Less than 3% are currently protected. That is way below the bare minimum we need if we want to conserve our wildlife and wilderness values for the future. New Brunswick is second to last of all provinces in Canada in the amount of land we’ve protected. It’s nowhere near enough! The province will be making decisions soon about the future of our forests.
CPAWS is asking that at least 17% of New Brunswick’s Crown land, including the largest patches of old forest, be designated as permanently protected areas by 2015, where no logging or mining can happen. We’re also asking the province to immediately take action to keep all of the Crown land they are already conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers.
|
|
| Barred Owl, photo by Steve Reid |
The provincial government will be deciding soon whether to go ahead with the previous government’s plan for public forest use and conservation. That plan would drastically decrease the amount of forest that is required to be conserved as deer wintering habitat, old forests and stream bank buffer zones.
This could mean a reduction of 25% of these habitats. At the same time, tree plantations on Crown land would be more than doubled to 28%. Tree plantations are NOT the same as old growth mixed forests, and take away habitat vital for the survival of native wildlife such as barred owls, flying squirrels and American marten.
The Minister of Natural Resources has announced he will re-examine the previous plan, and table a new forest plan soon.
The majority of the public told the Select Committee on Wood Supply in 2004 that they do not want fish and wildlife habitat to be sacrificed to increase wood supply. The Select Committee rejected industry’s request to put a cap on conservation zones, and instead recommended that the amount of clear-cutting be reduced.
A 2007 survey of New Brunswickers showed that the overwhelming majority place highest priority on protecting our forests to conserve fresh water, air and wildlife habitat. In other words, our citizens expect government to stand up for what the people want, and to conserve what remains of our natural forests.
The survey also showed that people want more say in how our forests are managed. Government has still not implemented any real consultation strategy to involve the public in determining our forests’ future.
We believe there is a real opening for New Brunswickers to speak up on behalf of our forests once again. This is a new government, and the Natural Resources Minister said he wants to hear more from conservationists and First Nations.
• Please write a letter that tells government what is important to you about our forests
• Make a short version of your letter and send it as a letter to the editor to your local newspaper, or one of the daily newspapers.
CPAWS is recommending that at least 17% of Crown land (8.5% of the province), including the largest patches of old forest, be designated by 2015 in permanent protected areas, where no logging or mining would take place. This amount will move us closer to the level in other provinces, where the average amount of land protected is nearly 9%.
CPAWS is also recommending the province keep all of the Crown land they are already conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers. What we have now is below the bare minimum required to conserve all the wildlife that need old forests, so any reduction is unacceptable.
If we take these steps, New Brunswick will be well on the way to doing our fair share to protect wilderness areas and wildlife, and the significant tourism and ecotourism jobs that go with them.
