virtually undisturbed sites in ecosystems that are not yet represented with ecological areas.
• CCEA recognizes that achievement of the goals and objectives set out in this plan require the combined efforts of governments (jurisdictions), private stewardship and aboriginal land authorities.

from Occasional Paper No. 12: Canadian Council on Ecological Areas Framework for Developing a Nation-wide System of Ecological Areas, Part 1- A Strategy


Source: Environment Canada at http://infoweb.magi.com/~westhawk/ecozones/

Source: Environment Canada at http://infoweb.magi.com/~westhawk/ecozones/

CCEA Mission Statement

The Canadian Council on Ecological Areas was established in 1982 to facilitate and assist Canadians with the establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive network of protected ecological areas representative of Canada's terrestrial and aquatic natural diversity. Council draws its membership from federal, provincial, and territorial governments, non-governmental organizations, universities, and private citizens. The objectives of CCEA are to:

• provide scientific advice and guidance in the systems design and development of management practices for a nation-wide network of terrestrial and aquatic ecological areas and the selection of sites to complete it;
• assist in determining the ecological requirements and institutional arrangements for the securement and protection of unique and representative ecological areas;
  advance sound stewardship practices for protected ecological areas including their management, restoration and use for biodiversity conservation, science, education and heritage appreciation;
• promote the value of protected ecological areas for the environmental, social, and economic well-being of all Canadians;
  serve as a national forum for ecological areas meetings, research, and reporting;
• facilitate interagency funding by governments, non-government agencies, private industry and the public for initiatives, programs, and research in support of the above;
• establish useful relationships with international organizations and organizations in other countries having similar interests and concerns.

. . . News on Protected Areas from across the country

British Columbia

Park Amendment Act, 1995
The Park Amendment Act, 1995 (enacted in July 1995) established many of the new parks that resulted from provincial land use planning processes such as the Clayoquot Sound Land-Use Decision and the Vancouver Island, Cariboo-Chilcotin, East Kootenay and West Kootenay-Boundary land use plans (including establishing sixty-two new Class A provincial parks and upgrading one Wilderness Area and several Recreation Areas to Class A park status). The Act also substantially increased penalty provisions and mandated that the size of the provincial park system cannot be less than 7.3 million hectares at any time, and must not be less than 10 million hectares by January 1, 2000.

Protected Areas Strategy - Special Features
The Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) identifies two goals: representativeness and special features. Until recently, most of the attention has focussed on the "representativeness" goal. This spring two reports related to the "special features" goal were released. Completing the Vancouver Island Land-Use Plan - Special Feature Protected Areas Summary Report identified twenty-four sites for immediate designation as parks or ecological reserves (a total of 7730 hectares); eleven sites involving privately-owned property where the provincial government will initiate negotiations for land exchange or purchase (4127 hectares); and four sites to be offered to regional districts for additions to regional park systems (1223 hectares). A follow-up to the Kamloops Land and Resource Management Plan identified thirty-nine special feature protected areas (totalling 6,000 hectares).

Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy
In July 1995, the governments of Canada and British Columbia signed a memorandum of understanding respecting the Pacific Marine Heritage Legacy (PMHL). Its vision involves a cooperative approach for conservation initiatives along the Pacific coast from Juan de Fuca Strait to the Alaska panhandle; reconfirms the two governments' commitment to jointly pursue the development and implementation of a marine protected areas strategy for the Pacific coast; and aims to encourage sustainable economic development through marine heritage tourism, compatible resource use, and cooperative partnerships with others. The five-year PMHL program will result in an expanded and integrated network of coastal and marine protected areas along British Columbia's coastline, including a new national park in the Strait of Georgia and a number of new provincial parks and ecological reserves.

BC Parks and First Nations
Many parks and protected areas in British Columbia lie within the traditional territory asserted by a First Nation. Some areas, however, have special significance to the First Nation and in nine of these, BC Parks has negotiated cooperative management agreements. Cooperative management ensures that, in provincial protected areas, the Province meets its legal obligations to respect and protect aboriginal rights. It also provides opportunities to build trust as we move towards treaty negotiations. All the agreements are predicated on managing the protected area under the Park Act. They are without prejudice to any position either party may take in treaty negotiations. They are considered part of a government-wide program of "Interim Measures" whose purpose is to make sure the business and economy of the province are able to run smoothly while treaties are negotiated.More information is available from BC Parks, 800 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4.

