Search results for "saskatchewan"

You did it! Thank you!

Absolutely huge news out of Ottawa today!  The federal government has released a scientific report on the Boreal population of Woodland caribou, a nationally threatened species.  The report identifies critical habitat needed for the survival of Boreal woodland caribou.

Why is this report so important?  Well, it shows that nearly 2.5 million sq. km of the Boreal is considered critical habitat.  That’s a lot of Boreal forest.  In fact it supports CPAWS’ position that at least half of Canada’s Boreal forest should be protected.

Now that this report is out and we know where the scientists say where critical habitat is, the next urgent step is for the federal government to consult Aboriginal Canadians and their Traditional Knowledge, and move quickly to release the national recovery strategy for woodland caribou.  In fact, this is a requirement under the Species at Risk Act (SARA).

I'll let you know how you can help.  In the meantime, why not send a note to Environment Minister Jim Prentice?  He's responsible for the report's release, and will have a large say in how the government deals with its obligation to uphold SARA.  You can let him know you care about caribou and remind him that the recovery strategy is an important next step.

CPAWS and their partners have been pestering the government to release this report for months.  Thanks to everyone (more than 10,000 of you!) who signed the petition and postcards for caribou. You helped make it happen!  Now help us on the next step in protecting Canada’s woodland caribou and their Boreal forest home.

Check out the details of the report and background info here.

The Saskatchewan boom

Talk about a mixed blessing.  Record oil prices could bring an oil sands boom to Saskatchewan to rival neighbour Alberta's.  It's great for the economy, but not so hot for wildlife.  Oil sands development has a big footprint on the Boreal Forest and its ability to counteract climate change.

CPAWS' Colleen Rickard expressed her concerns to the Edmonton Journal:

"You're going to be impacting huge areas," said Rickard.

It begins in the exploration stage with large amounts of drilling and seismic activity, along with the infrastructure that entails, she said.

"Then they build the well-pad sites, which is the point at which those horizontal wells are actually set into the ground and then down into the formation. And every one of those well-pad sites clears an area of the forest," she said.

"Once they pull the bitumen out of the ground, they need other pipes. So there's lots of things on the surface all over the place covering a huge area."

That has a huge effect on wildlife such as woodland caribou and bird species, said Rickard.

Will Saskatchewan learn from Alberta's example, and balance short-term economic growth with the long-term protection of the Boreal?  Land use plans for the province's Boreal are inadequate to deal with the coming boom, so there's reason to doubt it.  CPAWS Saskatchewan is on the case, though, so check back for updates.

Biology meets anthropology

Naomi Carriere, Master's student at the University of Saskatchewan, is supplementing scientific research on Woodland caribou with the personal knowledge of aboriginal trappers in Saskatchewan's Boreal forest. 

Scroll down on this page to watch a video interview with Ms. Carriere.

(Thanks to Project Caribou News for the tip)