(March 16, 2017) In June 2016, Ontario’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change released Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan. This five-year plan outlines how the Government and its partners will fight climate change and is focused actions to reduce greenhouse gases (mitigation) and help move Ontario towards a low-carbon economy.One of the actions in the Plan focuses on the role of land to reduce emissions. For example, trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, and st...

READ THE STORY

(February 13, 2017) Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has announced the final boundaries and new protection measures for the Castle Wildlands and Provincial Park in southwest Alberta. The Wildlands Park will encompass nearly 80,000 hectares, while the adjacent Provincial Park will cover 25,500 hectares. These areas border Waterton Lakes National Park to the south. In the management plan, Premier Notley made the crucial decision to prohibit Off-Highway Vehicles (OHV) in much of the area later this spring ...

READ THE STORY

(January 25, 2017) The recent discovery in northwest Washington State of bats infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has devastated bat populations in eastern North America, is a wake-up call. When WNS finds its way to BC, it is likely to bring with it major economic impacts both agricultural and forestry. Bats are voracious consumers of insects and if their numbers decline like they have in the east, there is big trouble ahead.Bats play vital roles in pest control. At least one species of ...

READ THE STORY

(January 19, 2017) New “Polar Code” will help minimize effects of development on wildlife in changing Arctic and Antarctic watersNew standards will help safeguard wildlife, and for the Arctic, the local communities that rely on them for food securityNew York (January 19, 2017) – WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) commends the International Maritime Organization and partners for the development and implementation of the “Polar Code,” a binding international agreeme...

READ THE STORY

(January 10, 2017) B.C. has only a small window to act to help batsCONTACT: Cori Lausen. 250 353 8204The discovery in northwest Washington State of bats killed by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has devastated bat populations in eastern North America, is a wake-up call for the B.C. government, says the province’s leading bat researcher.“WNS is now on our doorstep and if we don’t act, we could see a huge economic impact for both agricultural and forestry.  Bats are voracious ...

READ THE STORY

(January 10, 2017) In June, the Government of Canada announced the launch of a comprehensive review of federal environmental assessment processes associated with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012). With our extensive experience working in regions of northern Canada where natural resource development is being planned in remote and ecologically intact areas, we at WCS Canada see significant gaps inherent in environmental assessment law, policy, and practice when it comes to address...

READ THE STORY

(December 29, 2016)   Great potential mineral wealth, including world-class mineral deposits of chromite in the Ring of Fire, has resulted in Ontario’s Far North becoming the fastest growing area of mineral exploration in the province. Resulting threats to caribou in Ontario’s northern regions include cumulative habitat disturbance and loss of access to critical areas for calving or feeding. Although the province is committed (through the Caribou Conservation Plan) to track disturbance within carib...

READ THE STORY

(December 13, 2016) **NEWS RELEASE**  CONTACT: SHANNON D’ARCY: (1-416-850-9038 Ext. 26; sdarcy@wcs.org)  MAPPING A FUTURE FOR ONTARIO’S CARIBOU WCS Canada Launches “Caribou Story Map” Interactive conservation web tool shows changes to caribou ranges over time, illustrates mining claim footprints in northern Ontario Toronto (December 13, 2016). Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada has released “The Caribou Story Map”—a web-b...

READ THE STORY

(December 12, 2016)  The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) has a mandate to halt wetland loss in Ontario, and just released the first draft of a Wetland Conservation Strategy that is intended to fulfill this important commitment. However, the draft Wetland Conservation Strategy suffers from a number of critical weaknesses, and will not deliver on protecting wetlands in Ontario.   As it is currently written, some of the key shortcomings of the draft Wetland Conservation Strategy in...

READ THE STORY

(December 01, 2016) Toronto, 1 December 2016. – In the wake of yesterday’s damning report by Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk in which she directed harsh criticism at the province’s environmental assessment (EA) program, environmental organizations are encouraged by Environmental Minister Glenn Murray’s commitment for ‘substantive reforms’ to modernize Ontario’s environmental assessment process.As noted by the Auditor General: “Ontario’s environmental assess...

READ THE STORY