CENTRETON, Ont. -- November
22, 2010 -- Rick Norlock, Member of Parliament
for Northumberland-Quinte West, on behalf
of Canada's Environment Minister John Baird,
today announced funding from the Habitat
Stewardship Program for Species at Risk.
$40,000 in federal funding will support
environmental action focusing on conservation
and protection of species at risk and their
habitats, helping to preserve Canada's biodiversity.
"As part of the
International Year of Biodiversity, we are
pleased to announce funding to support a
habitat stewardship project for species
at risk on the Oak Ridges Moraine,"
said MP Rick Norlock. "We are proud
to support partners who are devoted to sustaining
our environment through this important work."
"This project will
help to protect Canada's rich biodiversity
for generations to come, said Minister Baird.
"The Government of Canada is proud
to support the Nature Conservancy of Canada
through the Habitat Stewardship Program
for Species at Risk. Your actions, large
and small, will help to protect the abundance
and variety of life that is part of our
natural heritage."
The Habitat Stewardship
Program funding will allow the Nature Conservancy
of Canada to enhance habitat for bird and
snake species at risk in Tallgrass Prairie
and Savanna areas of the Rice Lake Plains.
It will also enable the Nature Conservancy
of Canada and their partners to lead field
surveys, site visits and landowner workshops
to help preserve the habitat of these species
in these areas.
"Habitat Stewardship
Funding is playing a central role in the
Nature Conservancy of Canada's outreach
work in the tallgrass prairie areas of Northumberland
County," said Mark Stabb, Central Ontario
Program Manager with the Nature Conservancy
of Canada. "Together with our partners-including
Alderville First Nation-we have made great
inroads in improving awareness and enhancing
habitat of species at risk such as Eastern
Hog-nosed Snakes, Red-headed Woodpecker
and Whip-poor-will. The generous financial
help, as well as tremendous staff support
from Environment Canada, has been very much
appreciated."
The goal of the Habitat
Stewardship Program for Species at Riskis
to contribute to the recovery and protection
of species listed as endangered, threatened
or of special concern under the Species
at Risk Act.
Projects that will receive
funding this year include stewardship actions
to conserve habitat for plant species at
risk, negotiations with landowners to develop
voluntary Land Care Agreements, targeted
educational outreach efforts to reduce the
entanglement of species at risk in fishing
gear, and the enhancement of water quality
and aquatic habitat on private lands to
benefit aquatic species at risk. They will
be undertaken with many partners such as
agricultural producers, private landowners,
and commercial fishers. These projects will
benefit many species at risk, including
the north Atlantic right whale, steller
sea lion, swift fox, and small white leek.
The Habitat Stewardship
Program for Species at Risk is administered
by Environment Canada and managed cooperatively
with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the
Parks Canada Agency. More information on
the Species at Risk Act and the Habitat
Stewardship Program for Species at Risk
can be found on the Internet at: http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/
or http://www.ec.gc.ca/hsp-pih/default.asp?lang=En&n=59BF488F-1.
Media Relations
Environment Canada
+ More
Harvest Operations Corp.
Pleads Guilty and is Fined $125,000 for
Causing Death to Migratory Birds
MEDICINE HAT, Alb. --
November 19, 2010 -- Harvest Operations
Corporation, of Calgary Alberta was fined
$125,000 after pleading guilty yesterday
in provincial court in Medicine Hat, Alberta
to one count under subsection 5.1(1) of
the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994,
for the deposit of a substance harmful to
migratory birds in waters or an area frequented
by birds. This fine will be paid to the
federal Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).
Approximately 14,500
litres of crude oil were discharged from
an oil well site near Ralston, Alberta,
on September 8, 2008, due to a bridge plug
failure and improperly sealed well bore.
The spill affected 1,200 square metres of
land in the southwest corner of Canadian
Forces Base (CFB) Suffield. The site is
approximately 48km from the CFB Suffield
National Wildlife Area.
An investigation by
Environment Canada and Alberta Sustainable
Resource Development discovered that about
300 birds including migratory birds, songbirds
and raptors died by landing in the spilled
product. No waterways were impacted.
Environment Canada enforces
federal wildlife and environmental laws
including the Canada Wildlife Act, the Species
at Risk Act, the pollution provisions of
the Fisheries Act, the Migratory Birds Convention
Act, 1994, and the Wild Animal and Plant
Protection and Regulation of International
and Interprovincial Trade Act as well as
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act
(1999). These laws help ensure that companies,
government departments and agencies, and
the public comply with legislation and regulations
protecting the environment and conserving
nature.
The Environmental Damages
Fund was created in 1995 to provide courts
with a mechanism to direct that monetary
penalties and settlements be invested for
the repair of the actual harm done to the
environment. It helps ensure the "polluter
pays" principle is applied and that
polluters take responsibility for their
actions.
Media Relations
Environment Canada