Marine Protected Areas Forum
In 1994, the governments of Canada and British Columbia established an inter-governmental Marine Protected Areas Steering Committee and Working Group to develop a marine protected areas strategy for Canada's Pacific coast. Agencies involved in this initiative include Fisheries and Oceans Canada; Parks Canada; Canadian Wildlife Service; BC Land Use Coordination Office; BC Parks; and BC Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Efforts to date have focussed on developing the approach to a joint federal-provincial marine protected areas strategy; developing the technical classification systems required to identify and select candidate marine protected areas; and building public awareness of the values and benefits of the marine environment and marine protected areas.In December 1995, a multi-stakeholder forum was convened to identify and discuss issues related to developing a marine protected areas strategy, establishing a network of marine protected areas, and ensuring stakeholder involvement throughout these processes. As a follow-up to this forum, the Marine Protected Areas Steering Committee has committed to: continue the policy work related to a Marine Protected Areas Strategy; review existing marine parks and ecological reserves to determine where additional fisheries closures can be implemented to achieve "no-take" status; undertake an assessment to identify existing coastal protected areas which could benefit from the addition of a marine component; resolve outstanding issues related to the Gabriola Passage marine protected area proposal; and convene a second multi-stakeholder forum in the fall of 1996.Copies of the summary of the Marine Protected Areas Forum can be obtained from: Ken Morrison, BC Parks, 2nd Floor, 800 Johnson St., Victoria, BC, V8V 1X4; telephone: (604) 356-0536; fax: (604) 387-5757; or e-mail: kmorrison@galaxy.gov.bc.ca.

Alberta

Special Places 2000
In March 1995, the government of Alberta announced "Special Places 2000" - a policy to complete by 1998 a network of natural landscapes that represent the environmental diversity of Alberta's six natural regions. The policy will be implemented by Alberta Environmental Protection as the lead agency working in cooperation with other government departments.

By January 1996, twenty-nine Natural Landscapes had been designated under "Special Places 2000." Sixteen natural landscapes (totalling nearly 16,000 hectares) were named in the Boreal Forest Natural Region. Four sites (totalling over 1,000 hectares) were designated in the Foothills Natural Region. Two natural landscapes were named in the Parkland Natural Region, while seven landscape sites (which combined, cover over 170,000 hectares) have been designated in the Rocky Mountain Natural Region. Included in this region are two major sites, Kakwa and Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Parks.

Other protected areas have also been affected by the "Special Places 2000" policy. The Willmore Wilderness Park Act has been amended to specifically exclude industrial activities such as oil and gas development, mining, and logging within the Park's boundaries. Two other areas have been recommended by the Minister for Environmental Protection for designation under the "Special Places" initiative. The Ross Lake area, the only large area of Crown land in Alberta representative of the Foothills Fescue Subregion, contains part of the largest remaining foothills grassland area in Canada, including extensive natural grassland on the unglaciated terrain of the Milk River Ridge. The Runsey South area, part of the largest remaining tract of natural aspen parkland in the world, contains diverse habitats (including wet meadows, shallow marshes, aspen groves, grasslands, and shrub communities) and supports a number of uncommon or rare plants and animals, such as the crowfoot violet, Cooper's hawk, and prairie vole.

For additional information, contact: Dan Chambers, Systems Planning and Program Dev., Recreation and Protected Areas Division, 8th floor, Standard Life Centre, 10405 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T5J 3N4.

Saskatchewan

The Honourable Lorne Scott, a guest speaker at last November's CCEA conference in Calgary, was recently appointed Minister of Environment and Resource Management. He has a long history of professional as well as personal involvement in a wide range of environmental protection issues over the past thirty years.

Two projects of major significance to the future of the province's provincial parks and protected areas are well underway.

"Parks for Tomorrow" Project
The "Parks for Tomorrow" project was recently initiated with a public working group of approximately twenty-five members. The goal is to scope out a vision of the park system for the twenty-first century. The key recommendations will deal with how the park system will be financially sustainable and still fulfill the park land's mandate to protect representative examples of the natural and cultural diversity of the province and provide compatible recreation opportunities. The project, including public consultation, is expected to be completed this fall.

For further information contact Sharon Wood, Parks and Facilities Branch at (306) 787-9573.

Representative Areas Network Project
The Representative Areas Network project has been assessing the level of representation of the province's eleven ecoregions by existing "protected areas." This information is being used to identify where additional candidate areas should be integrated into land use planning programs across the province but focusing on the east-central side of the province, Manito Sandhills, Wapawekka Hills area and within the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range. A policy framework, outlining the rationale and process for recognizing new "protected areas" in the province is being drafted and will be presented to the public within a few months.

For further information contact Wayne Pepper, Wildlife Branch at (306) 787-2815.

