(February 11, 2010)  **NEWS RELEASE** Flathead British Columbia announces ban on mining, oil and gas in Upper Basin:  Assessment by Wildlife Conservation Society documented importance for trans-boundary wildlife   CONTACTS: Toronto: Dr. Justina Ray 416-795-1636 jray@wcs.org New York: Stephen Sautner: 718-220-3682 ssautner@wcs.org   Toronto, Ont. (February 11, 2010)  The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) commended the Government of British Columbia today for its decision to ban oil ...

READ THE STORY

(January 06, 2010) **NEWS RELEASE** CONTACT:  STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)                  JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)   Wildlife Conservation Society’s  John Weaver Wins Conservation Award  Wilburforce Foundation’s Conservation Leadership Award Presented for Efforts to Expand World Heritage Site        &nb...

READ THE STORY

(September 17, 2008) The harsh climates of the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness demands tough survival skills. Now, climate change coupled with widespread oil, gas, and mineral development adds new pressure for the region’s iconic wildlife. These topics are addressed in Caribou and the North: A Shared Future, by Monte Hummel, President Emeritus of WWF-Canada, and Dr Justina C. Ray, Executive Director of Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (WCS Canada).   The book explores the reason for the interlinked fate o...

READ THE STORY

(August 30, 2008) The “Boreal Bird Toolkit" has been developed as an electronic resource to help identify priority conservation regions within Ontario’s boreal forest and to map associated “hot-spots” of breeding bird habitat. The toolkit is intended to inform boreal conservation efforts, and to present relevant information about birds in an innovative and accessible format. The "Boreal Bird Toolkit" is a partnership beteen the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and G.G. B...

READ THE STORY

(May 30, 2008) The trans-border region encompassing the watershed of the legendary South Nahanni River in the Northwest Territories and adjacent areas in southeast Yukon Territory comprises some of the last, large wildlands in North America.  Across these boreal forests and mountains roams one of the most iconic but vulnerable species of Canada:  the woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou).  In this context, a chronicle of caribou travels in a relatively pristine landscape can provide ...

READ THE STORY

(October 30, 2007) The "southern Canadian Rocky Mountains" -- between Banff National Park and Glacier National Park at the U.S. border -- support an assemblage of carnivores that appears unique in North America for its intact diversity.  Due to their particular geographic position, the southern Canadian Rockies also represent one of the most strategically important sections in maintaining broad ecological connectivity in the western mountains of North America.  A new WCS Canada report, the third in this ...

READ THE STORY

(October 19, 2007) In 1972, the original boundaries of Nahanni National Park Reserve were established to protect the famed canyons and waterfalls of the South Nahanni River from a proposed dam and reservoir. In early 2003, the Canadian government made an interim withdrawal of 23,000km2 from development, based in part upon Dr. John Weaver’s initial field survey of grizzly bears. However, this withdrawal order left out over 5,000km2 in five separate enclaves with mineral potential scattered across this huge wa...

READ THE STORY

(September 19, 2007) Introducing a new WCS Canada Conservation Report, the second in our series, entitled Freshwater fish in Ontario's boreal: Status, Conservation and Potential Impacts of Development.  This report, by David R. Browne, is a comprehensive review of freshwater fish conservation issues and research gaps with a geographic focus on the northern half of Ontario --the most intact boreal forest/wetland area in North America. It provides important context for impending land use decisions in this region ...

READ THE STORY

(June 02, 2007) Following fishers, a member of the weasel family, is full of pitfalls. Conservation biologists generally tell how many fishers are in an area by using tracking boxes, a non-invasive device that will record a fisher's tracks. Unfortunately, if there were several fisher tracks in the same area, it was always impossible to tell whether one or many fishers actually left them. That was until Dr. Justina Ray, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Canada, and colleagues, were sitting aroun...

READ THE STORY

(June 01, 2007) A workshop organized by WCS Canada the Canadian Boreal Initiative and was held February 28 and March 1, 2006 at the University of Ottawa with habitat needs of woodland caribou as the central focus.  The goal of the gathering was to explore how much consensus there is among caribou scientists about what is and what is not caribou habitat, and on parameters or thresholds for maintaining sufficient woodland caribou habitat in the face of large-scale anthropogenic disturbances.  Presently,...

READ THE STORY