A Canadian Heritage River, the Restigouche River system is one of Eastern Canada’s most spectacular wild watersheds. Its 1 million hectares of valleys, hills, and streams flow across northwestern New Brunswick and Quebec’s Gaspé.
The international Two Countries, One Forest network recognizes the Restigouche as one of 5 critical ecological linkages in the northern New England / southern Quebec / Maritimes region. Yet, government has protected from development less than 3{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of the watershed in New Brunswick, leaving most areas open for mining, logging or new development proposals. Forest management plans show that most of the wildest areas of forest on Crown land will be logged within 5 to 10 years. This will remove habitat around salmon streams and for wildlife that need old forests.
Moose, black bears, American marten, fisher, bald eagles, barred owls, scarlet tanagers and numerous interior forest birds thrive amidst forest-covered hills, deep gorges and some of the most pristine rivers and streams in Eastern Canada.
Atlantic salmon – The Restigouche River and its tributaries support one of the most productive wild Atlantic salmon populations, with some of the largest salmon, in eastern Canada.
Canada lynx – Restigouche natural areas are home to critical populations of Canada lynx. The area provides a natural corridor for lynx to disperse for feeding and breeding between the Gaspé and northern Maine.
A world-class destination for ecotourism, outdoor adventures, and angling, with plenty of economic tourism potential yet untapped.
Part of the traditional territory of the Gespe’gewa’gi Mi’gmaw, who have an interest in conserving Restigouche’s resources and cultural heritage
Canoeing, hunting, trapping and angling support many Restigouche communities, and an attachment to the land, sea and rivers runs deeply – angling alone is worth at least $20 million and hundreds of jobs to the region.
Forestry on public land is an important part of the region’s economy – increased conservation and ecologically responsible forest management will help us sell forest products to an increasingly environmentally conscious marketplace.
Over 16,000 people have signed on in support of marine protection in Canada. Add your voice to support advancing marine conservation through the establishment of a network of marine protected areas! Take the Dare to be Deep pledge here.
Our vision is that the Restigouche River Watershed conserves the diversity of natural habitats and wildlife across the Restigouche River watershed (in New Brunswick and Quebec) and supports vibrant human communities and sustainable forest and river-based economies.
CPAWS NB has been meeting with community groups in the Restigouche for over 15 years. CPAWS NB and our partners believe that government needs to conserve these natural assets in the Restigouche to ensure vibrant communities:
Protected wilderness areas that support the ecotourism and tourism sectors, including road less areas, steep slopes and scenic rivers – at least 10{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of watershed;
Forest areas managed to support sustainable production of non-timber forest products, including mushrooms, ginseng, ground hemlock and maple syrup;
Conserved wildlife habitats that allow native wildlife to thrive;
Protected river systems and headwaters where forest harvesting and road building is strictly controlled to support wild Atlantic salmon rivers and spawning grounds.
Restigouche River Wilderness Waterway – CPAWS NB is inspired by the Allagash River in Maine, whose Wilderness Waterway protection plan may serve as a model for protecting the Restigouche.
CPAWS NB envisions a wide, protected corridor that includes the Crown land along the Restigouche, the Kedgwick and the Upsalquitch Rivers and links with permanent protected areas and parks. Such a corridor would ensure that the wild nature of the river is preserved – giving anglers and canoeists the chance to enjoy a healthy, vibrant, and unspoiled wild river experience.
1. Write a letter or email to the Premier of New Brunswick and Minister of Natural Resources: Premier Brian Gallant Hon. Rick Doucet, Minister of Energy and Resource Development P.O. Box 6000 Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1
premier@gnb.ca rick.douct@gnb.ca
2. Print our information sheet or our Restigouche Ecotourism Opportunities Backgrounder and give it to groups, politicians or community leaders who might be interested.
3. Invite us to speak to your group about Restigouche Wilderness Protection.
4. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on additional actions.
New Brunswick currently protects less than 4{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of our forests from development and industrial activity. That is way below the bare minimum needed to conserve our wildlife and wilderness values for the future. New Brunswick is second to last of all provinces in Canada in the proportion of land we’ve protected. It’s nowhere near enough!
New Brunswick’s Acadian Forests dominate our landscape. Their long-lived, towering trees keep our rivers cool and filter their waters. They provide homes for iconic Canadian species, including Canada lynx, American marten, flying squirrels, moose, deer, and once even caribou. Warblers, barred owls, hazelnuts, and fiddleheads have thrived in the midst of these giants.
New Brunswick currently protects less than 4{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of our forests from development and industrial activity. That is way below the bare minimum needed to conserve our wildlife and wilderness values for the future. New Brunswick is second to last of all provinces in Canada in the proportion of land we’ve protected. It’s nowhere near enough!
CPAWS had recommended that at least 17{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of New Brunswick’s Crown land, including the largest patches of old forest, be designated by 2015 as permanently protected areas. We also asked the province to immediately take action to keep all of the Crown land they were conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers.
In 2014, the New Brunswick government released its 10-year plan for Crown lands, and chose not to accept our recommendations.
What's wrong with the current forestry strategy for Crown lands
The provincial government created new Protected Natural Areas in 2014. This brought New Brunswick’s proportion of protected land up to 4.7{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of the province. The national average is 10{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c}.
At the same time, government removed conservation from more than one-quarter of our public land they used to manage to conserve fish, wildlife habitat and our rivers. The forestry industry has access to these previously conserved habitats for increased logging and clear-cutting. Researchers are very concerned that it will be difficult to conserve viable populations of all our wildlife under this plan.
The strategy puts at risk our cold-water rivers and their wild Atlantic salmon populations. Old forests in the headwaters of the Restigouche and Miramichi Rivers used to provide shady habitat, but now are open for increased clear-cutting.