"Caring for Home Place" Conference
Planning for the joint CCEA/CSLEM Conference '96 "Caring for Home Place" scheduled for Regina on September 30 to October 1 is well underway. Over fifty abstracts for presentation and posters were submitted. Details on the keynote speaker and the program will be available in the next month or so.

For further information contact John Vandall, Parks and Facilities Branch at (306) 787-2862. For registration enquiries, please see the conference announcement in this newsletter (page 12).

Manitoba

• Formal approval was given to establish a new ecological reserve to protect a complex of caves including the largest known bat hibernaculum in Manitoba. Designation is anticipated in spring/summer 1996.
• Initial consultations on a new parks act were held in fall/winter 1995-1996. Input was obtained from the public regarding which areas of existing parks are appropriate for establishing as protected areas (closed to logging, mining, and hydroelectric development). The input is being compiled on draft maps for additional review and comment. Approval of maps, proclamation of the new act, and establishment of a new park system is anticipated later in 1996.
• A computerized Geographic Information System was acquired to conduct an "enduring features analysis" of Manitoba's landscape units. Using the system, a map of existing protected areas was prepared and the extent to which the landscape units of Manitoba's twelve natural regions are represented was determined. A few existing and candidate ecological reserves were found to occur in unique landscape units. The system was also used to analyze candidate protected areas. The enduring features analysis methodology was adapted for environmental impact assessments. The methodology and results were presented at formal hearings for a forest management license.
• The Manitoba Lowlands National park feasibility study was completed and released in February 1996. Public consultations began March 1996 and are anticipated to continue through 1996-97. Negotiations for a new national park in the Churchill area have concluded and formal signing of the final agreement is anticipated in late April 1996.
• Agreement in principle was reached to extend the Manitoba Conservation Data Centre beyond the initial two-year startup phase which ends July 1996. The Centre identified new locations for rare plants, ranked the status of both Manitoba butterflies and Manitoba vegetation types, and acquired a new Geographic Information System to work with the existing Biological and Conservation Database software developed by The Nature Conservancy.

Ontario

Ontario Parks
May 1, 1996, the Ontario government launched Ontario Parks, marking the beginning of a new era in the 100-year history of provincial parks in Ontario. The first entrepreneurial program of its kind in the Ontario Government, Ontario Parks is designed to protect, plan, and develop the existing parks system, while managing it more efficiently and improving its financial self-reliance. Ontario Parks will be accountable to the Minister through a newly-appointed board of directors, and will develop a "special purpose account" for retaining and managing park revenues. As an organization within the Ministry of Natural Resources, it will work closely with business partners, provide opportunities for the private sector, and allow the provincial parks system to continue to prosper in a challenging fiscal environment.

Legacy 2000
As one of its new business ventures, Ontario Parks with the Ministry of Natural Resources, has entered into a four year partnership with The Nature Conservancy of Canada to secure natural areas for new provincial parks. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a national membership organization dedicated to the securement and protection of significant natural areas throughout Canada. Since its establishment in 1962, the Conservancy has worked with landowners, government agencies and other partners to secure over 25,000 hectares (60,000 acres) of significant natural areas in Ontario.

Through the Ontario Parks Legacy 2000 programme, Ontario Parks with the Ministry is providing investment capitol that the Nature Conservancy will apply to acquire new parkland worth at least four million dollars by the year 2000. The Legacy 2000 programme builds upon the long-standing efforts and success of The Nature Conservancy of Canada in acquiring significant natural areas for heritage conservation and is modeled after previous agreements between the partners initiated to celebrate the centennial of Ontario's provincial parks in 1993. That initial agreement resulted in the acquisition of a highly significant wetland in eastern Ontario, which had been dedicated as the Menzel Centennial Provincial Nature Reserve in tribute to the late Oivi Menzel by her husband who financed the acquisition to preserve the area as a lasting memory of her love for nature. Subsequent projects in 1994 and 1995 have secured other important areas in southern Ontario that contribute to Ontario Parks' protection objective.

For additional information, contact Tom Beechey, Ontario Parks, Ministry of Natural Resources, 6th Floor, ICI House, 90 Sheppard Avenue East, North York, ON, M2N 3A1 or John Grant, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, 110 Eglinton Avenue West, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M4R 2G5.

