Latest news with #WildernessCommittee
Hamilton Spectator
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Death sentence for species at risk': Critics cry foul over Ford government's omnibus Bill 5
Local critics say the province is taking advantage of resident fears over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats to 'gut' endangered species protections in the name of spurring development. Last month, Premier Doug Ford's government introduced Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, citing tariff attacks on the provincial economy. The government argues the bill would cut red tape, speed up critical natural resources development and help protect jobs. 'The days of making proponents wait years for approvals and permits are over,' said Environment Minister Todd McCarthy in a statement supporting the bill when it was introduced. 'We can and will build the Ontario of tomorrow in a way that protects the environment and protects jobs.' Students at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School have created posters about the potential environmental implications of Ontario's proposed Bill 5. But environmental, Indigenous and even civil liberties groups have raised the alarm about a raft of provisions in the bill, including a proposal to designate ' special economic zones ' where fast-tracked major developments can be effectively exempted from provincial legislation or municipal control. Another big change: the proposed replacement of Ontario's Endangered Species Act with legislation that allows developers to damage or destroy habitat without first seeking permits; changes which habitat qualifies for legal protection; and ends the requirement for provincial 'recovery' plans for endangered birds, fish and animals. 'This will gut endangered species law. It really is a death sentence for species at risk,' said Katie Krelove, a Hamilton resident and the Ontario campaigner for the national Wilderness Committee group. 'It is really very frustrating, because none of this will do anything to help fight or protect against tariffs.' Students at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School have created posters about the potential environmental implications of Ontario's proposed Bill 5. Krelove's group is organizing a Rally for Species at Queen's Park on May 28 — but they're also urging residents to speak up before the Saturday deadline to comment on the bill through the provincial Environmental Registry website . The issue has even filtered into local classrooms, with students at Adelaide Hoodless Elementary School creating posters about the bill that are being displayed in their neighbourhood. The Hamilton Naturalists Club is planning to comment on the 'concerning' bill, said member Jen Baker, who noted the organization has worked hard with local groups and the city on a new biodiversity strategy meant to stop species loss — only to see that work potentially undermined by the province. In general, Baker said she finds it 'offensive' to watch the government use worries about tariff-driven job losses to justify cutting environmental protections. Krelove agreed, adding there is a painful irony to Ontario's proposal given the Trump administration has also started rolling back endangered species protections . 'We can't fight Donald Trump's policies by emulating him,' she said. 'But that is what (the province) is proposing to do.' By email, environment ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler stressed the province's plan to replace current endangered species legislation with a new Species Conservation Act 'does not circumvent environmental standards,' adding the government has committed to spend millions of dollars more each year on specific species conservation efforts. 'With President Trump's tariffs and tariff threats, it is not business as usual — we cannot afford to have old processes getting in the way,' he said. It's too soon to predict exactly how the new legislation will affect Hamilton area developments or species at risk. But Ontario's current endangered species law was recently cited by Krelove as a reason for council to reject an Ancaster development proposal that would have axed hundreds of trees . Watering down provincial protections for endangered species and habitat 'would remove an important tool' for the city in efforts to protect local biodiversity, said Ancaster Coun. Craig Cassar, who noted city staff will report back on possible implications later this year.
