Government of Canada supports communities protecting species at risk and their habitats in New Brunswick and across Canada

FREDERICTON, NB, Nov. 28, 2022 /CNW/ - Canada is taking action to help recover species at risk by supporting habitat protection, restoration and conservation, and improvement projects to support biodiversity.

Today, Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced more than $8.7 million in funding over the next three years through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. This funding will support sixty-seven conservation projects across Canada, led by communities, individuals, and non-government organizations taking action to recover species at risk in their communities.

The Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk plays an important role in the conservation of land-based species at risk across the country. It supports local actions to steward lands, waters, animals, and plants, as well as the implementation of the Species at Risk Act. In New Brunswick, five projects will receive up to $730,985:

• Nature NB is undertaking a project to support monarch conservation in Southern New Brunswick. They will conduct outreach and engagement activities about the monarch, monitor existing monarch habitat, coordinate milkweed and monarch surveys, and work with municipalities to implement best management practices for monarch conservation. 
• Nature Trust of New Brunswick's project will address conserving habitat for two lichens in the St. Croix River watershed. They will survey and secure parcels of forest that contain lichen habitat, enable private landowners to steward land to maintain the habitat and the species, and provide lichen identification training opportunities for landowners and Indigenous partners.
• Groupe du bassin versant de la région de Cap-Pelé (Vision H20) will conserve habitat for bank swallows living in coastal areas in Southeast New Brunswick.
• Société d'aménagement de la rivière Madawaska will conduct surveys of the little brown bat and bank swallows and inform the public and farmers of their key habitat while engaging with landowners to steward their land for species at risk.
• Nature Conservancy of Canada will engage private landowners in three Atlantic provinces, including New Brunswick, to protect three species-at-risk groupings: the Canada warbler, lichens, and Van Brunt's Jacob's-ladder. They will promote voluntary habitat protection measures on their land to address threats from development and forestry activities on privately-owned land.

By working together with communities across the country, the Government of Canada and Canadians are making progress on recovering species at risk, while recovering and protecting the habitats that support Canada's vast biodiversity. Through actions like these, Canada is working to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030 and to achieve a full recovery for nature by 2050.

This is just one of the measures the Government of Canada is taking to protect nature as it prepares to welcome the world to Montréal in December 2022 for the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. COP15 presents an opportunity for Canada to show its leadership in taking actions to conserve and restore nature and halt biodiversity loss around the world.

Quotes

"Protecting species at risk and working toward our conservation goals is a top priority. By protecting nature and biodiversity with measures such as the Habitat Stewardship Program, we can support the foundations of a healthy environment and sustainable economy. Canadians know how important wildlife and natural areas are to our way of life, and nature is also a critical ally in the fight against climate change."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Our ecosystems are precious and fragile, and we need to protect them and support people who are focusing their work on doing so and leading the effort. It is encouraging to see organizations in New Brunswick spearheading these significant projects to protect species at risk and halt biodiversity loss, while reminding us that the climate crisis requires urgent actions."
– Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton

"Nature NB is grateful for Environment and Climate Change Canada's support as we continue to monitor and conserve monarchs and their habitat. Our outreach work has clearly shown us that New Brunswickers are committed to protecting species at risk, and this funding will allow us to offer more opportunities to citizens and municipalities to take action toward the conservation of this important species."
– Vanessa Roy-McDougall, Executive Director of Nature NB

"Protecting species-at-risk habitat is a top priority for the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, and we are grateful for funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program that makes preserving these special places possible. Through this project, we are identifying and conserving habitat in the Skutik (St. Croix) River watershed for at-risk lichen species that are unique forest organisms for maintaining clean air. This is also a critical opportunity to address the nature loss crisis through ongoing learning on the land with our partners at the Peskotomuhkati Nation at Skutik and empowering private landowners to preserve these sensitive ecosystems on their land."
– Stephanie Merrill, CEO, Nature Trust of New Brunswick

"Vision H2O is very thankful to be able to work toward the conservation of bank swallows. Populations of aerial insectivores have declined significantly. The decline in swallow populations has become a major conservation concern. The species has experienced a long-term decline that has resulted in the loss of ninety-eight percent of its Canadian population over the past forty years. We must strive to protect these species through education, protection, and conservation efforts."
– Julie Cormier, Executive Director, Vision H2O

"Environment and Climate Change Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program is helping Nature Conservancy of Canada to engage New Brunswickers in protecting nature and species at risk on their land. This project will give landowners the knowledge and tools to play a meaningful role in conservation."
– Paula Noël, New Brunswick Program Director, Nature Conservancy of Canada

Quick facts

• The Government of Canada established the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk as part of Canada's national strategy for the protection of species at risk. Environment and Climate Change Canada administers Habitat Stewardship Program funds for terrestrial stewardship projects that contribute directly to the recovery objectives and population goals of species at risk listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act and that prevent others from becoming a conservation concern.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is responsible for aquatic Habitat Stewardship Program projects.
• The Government of Canada has made commitments to conserve twenty-five percent of land and inland waters in Canada and twenty-five percent of oceans by 2025, and is working toward thirty percent of each by 2030.
• Visit the Consulting with Canadians website before December 20, 2022, to share feedback on the assessments completed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada on the status of the monarch and the western bumble bee, which are found to be at risk in Canada.

Related products

• List of funded Habitat Stewardship Program projects 2022-2023

Associated links

• Terrestrial Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk, Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Aquatic Habitat Stewardship Program, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Conservation Funding Success Stories
• News Release: Monarch and Western Bumble Bee Consultation 

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page 

Environment and Natural Resources in Canada's Facebook page 

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Kaitlin Power, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-230-1557, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]