Quebec

• To date, the Advisory Committee on Threatened or Vulnerable Plants has analyzed the status of some twenty plants liable to be designated threatened or vulnerable. Nine of these plants are now protected by law: wild leek has been designated threatened and eight other species (including plants endemic to the Gulf of St. Lawrence) have been designated vulnerable. The process for legal designation of some ten other plants has begun.
• The Quebec Conservation Data Centre (Centre de données sr le patrimoine naturel) is busy with its inventory of flora. Some 6,500 occurrences have now been entered and mapped, including 4,500 occurrences of vascular plants and 2000 occurrences of animals. The Centre is primarily consulted by the provincial government and by consultants working on environmental impact studies.
• The St. Lawrence Action Plan Vision 2000 is a federal-provincial agreement which runs from April 1994 to April 1998. Its purpose is to safeguard and protect the St. Lawrence and its environment. Its major objectives include: conserving 7000 hectares of habitat along the St. Lawrence and some of its affluents; and implementing maintenance or recovery plans for twelve threatened or declining species.
• In May 1995, the Comité des priorités (Priority Committee) approved a five-year plan (1995-2000) which foresees the creation of twenty new ecological reserves by the year 2000 and the identification and setting aside of twenty new territories for other ecological reserves. The development themes are: representative land ecosystems; wetlands; and exceptional habitats (threatened or vulnerable species).
• Since October 1994, six new ecological reserves have been added to the ecological reserves network (for a total of fifty-four ecological reserves). These include Îles-Avelle-Wight et Hiam (90 hectares) and Boisé-des-Muirs (11.5 hectares) in the Montréal region; Matamec (18,600 hectares) and Grand-lac-salé (2339 hectares) in the Côte-Nord region; Fornaid (735 hectares) in the Gaspésie region; and Pointe-Platon (62 hectares) in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.

For additional information, contact Leopold Gaudreau, Direction de la Conservation et Patrimoine Écologique, Ministère de l'Environnement, 2360, chemin Sainte-Foy, Sainte Foy, PQ, G1V 4H2.

New Brunswick

The Department of Natural Resources and Energy is a well-recognized leader in the development of GIS-based forest management planning systems. In this regard, there has been a growing interest by the public and private sector, as stewards of approximately 7.3 million hectares of land and water (ownership: 45% Provincial Crown, 34% private freehold, 19% corporate freehold, 2% Federal Crown), in the identification of sites which may require special consideration during the management cycle. The Department and many of the Crown Licensees have been compiling lists of special features and conducting field work to establish operating guidelines for maintaining their associated values. In addition, management objectives have been developed for a wide range of protected areas, including approximately 22% of Provincial Crown land allocated to watercourse buffers, deer yards, mature coniferous habitat, wetlands, parks and ecological reserves. (Note: parks and ecological reserves constitute approximately 5% of this category or 1% of Crown land).

The Ecological Reserves Program has been involved in a number of initiatives over the past few years, as a means of revising our candidate list (produced in the early 1970s) and developing a scientifically-based planning framework to direct our activities in the coming decades. Over the past year, we have continued to designate candidate sites, conduct field work, and develop an ecological classification system that can be used for the identification, assessment, and management of representative ecosystems and distinctive natural features. An independent technical review of these procedures was undertaken in 1995 and recommendations were incorporated into the current analysis of priority sites. We are also investigating legislative and fiscal mechanisms that will enable private landowners to participate in stewardship and conservation activities.

Since the Ecological Reserves Act was rendered inoperative in 1992-93 by the suspension of an advisory council named under the Act, we have been using the Crown Lands and Forests Act for these purposes. Five ecological reserves (660 hectares) were declared in 1995-96 and two additional sites (184 hectares) will be announced later this month. We have also proposed the designation of five sites (7935 hectares) under a new category defined as a conservation area (IUCN Ib), which will permit traditional uses that do not alter the ecological values of the site. It is intended that ecological reserves will continue to have limited access for scientific and educational purposes, while conservation areas will allow backcountry recreation with minimal development. This latter category will establish a role for protected areas that, in most jurisdictions, has been considered the mandate of national and provincial parks. In recent years, however, the provincial parks have been directed to achieve greater self-sufficiency and cost-recovery through the development of recreational and tourism opportunities, and have limited involvement with conservation-based planning.

For additional information, contact Martha Gorman, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Department of Natural Resources & Energy, PO Box 6000, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5H1. Tel: (506) 453-2880, Fax: (506) 453-6689, e-mail: mgorman@gov.nb.ca.

