CPAWS Blog

If you’re reading this blog, I assume you’ve heard about CPAWS’ mission to collect one voice for every remaining woodland caribou in Canada. We did it! That’s right, today we proudly made our way to Parliament Hill to officially present the names of the 32,045 people who signed on to protect woodland caribou and its boreal habitat. And collecting the signatures was the easy part. Getting there…not so easy.

“If Mother Nature offered mankind a do-over in North America, reversing the eradication of the majestic plains bison might well be near the top of the list.” Edmonton Journal, January 28, 2012 This was the opening statement of the Edmonton Journal’s recent article regarding the wonderful announcement of consultations towards the reintroduction of plains bison to Banff National Park. And it caught my eye. I’ve been deeply involved in wild bison restoration and conservation for many years. The questions surrounding why or how our society could have endorsed the attempted eradication of this magnificent species are questions I ponder every day. But this statement caused me to think a bit deeper. What about this idea of a “do-over”? And then it hit me…perhaps Mother Nature has made this offer to us! I’m talking not just about all of the great work that is being done to restore bison. I’m talking about the chance to finally learn from that horrible mistake of 150 years ago and begin doing the right thing for all wildlife in Canada.

Saskatchewan's boreal woodland caribou are in trouble. They have already disappeared from much of their original range, mainly the parkland areas in the southern boreal forest. Scientific evidence is strong that caribou populations dwindle when large, intact forests are fragmented by human disturbances, which historically have included logging, mining, hydroelectric corridors, seismic lines and agricultural conversion, as well as roads associated with these developments. Such disturbances are now spreading into even the most remote boreal areas.

Back in December, I was given the task of planning a special reception for a special person for a very special award. Working as CPAWS does, myself, CPAWS staff and some dedicated volunteers put their heart and soul into creating an event that would meet the occasion. Finally last night, after weeks of hard work, I had the pleasure of attending the beautiful award reception held at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario, where CPAWS honoured Nikita (Nik) Lopoukhine with the prestigious J.B. Harkin Award for conservation. Nik was honoured for his lifetime of commitment to promoting scientific discussion and ecological integrity within Parks Canada and for championing Canadian conservation and park values globally.

Today, Environment Minister Peter Kent announced public consultations on the reintroduction of bison in Banff. An important first step to seeing 'the buffalo roam' where they used to. We welcome this announcement.