Canada has one of the oldest and most extensive parks systems in the world. CPAWS campaigns to create new parks -- on land and at sea -- and acts as a watchdog to ensure that our existing parks are well-managed.
Wilderness parks are places people dream about and many animals rely on for their very survival. For humans, parks are where we recreate, get inspired by nature’s beauty, and revel in their clean air and clean water.
For wildlife, parks are havens -- places to roam, feed and raise their young away from the threat of human development. CPAWS is on guard for how Canada’s parks are managed, to make sure they continue to protect the nature that inspired their creation.
In some provinces and territories, the words "park" and "protected" are not synonymous. For example, in Ontario large swaths of Algonquin Park are open to logging.
Even parks free from development can pose a risk to species if they are too small or isolated. Parks surrounded by urban development or a radically changed landscape are like ecological islands disconnected from the broader ecosystem. Species become trapped on these "islands" and are vulnerable to sudden population declines -- or even local extinctions -- caused by disease, predation or habitat loss. It is often difficult or even impossible for species -- and their genes -- to migrate in or out of these islands, leading to inbreeding and weakened populations of both animals and plants.
Since 2008, CPAWS has produced an annual report on the state of parks in Canada.See the reports, and our other park publications, here.
Canada's Parks Day (third Saturday in July)
Join Canadians from sea to sea to sea to celebrate the importance of our parks and historic sites.
www.parksday.ca
Celebrate Parks Video Contest (2010)
With the support of Parks Canada, we ran this contest to introduce Canadians to their national parks. See the submissions here:
www.celebrateparks.ca
Parks Canada has consulted Canadians on this new park in the headwaters of the South Nahanni watershed, adjacent to the recently expanded Nahanni National Park Reserve. Although the official comment period has ended, your input to Parks Canada is still important.
This badger and his desert friends need your help. Their habitat – a dry, warm landscape in southern B.C. – continues to disappear at an alarming rate due to human settlement. You can help create a National Park!
CPAWS Southern Alberta outlines concerns about guidelines for Mount Norquay in Banff, which would adversely affect grizzlies.
How is wildlife faring in Canada's parks?
CPAWS' annual state of the parks report
Canada made great progress in creating new parks in 2007-2008.
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