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia's proposed parks and protected areas systems plan, originally released in March 1994, has just completed an extensive public review process. The province's Natural Resources Minister has accepted the report and recommendations of the public review committee and has announced that thirty-one Crown land candidate sites will be designated as protected areas. Highlights of the committee's recommendations include:

• establishment of a comprehensive protected areas system
• formal designation of thirty-one candidate protected areas
• emphasis on wilderness recreation and eco-tourism
• continuation of most traditional recreational activities, including hunting, fishing, and snowmobiling on key connector trails
  exclusion of all-terrain vehicles
• exclusion of commerical resource development/extraction
  recognition of existing property rights/land use commitments
• encouragement of complementary management on adjacent lands, where possible, involving integrated resource management of Crown lands and voluntary stewardship on private lands
  emphasis on private land stewardship initiatives in protecting additional areas
• provision of opportunities for consultation and partnerships
• adoption of an implementation strategy that continues moratorium until areas are designated; places high priority on management planning; emphasizes information and education; and establishes new legislation for protected areas.

For additional information, contact Dale Smith, Parks and Recreation Division, Department of Natural Resources, R.R. #1, Belmont, NS, B0M 1C0.

Newfoundland

An Early Christmas Gift - Establishment of Baccalieu Island Seabird Ecological Reserve
On December 1, 1995, upon the recommendation of the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council, the Newfoundland cabinet formally established the Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve, the sixth seabird colony protected under the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Act. A rugged coastal island located off the northern tip of the Avalon Peninsula of the Island of Newfoundland, Baccaleiu Island is the largest seabird island in the province, encompassing an area of 5.3 square kilometres. The island and its surrounding waters support Newfoundland's largest and most diverse breeding seabird colony. A breeding place for Leach's Storm Petrels, Common Murre, and Atlantic Puffin, Baccalieu Island also supports one of only six Northern Gannet colonies in North America and serves as refuge for wintering seaducks and other migrating seabirds.

Protecting Jack Pine in Labrador - Establishment of the Redfir Lake-Kapitagas Channel Ecological Reserve
The province of Newfoundland set aside the Redfir Lake-Kapitagas Channel site in southwestern Labrador as a Provisional Ecological Reserve on June 30, 1995. The site includes the only two stands of natural Jack Pine in the province. Since the range of the Jack Pine extends eastward from the Mackenzie River Valley north of Alberta to approximately the middle of Quebec, the Red Fir Lake-Kapitagas site represents an outlier - an example of Jack Pine outside or at the very edge of its range. Further, the site lies near the boundary of two forest regions, and as such, represents a transitional ecological zone (ecozone). Therefore, this site can be considered significant on a national scale given its outlying position and the transitional nature of the landscape surrounding the site.

The Red Fir Lake-Kapitagas Channel site falls within the Mid-Subarctic Forest Ecoregion. Preliminary comparisons of the features in the site and those which characterize the ecoregion reveal that the proposed reserve may contain a significant number of representative features. In the coming months, a management plan for the site will be prepared and public hearings will have to be held before the site can be recommended for permanent reserve status.

Natural Areas System Plan Committee
The Natural Areas Systems Plan committee was formed on November 1, 1995. This Ministerial-appointed committee has been charged with the task of preparing a draft protected areas system plan for Newfoundland.

Much of the background material necessary to complete a protected areas systems plan has already been compiled in the Protected Areas Association's "A Protected Areas Systems Plan" released in 1991. Government has accepted many of the elements of this plan, including the principles of conservation, the three-tiered reserve system, and the ecoregion approach to reserve establishment. The principle goal of the Systems Plan Committee will be to finalize a plan based on these elements. The 1991 document identified many candidate sites intended to fill the protected areas gaps in terms of ecoregion representivity and the protection of special and unique features. The three-tiered reserve system was developed to accomplish this goal.

Several agencies are represented on the committee, including Parks and Natural Areas Division, the Protected Areas Association, Wildlife Division, Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Council, Forest Management Division, (Department of Natural Resources), Science Faculty (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Canadian Wildlife Service, Canadian Forestry Service, and the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador. To date, the committee has focussed on a number of tasks, principally the protected areas gap analysis and study area design. A report is anticipated within the year.

For additional information, contact Louise Daley, Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Parks and Natural Areas Division, Box 8700, St. John's, NF, A1B 4J6.

Northwest Territiories

Management Planning for the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary
A management plan for the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary (the only protected area established under the Northwest Territories Wildlife Act) is being developed under the terms of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. The Agreement requires that the plan be prepared for the Sanctuary by summer 1998. After consultation in Baker Lake and Lutsel K'e in 1995, the following draft statement of vision and goals was adopted:

Vision: to manage and protect the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary so that its undisturbed character and cultural values are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.

Goals: to protect and maintain the Sanctuary as a viable natural system; to protect the spiritual and cultural values of the Sanctuary; to allow opportunities for use and enjoyment that are consistent with the protection and maintenance of the natural and cultural values of the Sanctuary.

