(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 ...

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(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...

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(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 ...

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(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...

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(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...

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(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...

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(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...

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(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...

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(October 31, 2016) By Sarah Olson (via Medium)Bats have long been associated with the dark and deadly– most infamously in the form of that monstrous prowler of the night, Dracula — in search of fresh blood to feed his thirst and claim new victims. On Halloweens of late, however, it is bats who have had a monster to fear — a real one — that is devastating populations of these flying mammals in eastern North America.Click here to read more. 

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(September 13, 2016) Canada’s federal environmental and regulatory processes are currently under review to restore public confidence in government decision-making by modernizing and improving key federal environmental legislation, including the Fisheries Act, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), the National Energy Board, and the Navigation Protection Act. WCS Canada staff have been and will continue to be engaged with the Fisheries Act and CEAA 2012 processes. The Fisheries Act is an i...

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