24/01/2005 - As part of
his tour of the Eastern Townships, the Honourable
Stéphane Dion, federal Minister of
the Environment, announced today that a
contribution of $1.1 million will be made
to the Quebec Region of Nature Conservancy
Canada.
This contribution will both kick off and
provide a substantial boost for the fund-raising
campaign undertaken by Nature Conservancy
Canada with the support of its partner Appalachian
Corridor (ACA). It will help to maintain
the Appalachian Corridor in the area of
the Sutton Mountains, a project that involves
local, national and American partners.
“This conservation project is of particular
importance to the government of Canada”,
the Minister explained. “It will allow us
to contribute to the conservation of biological
diversity in one of the last remaining wild
areas at the southern extremity of Quebec,
where there are still substantial blocks
of forest that have not been broken up.
This area is home to at least thirty species
at risk, including the Peregrine Falcon,
the Bicknell's Thrush, and the Spring Salamander,
and this explains the need for us to act
quickly to ensure their protection”, the
Minister added.
Accompanying the Minister, the Honourable
Denis Paradis, M.P. for Brome-Mississquoi,
said that he hoped that this announcement
would encourage the communities to respond
generously to the call for protection of
the Sutton Mountains. “The involvement of
the communities and conservation organizations
is essential if we wish to preserve this
magnificent natural area and pass it on
to future generations", he added.
This project of Nature Conservancy Canada
is part of a conservation initiative designed
to protect the Sutton Mountains. “We are
very grateful to the federal government,
which has displayed leadership in our regional
campaign to raise $3.5 million”, said Pierre
Renaud, Regional Director of Nature Conservancy
Canada. “In order to ensure that this project
is a complete success, we invite the people
in this area to invest in protecting this
natural jewel for the benefit of this and
future generations.”
“We hail this substantial contribution
by Environment Canada to the success of
our concerted efforts to preserve the natural
corridor of the Appalachians”, stated Terri
Monahan, Director General of ACA. “We count
on their continuing valuable support and
on renewed support from private property
owners and our local and national partners
in order to continue our conservation activities.”
Environment Canada has helped protect the
Appalachian Corridor since 2001 through
the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species
at Risk (HSP). In the last four years, the
Department has allocated more than $780,000,
which brings Environment Canada’s total
contributions to the region to almost two
million dollars.
Nature Conservancy Canada is a non-profit
organization working to protect natural
areas that are important in terms of biological
diversity for future generations. It has
been active in the field for more than forty
years and has helped preserve more than
730,000 hectares across the country, including
13,000 in Quebec. Since 2001, Nature Conservancy
Canada has protected more than 60 km2 of
forest, streams and marsh in the Sutton
Mountains, and this has created the largest
private protected natural area in eastern
Canada.
The Appalachian Corridor (ACA) is a non-profit
conservation organization whose mission
is to protect natural habitat in the Appalachian
area. Using a cross-border conservation
strategy, ACA supports the actions of conservation
and other organizations as they help to
protect natural areas.