A draft management plan is expected to be released for public review in summer 1996, while the finalization of the management plan is planned for early 1997.

Wildlife Conservation Areas
The NWT Wildlife Conservation Areas Program, funded primarily by Wildlife Habitat Canada, focussed primarily on facilitating establishment of a protected areas network in the NWT.

Objectives for 1995/96 included:

• Developing a consultation process for wildlife conservation areas with wildlife co-management boards, other boards and agencies set up through the land claims process, and government agencies.
• Developing legislation to allow for protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat in areas designated under the NWT Wildlife Act (Critical Wildlife Areas).
• Identifying areas important to wildlife which require protection from incompatible land uses.
• Responding to concerns from government, renewable resources co-management boards, other land claims organizations and the public about the management of caribou calving areas in the face of mineral development and other land use activities.
• Preliminary consultation on general habitat conservation issues, potential wildlife conservation areas and development of Critical Wildlife Area Regulations resulted in the completion and signing of a cooperative agreement between the Tourism and Parks Division (Department of Economic Development and Tourism) and the Wildlife Management Division (Renewable Resources). Further, the Wildlife Management Division worked cooperatively with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) on wildlife conservation areas including the proposed Igalirtuug National Wildlife Areas at Isabella Bay, Baffin Island (to be established in 1996).

Management of Caribou Calving Grounds
A workshop held in Yellowknife in November 1995 included presentations and discussions of the ecology of caribou and calving grounds in the Northwest Territories and options available for protecting caribou calving grounds in Nunavut. Workshop participants affirmed the importance of conducting consultation with all stakeholders before any plans are developed for protection of caribou calving grounds in Nunavut, and recommended that the Bathurst calving grounds should be the initial focus for developing an approach to be taken.

Program Administration
The departments of Renewable Resources, Economic Development and Tourism, and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources will be consolidated by April 1, 1997. The territorial government is evaluating a proposal to transfer the territorial parks program (currently under the Department of Economic Development and Tourism) to a public trust. Implications of these changes for wildlife management and conservation area planning are unknown.

For additional information, contact Chris Shank, Wildlife Management Division, Department of Renewable Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, 600, 5102-50th Ave., Yellowknife, NT, X1A 3S8.

Yukon Territory

Yukon Wildlands Project
The Yukon Wildlands Project is part of a North America-wide strategy to stop the disappearance of wildlife and the wild places upon which they depend. In every region of the continent, grassroots organizations are working to preserve vanishing biological diversity. In Canada, the Endangered Spaces campaign, led by the World Wildlife Fund, aims to set aside a representative part of each natural region by the year 2000. The Wildlands Project and the Endangered Spaces Campaign go hand in hand. The Endangered Spaces Campaign is a key part of the Yukon Wildlands Project as it focuses on core protected areas. The Wildlands Project aims to ensure that those core areas are connected to healthy ecosystems, and that the Yukon wildlands reamin wild. The Yukon Wildlands Project and the Endangered Spaces campaign are a co-operative effort of three environmental groups in the Yukon: CPAWS-Yukon, the Yukon Conservation Society, and Friends of Yukon Rivers.

For additional information, contact the Yukon Conservation Society, Box 4163, Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 3T3.

For information about Yukon Government programs, contact Jillian Lynn-Lawson, Park Resources and Regional Planning, Department of Renewable Resources, Government of the Yukon Territory, Box 2703 - 10 Burns Road, Whitehorse, YT, Y1A 2C6.

Canadian Forest Service

A total of 242 candidate sites have been drafted into the proposed National List of Forest Ecosystems Represented in Protected Areas. The sites meet specified criteria of IUCN category, size, and representivity, and are currently under review for forest content. Project staff are exploring prospects for incorporating the list in the National Atlas of Canada.

Update on Model Forests:

Fundy Model Forest:
Under the direction of MFC collaborator, Dr. Judy Loo, the following reports have been completed: Gap Analysis Summary Report, Fundy Model Forest Gap Analysis Project; Protocol for the Fundy Model Forest Gap Analysis Project; Rare and uncommon plant species found within the Fundy Model Forest.

Eastern Ontario Model Forest:
Three Site District Reports covering the Model Forest have been produced and a draft report on "Ecological properties for the evaluation of eastern Ontario forest ecosystem," proposes ten measurable properties of forests to indicate their state, including plant and animal diversity and coarse woody debris. Phase I was completed for a pilot study to develop a scheme of integrating IUCN-classified protected areas and forest management categories into a comprehensive landscape mosaic. The mosaic should indicate the potential for conservation over large areas - in this case the entire 1.5 million hectares of the EOMF.