CBC
17-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Proposed B.C. ski resort faces criticism over threat to endangered spotted owl habitat
Social Sharing A proposed ski resort near Chilliwack, B.C., is drawing criticism from environmental advocates who say public consultation on the project has overlooked its potential impact on one of Canada's most endangered birds — the northern spotted owl. The province's public comment period for the Bridal Veil Mountain Resort (BVMR) proposal is set to close on Feb. 28. However, the Wilderness Committee said the province has failed to inform the public that the development would impact the protected habitat for the species. "We're not even going to let the people know, when they come to make a comment, that this project proposes to be right on top of an area that the provincial government has formally protected?" said Joe Foy, the non-profit's protected areas campaigner. "It's terrible, it's shameful." Resort proposal overlaps protected habitat The resort's plan, according to its website, includes an "eco-friendly" gondola that would rise 1,480 metres above Chilliwack, offering visitors "breathtaking" views of the Fraser Valley and Cascade Mountain Range. Foy said he opposes the gondola routes, as they pass through a designated wildlife habitat area at Elk Creek— more than 2,500 hectares of protected land established in 2011 as part of the province's long-term conservation efforts for the spotted owl. It is one of more than 30 such protected areas. WATCH | Spuzzum Chief James Hobart on the need to protect northern spotted owls: First Nation angry after government reverses course on protection for endangered owl 1 year ago Duration 1:27 The Elk Creek habitat sits on Spuzzum Nation territory in B.C.'s Fraser Canyon. CBC News reached out to Spuzzum Chief James Hobart, who has advocated for spotted owl protection, but did not receive a response before publication. The species, once numbering around 500 breeding pairs in B.C., has been pushed to the brink of extinction by decades of industrial logging, Foy said, leaving just one wild-born owl known to exist in the province today. "We have reached a place in our history where we are starting to have species go extinct, disappear from our country," he said. A struggling recovery effort In 2007, the province launched the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) in Langley, B.C., the world's only facility dedicated to breeding the species for reintroduction into the wild. However, recent efforts to release captive-bred owls haven't succeeded. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship confirmed to CBC News that all six owls released since 2022 have died from various causes, including injury, predation, disease, and starvation. WATCH | One wild-born spotted owl left in Canada and it lives in B.C.: One wild-born spotted owl left in Canada — and it lives in B.C. 1 year ago Duration 1:38 There's only one wild-born spotted owl left in Canada and it lives here in B.C. Joel Ballard has more on one environmental group's criticism of the federal environment ministry, which the group alleges failed to act quickly enough to protect the endangered species. According to the province, one owl released in 2022 was found injured beside train tracks, and the two others released that year were confirmed dead in May 2023. Two more released in 2023 did not survive the winter, and the most recent pair, released in June 2024, also died—one due to starvation, the other likely falling prey to a predator, the ministry said. Two different gondola projects near Chilliwack The BVMR isn't the only proposed gondola project in the area. The Cheam First Nation is a proponent and founding partner of the Cascade Skyline Gondola Project, a separate sightseeing gondola proposed for another location, in the Bridal Falls area near Chilliwack. Initially, this project overlapped with the spotted owl's protected habitat by about 100 metres, but Cheam Chief Darwin Douglas said the design was revised to avoid the area entirely. "Ours is a very small footprint with low environmental impact," Douglas said. The proposed Cascade Skyline Gondola involves a single lift and covers about 300 hectares. The BVMR proposal includes building multiple lifts and two residential villages spanning more than 4,700 hectares. Province and resort proponents respond Foy said he thinks the province is contradicting itself by funding a captive-breeding program while simultaneously failing to protect the owls' habitat. He is calling on the B.C. government to halt the proposal and provide the public with accurate maps showing the development's potential impact. The team behind the BVMR proposal said it is still in the very early stages of review and that public feedback is a key part of the process. "We welcome and encourage any feedback, including environmental concerns and specifically those related to wildlife habitats like the northern spotted owl," the resort's proponents said in a statement to CBC News. Part of the review process, according to the statement, will include detailed wildlife habitat assessments, species at risk surveys and environmental impact evaluations. "It's important to note that only after these comprehensive studies are completed will the province, the public, and our team have the scientific data to determine if a project is viable in this location," the BVMR team said. WATCH | Saving Canada's rarest owl species: Documentary filmmaker Elena Jean and wildlife conservationist Jasmine McCulligh learn about Canada's endangered Northern Spotted Owl and get a behind-the-scenes look at a unique species-recovery program. The B.C. government has also said that wildlife impacts will be analyzed as part of the review process. "Increased public access to the area could impact resource values such as wildlife habitat conserved through established Wildlife Habitat Areas," the province said. "Review, analysis and consideration for many resource values will occur." It emphasized that, as with all applications, no approval is guaranteed. The province said it is too early to determine when a final decision will be made on the proposal.
