Conserving Canada's Great Forest

Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., November 28, 2008 —Pascal Badiou, a research scientist with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC)’s Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, was named to a new 14-member team of top North American and international scientists that will work to preserve Canada’s great forest. The group hopes to counsel governments, aboriginal communities, industries, environmental groups and other stakeholders as critical planning and development decisions are made in coming years.

Canada’s boreal forest has huge value to waterfowl. DUC applauds the recent boreal conservation announcements in Ontario and Quebec as proactive moves for the wetlands and waterfowl in those regions. On the western front, Canada’s western boreal forest is a critical breeding area for waterfowl in North America, but factors such as industrial and community development impacts water quality and quantity of boreal wetland watersheds that could negatively affect waterfowl in this great forest. DUC and its sister organization, Ducks Unlimited Inc. are concerned by this impact and continue to collaborate with a variety of industry, governments and other environmental organizations to better understand these affects and to find proactive, collaborative, research-based solutions to lessen operational impact on the landscape and assist DUC in achieving our conservation mission .  These boreal partnerships with governments and industry partners such as Encana, Suncor and others support DUC’s work in priority areas and look to adopting sustainable practices to lessen the impact of their work.

DUC recognizes the decline in population of some waterfowl, birds and wildlife that depend on the boreal forest. A recent publication “Danger in the Nursery” by the Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI) and others such as the Pew Charitable Trusts outlines a number of potential challenges for boreal birds.

DUC agrees that development and other issues threaten the boreal forest. We support the protection of critical areas and sustainable development in the boreal and will work with all land users such as oil and gas as well as forestry that want to find solutions to lessen their operational impact on the landscape and assist DUC in achieving our mission. These solutions can include, but are not limited to, developing best management practices, setting aside protected areas and participating in policy development and implementation.

DUC is a partner in the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework. The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework calls for the conservation of at least 50 percent of Canada’s boreal and supports sustainable communities, resource management practices, and stewardship practices in the remaining landscape. This framework has been endorsed by various partners including non government agencies, forestry, financial, publishing, energy companies, and outdoor organizations.

For more information, contact:

Leigh Patterson, l_patterson@ducks.ca
Corporate Media Relations Specialist
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Tel: (204) 467-3306

 
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