Foothills Forest:
A report and map on Environmentally Significant Areas have been produced. They will be incorporated into a detailed report of the Foothills Forest that explains the role of potential protected or special areas in the context of sustainable forestry.

Long Beach Model Forest:
An interim report, "A preliminary gap analysis of protected areas within the Long Beach Model Forest" has summarized progress to date.

For additional information, contact Canadian Forest Service, 506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, BC, V8Z 1M5.

Report from the 1995 AGM...
David Gauthier and Robyn Usher

The 14th Annual General Meeting of the CCEA (November 7 & 8, 1995, Calgary, Alberta) entitled "Protected Areas in Resource-Based Economies: Sustaining Biodiversity and Ecological Integrity" was a huge success attracting over 350 delegates including sponsors and conference speakers. The purpose of the conference was to address the importance of maintaining biodiversity and ecological integrity in resource-based economies with specific objectives to:

• clarify the essential role of protected areas in resource-based economies;
• explore the challenges associated with maintaining biodiversity and ecological integrity; and
• review current progress and highlight future initiatives.

These objectives were met through issue-specific presentations, case studies and panel discussions. The conference was organized as a two-day event. The morning of the first day consisted of four presentations that examined the various facets associated with maintaining ecological integrity in resource-based economies. Presentations were made by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, The World Bank, the Government of British Columbia and the Universities of Toronto and British Columbia. The afternoon of the first day was devoted to case studies presentations. Five concurrent sessions took place with two cases per session.

Each case study examined a specific initiative where some degree of success had been achieved in securing a protected area or the maintenance of ecological integrity. Emphasis was placed on the mechanisms used and how consensus was ultimately reached. The outcome of each case study was reported to a closing plenary. The second day was devoted to a presentation by the Canadian Biodiversity Convention Office and reports by provincial, territorial, federal and international jurisdictions, as well as industry and NGOs regarding progress in establishing protected areas. Presentations concluded with a retrospective review of the components for success by Council member Dave Gauthier and a discussion of the role of the Council by Ed Wiken, the Council's Chair.

The conference highlighted the characteristics of successful cooperation among various resource sectors. The breadth of successful stakeholder programs spanned marine, forest, agriculture, oil and gas, urban communities and other sectors. Common characteristics of successful integrated programs included:

• the broad-based perspective within the integrated program that many of the traditional approaches are simply not working;
• the recognition of threats; some were recognized later in their stage of development than others; this recognition emphasized the need for broad-based, standardized monitoring;
• the promotion of "bottom-up" approaches;
• the formation of multi-stakeholder groups empowered by senior levels of government wherein accountability and authority for decisions are granted at the local community stakeholder level;
  multi-stakeholder participants develop a shared vision that forms the foundation and direction of the group with an explicit setting of goals and objectives; the process often involves an explicit recognition and discussion of diverse values;
• a process that involved all stakeholders as equals; sufficient time was granted; there was good communication between stakeholders and constituents at home; home constituents were not excluded from the process by their stakeholder representatives;
• successful programs avoided a climate of intense confrontation; they were open to all interests and all items to be discussed; working to achieve a group consensus; built in local participation in the
• implementation of the recommendation;
• funding and sponsorship were broadly based;
• successful approaches incorporated effective use of new technologies; in these successful programs, science was seen to be working in the public interest; and
• successful approaches incorporated the values and contributions of private land holders and lease holders in stewardship programs that provide incentives to those stewards.

In addition to successes, many needs were identified:

• the need for an ecosystem approach at all levels - within government, within industry and business, labour, within academic and educational institutions, within ENGO's, citizens groups, and at the street level;
• the need for broad-based standardized monitoring;
• the need for a common vision of what we mean by "protection" that is inclusive of all interests;
• the need to enhance our biological inventory;
• the need for research focused on human impacts;
• the need for a system of marine protected areas;
• the need for adequate, acceptable measures of ecological integrity;
• the need for standardized, accessible, integrated, better organized information data bases;
• the need to overcome fragmentation of institutions and agencies; and
• the need for an inclusive, equitable, empowering process representative of all interests that spans the entirety of our ecological areas.

Delegate feedback to the conference was very positive stressing the attendance by a broad cross-section of agencies, organizations, NGOs, and industry representatives providing delegates with opportunities to meet and converse with colleagues from across the country, as well as with international delegates. Attendance by the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia was considered appropriate recognition for the Council and its objectives and activities. Press coverage was viewed as highly successful. The banquet was also considered a success by way of honoring award recipients and First Nations people. Chief John Snow emphasized that there is a role for the aboriginal elders in the participatory process of stakeholders, a role that would reflect the respect due the elders and their views.

