Our vision is to keep at least half of Canada's public land and water wild — forever. We focus on protecting many important areas of Canada's wilderness. Find out about the issues we work on below, or click on a link to the right to more about where we work.
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WildlifeWe focus on protecting large tracts of land, oceans and great freshwater lakes so species like grizzlies, woodland caribou and wolverine have room to roam, and whales and fish can thrive.
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ParksCanada has one of the oldest and most extensive parks systems in the world. CPAWS campaigns to create new parks -- on land and at sea -- and acts as a watchdog to ensure that our existing parks are well-managed.
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ForestsFrom the vast northern Boreal forest to the temperate forests stretching across Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, Canada is home to some of the largest unbroken tracts of forest on the planet. CPAWS’ goal is to conserve at least half of our Boreal forests, and to create a network of large conservation areas within the temperate Eastern Woodlands of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.
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Oceans and FreshwaterCanada has the longest coastline in the world, and a marine area that is half the size of our country. But our marine ecosystems tend to be out of sight and out of mind, and they are in serious trouble.
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Climate ChangeCPAWS’ efforts to protect our country’s amazing wilderness on land in our oceans and great freshwater lakes are vital in the face of climate change. As global warming increases, protecting large connected wilderness areas will be critical for many species, including humans, who will be forced to adapt. And the carbon stored in our forests and beneath our waters can actually slow the rate of climate change.
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MountainsThe mountain chains stretching from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Canada’s Yukon form an interconnected web of life. Throughout this corridor, grizzly bears and wolves and lots of other amazing wildlife still roam freely. CPAWS is campaigning to protect important links in the chain, including these sites:
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Current campaigns | |
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Join the call for 12 new marine protected areas by 2012! |
While Canada boasts one of the largest ocean territories in the world, less than 1% of it is protected through meaningful long-term conservation measures. The federal government made a commitment seven years ago to establish a network of marine protected areas by 2012. Since then, we’ve lost too much time to get a full network in place, but Canada CAN make progress by creating at least 12 new marine protected areas! Read the report, “Is Canada on track to create 12 new marine protected areas by December 2012?” |
Protect Riding Mountain National Park |
Manitoba’s beautiful Riding Mountain National Park could be next up in the resurging trend towards inappropriate commercial development in our national parks. |
Protect the Yukon’s Peel watershed |
The Yukon’s Peel River watershed is one of the largest and most beautiful intact natural areas left in North America. Mining and oil and gas extraction threaten to fragment this stunning landscape and harm its delicate ecological balance. |
Keep the Restigouche Wild |
The Restigouche is a land of misty mountains, sparkling wild rivers and majestic forests. Where wild Atlantic salmon still leap over deep, dark pools. Where elusive Canada lynx roam. An internationally-renowned paradise for anglers, paddlers, hikers and tourists. |
Protect Nova Scotia’s Chignecto wilderness |
Nova Scotia's Chignecto is a land of vast forests, wild rivers, and untamed coastline. Here, you will find an ecosystem still mostly intact, where endangered mainland moose have plenty of room to roam and where a hike through the wilderness will reveal northern goshawks, ospreys, and bald eagles. |
Caribou and you |
When the caribou’s in danger, you are too. By saving the woodland caribou's remaining Boreal Forest habitat, we'll also help protect one of the world's largest natural carbon reserves and slow the effects of climate change. |
Create a park in Alberta’s Castle Wilderness |
In Southwestern Alberta, along the spine of the Rocky Mountains lies a ribbon of forested wilderness called the Castle Special Place. It is an ecosystem rich in biodiversity and incredible landscapes including alpine lakes, old growth forest and wetlands. It is a unique place of irreplaceable spiritual, recreational and ecological values but it is under threat from industrial exploitation and irresponsible recreational use. |
Keep the Flathead Wild |
The Flathead Valley, in southeastern British Columbia, is one of the most biologically important places on earth. Despite its relatively untouched state and the mining and oil and gas development ban announced by the B.C. government in February 2010, this area – and the species found here – are still urgently in need of permanent protection. |
Create a park in the South Okanagan-Similkameen |
At the bottom of soggy, lush British Columbia, there exists a strange world full of desert snakes, prickly sagebrush, Bighorn sheep and birds that dare to nest on grass. This South Okanagan-Similkameen area of B.C. remains desert-like, born of very warm summers and little rainfall. But the Okanagan is disappearing fast, snapped up by humans wanting wineries, retirement homes and urban conveniences. As a result, a third of British Columbia's species at risk now must cling to this vanishing landscape. Protection is urgent. |
Protect the NWT’s Nahanni headwaters |
The South Nahanni Watershed and Nahanni karstlands cover almost 40,000 sq kms of spectacular Boreal wilderness in the Mackenzie Mountains of Canada's Northwest Territories. The South Nahanni River, running through the heart of this wilderness, stands among the world's greatest natural wonders as it plunges over Virginia Falls, a waterfall twice as high as Niagara, and carves a passage through the earth almost as deep as the Grand Canyon. |
Keep Jasper as our national park, not a theme park! |
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Education programs |
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CPAWS works across Canada. Find out more about why what we're doing in these major areas:
Want to help? Here are some things you can do.
Here are some of the recent conservation gains you've helped us make.