CBC
10-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Northern Ontario environmentalists recognized for fighting a gravel quarry that could threaten turtle habitat
An environmental organization called the Wilderness Committee has recognized three environmental activists from the north shore of Lake Huron, west of Sudbury, for their opposition to a proposed quarry in the area. Rhonda Kirby, Tom Kirby and Jenifer Brousseau each received the Eugene Rogers Environmental Award for their fight against a proposed quarry from Darien Aggregates, which they say infringes on the habitat of Blanding's turtles. Blanding's turtles, which have a bright yellow throat and chin, are recognized as a threatened species in Ontario, and are protected under the Endangered Species Act. "It is illegal, against the law to harm or disturb either the individuals of the species or their critical habitat," said Katie Krelove, the Wilderness Committee's Ontario campaigner. A 2019 study from Laurentian University researchers determined that the area for the proposed quarry, located outside Blind River, along the edge of Lauzon Lake, had among the "highest reported densities for the species" in Ontario. During their field research, scientists found 56 Blanding's turtles in the area, for a density of 1.8 turtles per hectare. "We identified 15 nesting sites and 12 wetlands that housed overwintering turtles, both considered by government to be critical habitats with lowest tolerance to destruction," the study said. Rhonda Kirby said she was first made aware of the proposed quarry in 2016, when she noticed a lot of engineering trucks in the area, not far from her property. "The more we learned, the more alarmed we became at the magnitude of the project," she said. Since that time, she and her husband Tom have been trying to stop development at the site, working with an organization called the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition, which has pushed for a moratorium on new quarries across Ontario. But Kirby has called the fight to stop the quarry a "lopsided process," and believes it will eventually be built. "I look at it in terms of we may have lost the battle, but it's all part of the bigger picture of the war," she said. Jenifer Brousseau, from nearby Serpent River First Nation, joined the battle against the proposed quarry more recently. "It was just kind of a no-brainer to get involved in this, especially when I went up to the site to see where this quarry is going," she said. Brousseau hosts a show on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) called Wild Archeology, and is working on a documentary about Darien Aggregates' proposed quarry, and about two brothers from her community who are fighting it. Brousseau argues that there are already enough gravel pits in the province to meet current needs, without having to develop other areas. According to the Ontario Aggregate Resources Corporation, in 2019, there were 3,164 licences for gravel pits and quarries on private land in the province. There were an additional 2,491 aggregate permits on Crown land that year. "If you look at a map at what that looks like, you can't even connect the dots because the dots are so close," Brousseau said. Limited gravel supply? Heather Melcher is the vice-president of environmental permitting and planning for an engineering firm called Consor, which works with aggregate producers in Ontario. Melcher refers to a 2024 study from Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources which shows a decline of licensed gravel reserves located close to the Toronto area, where the need for aggregate is the greatest. "Not all aggregate is created equal," Melcher said. "There are different qualities of aggregate needed for different types of development. And close-to-market, high quality sources of aggregate are really drying up." In an email to CBC News, Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said it has advised Darien Aggregates that the company needs to plan its proposed quarry to "avoid impacts on species at risk and their habitat, or to seek authorization under the Endangered Species Act." Melcher said there are several steps an aggregate producer can take to adhere to the law. One is to see if they can change the footprint of a proposed pit or quarry so it doesn't directly affect a species' habitat. "If it's still determined that there is going to be an impact to the species or its habitat, then it moves directly into what we call an overall benefit permit," Melcher said. Under the Aggregate Resources Act, Melcher said producers are required to have a rehabilitation plan in place to return the site to its original state after the quarry has reached its end of its life. Melcher said it's rare that a project is cancelled altogether.