The conference attracted significant political interest. Alberta's Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Ty Lund, provided the conference opening remarks. John Fraser, former Federal Minister of the Environment and Canada's present Ambassador for the Environment, gave the luncheon address on the first day, and Alberta's Premier, the Honourable Ralph Klein, provided the luncheon address on the second day. The Honourable Mike Harcourt, then Premier of British Columbia, gave the banquet address and was a recipient of a CCEA award.

Council made six awards (categories) to nine individuals in 1995:

• Academia/Science - Jim Butler of the University of Calgary;
• Industrial Association - Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers;
• Government Agency - Ian Marshall (State of Environment Reporting, Environment Canada) and Scott Smith (Canada-Yukon Soil Survey);
• Individuals - Vivan Pharis (Alberta Wilderness Association) and Larry Simpson (Nature Conservancy of Canada);
• Collaborative - Wabakimi Wilderness Area (Bruce Peterson of Environmental North and Iain Mettiam of Ontario Ministry of Resources;
• Government Agency/jurisdiction - Government of British Columbia represented by Premier Michael Harcourt.

Media coverage of the conference was excellent with participation by CBC Radio and Television, Radio Canada, Reuters, The Financial Post, The Calgary Herald, The Daily Oil Bulletin, Oil Week, Channel 7 TV News, CFCN TV News, Broadcast News, KIK FM, QR 77 Radio and CKUA Radio.

In addition to the contributions of the presenters and delegates, the conference was a success because of the hard work and dedication of the organizing committee. Special thanks are owed to: CCEA's Vice-Chair, Barry Worbets of Husky Oil as the liaison between the CCEA Board and the organizing committee; the Conference Organizer and Registrar, Robyn Usher of GAIA Consultants; the Program Chair, Roger Creasey of the Alberta Energy Utilities Board, ably assisted by Jim Swiss of Swiss Environmental and Safety Ltd.; Dawn Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund, who handled Corporate Sponsorship and Media Relations; Heather Ferguson of EnviroConsult, Social Convenor; and Sarah Shima for assisting in coordinating volunteers. Additional administrative assistance was provided by two volunteers, Pat Smawley of Husky Oil and Tammy Ayote, a Coop student with Husky Oil.

We look forward to an equally exciting and stimulating AGM in Regina, Saskatchewan in September 1996.

David Gauthier, Executive Director
Canadian Plains Research Center
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4S 0A2
Tel.:(306) 585-4758
Fax: (306) 585-4699
E-mail: gauthier@cas.uregina.ca

CCEA publishes informational brochure on Canadian Ecozones

In 1995, the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas published the first in a series of informational brochures. The brochure, entitled "An Introduction to Canadian Ecozones" is a four-page, full-colour document which "introduces Canada's ecozones and the general concepts of ecological classification." Two maps - one of the Marine and Terrestrial Ecozones in Canada and one showing the Ecological Areas in North America - provide a context for thinking in terms of ecological areas. Charts of various kinds apply that context to specific geographic information, such as population, gross domestic product, distribution of endangered and threatened species, and land use. From the perspective of CCEA, "thinking, planning and acting in the context of ecosystems is essential for today's environmental management and for sustainability issues"; this brochure provides a foundation for such thought, planning, and action.

Future brochures will focus on particular ecozones and issues pertaining to ecozones. The second in the series will provide information on the Arctic Ecozone. The brochures are available free of charge from:

Canadian Council on Ecological Areas
Secretariat/Manager
Canadian Wildlife Service, 3rd Floor
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Hull, Quebec
K1A 0H3

Proceedings of 1993 AGM Available Soon

The proceedings of the 1993 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas, held in Windsor, will soon be available at a cost of $25.00. The publication is available from the Secretariat of the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas:

Canadian Council on Ecological Areas
Secretariat/Manager
Canadian Wildlife Service, 3rd Floor
351 St. Joseph Blvd.
Hull, Quebec
K1A 0H3

eco is the official newsletter of the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas. Its purposes are to keep others informed about the work of the CCEA and to develop a community of discourse in the field of conservation and environmental protection.

Information for the newsletter should be submitted to Donna Achtzehner, Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2.
Tel: (306) 585-4795
Fax: (306) 585-4699
E-mail: canadian.plains@uregina.ca

Design and production by Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina.

eco is published twice annually by the CCEA Secretariat. Copies may be obtained from the CCEA Secretariat, Canadian Wildlife Service, 3rd Floor, 351 St. Joseph Blvd., Hull, Quebec, K1A 0H3.