At the same time, government will allow industry to double the amount of tree plantations, to occupy one-quarter of Crown forests. Tree plantations are NOT the same as old growth mixed forests, and take away habitat vital for the survival of native wildlife such as barred owls, flying squirrels and American marten.
For our forests to be resilient to climate change, we need to conserve diversity and natural forests. The current strategy is reducing natural diversity in forests and along waterways. This increases the risk new or increased pests and diseases, droughts, floods and fires will degrade our forests.
The majority of the public told the Select Committee on Wood Supply in 2004 they do not want government to sacrifice fish and wildlife habitat to increase wood supply. The Select Committee rejected industry’s request to put a cap on conservation zones, and instead recommended that government reduce the amount of clear-cutting.
A survey of New Brunswickers in 2014 found that a large majority place highest priority on protecting our forests to conserve fresh water, air and wildlife habitat. Our citizens expect government to stand up for core public values, and to conserve what remains of our natural forests.
The survey showed that people want more say in how government manages our forests. Government has still not implemented any consultation strategy to involve the public in shaping our forests’ future.
CPAWS is recommending that at least 20{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of Crown land (10{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of the province), including the largest patches of old forest, be designated by 2020 in permanent protected areas. These areas would prohibit logging and mining, and be open to outdoor recreation. This amount will move us closer to the level in other provinces – the national average is over 10{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c}. There is no plan to increase our protected areas, so we need a new commitment.
CPAWS is recommending the province bring back conservation to the parts of Crown land they were conserving as old forests, wildlife habitat and riverbank buffers. What we have now is below the bare minimum required to conserve all the wildlife that need old forests.
If we take these steps, New Brunswick will be doing our fair share to protect wilderness areas and wildlife, and the significant tourism and ecotourism jobs that go with them. We will be protecting our forests to be resilient to climate change. This will conserve the richness of the forest, and help provide ecological services and resources we need (from river protection to timber).
Write an email or a letter to the Minister of Energy and Resource Development – we’ve created an easy link here.
Write a letter to the editor to explain any concerns you have about the state of forest conservation in New Brunswick. Decision-makers read them!
New Brunswick needs to step up and commit to new protected areas by 2020
Fredericton – In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling upon New Brunswick to step up efforts to protect more land by 2020. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada’s renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results” calls Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for conservation purposes, and encourages governments to conserve Canada’s natural heritage, starting by delivering on their international commitment. New Brunswick ranks 2nd to last among the Canadian provinces and territories.
With only 10.6{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of its landscape currently protected, Canada lags behind the global average of 15{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c}, and also trails other large countries such as China, Brazil, and Australia. In 2010, as part of a worldwide effort to stem the tide of biodiversity loss, Canada committed under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to protecting at least 17{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of land and inland waters by 2020 and improving the quality of their protected area systems to more effectively conserve nature.
The report recognizes that Canadian governments are finally starting to take this commitment seriously after years of inaction. In February 2017, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for parks and protected areas publicly announced their commitment to work together to achieve this target. A new Pathway to 2020 process was initiated, and the Indigenous Circle of Experts and National Advisory Panel appointed to advise Ministers on this work.
“In New Brunswick, there has been no progress on working towards the national protected areas targets,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick. “There are steps that can be taken by the province immediately to help Canada reach our goals, including setting a target to increase protected areas, developing an action plan to 2020 and beyond, and protecting the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway.”
“With less than 3 years to fulfill our 2020 commitment, we need to get going now,” adds Hébert-Daly. “In the report we identify places across Canada where a considerable amount of work has already been done on proposed protected areas. By acting now to permanently protect these sites, while also planning for what’s needed to conserve nature in the long term, Canada has a chance to move from laggard to leader.”
Clowater adds, “The New Brunswick government could create a world-class wilderness tourism destination by establishing the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway – a wide protected corridor along the river, on Crown land. Currently, 97{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of the New Brunswick portion of the Restigouche watershed is open to development, and industrial development is eating away at the region’s wild forests and rivers year by year. By conserving this area’s special nature, promising ecotourism businesses could reliably promote a quality wilderness destination to nature-seeking tourists around the world.”
Protected areas are important to conserve wildlife and wilderness, as well as provide clean air and water for all Canadians, store carbon, and play a major role in improving our health and well-being. They also make economic sense. Protected areas around the world generate US$600 billion per year in direct spending, while costing less than US$10 billion per year to manage.
For over 50 years, CPAWS has been working with all levels of government, and other partners across the country to protect more of Canada’s public lands. As the only nationwide charity dedicated to the protection of our public lands and water, we are uniquely positioned to help governments protect what nature really needs.
For interviews, contact: Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; 506-452-9902
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) today responded to Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s announcement about Fisheries and Oceans Canada policy and sites regarding Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs).
“While we appreciate the efforts that Minister LeBlanc and his department have made to be the first government in the world to develop explicit policy on marine OECMs, we are concerned that neither the policy nor the sites announced today meet the test set out by the Convention on Biological Diversity to protect biodiversity as a whole”, said Sabine Jessen, CPAWS National Ocean Program Director. “As long as other industrial activities are being allowed in these areas, it is difficult to see them as ‘marine refuges’, as DFO has labeled them.”
Signatory countries, including Canada, to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), have agreed to meet Aichi Target 11, which commits governments to:
By 2020, at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes.
Under the CBD convention, in-situ conservation of biological diversity means that the areas counted towards Aichi Target 11 should be managed to achieve the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings. With only 3 years left to meet these ambitious targets, countries around the world are racing against the clock to put new protection measures in place. In Canada, only 1{763dcb28def876e1c302065d9d30c175c0542fc775c911caa33bb43751f04a6c} of our ocean territory is currently protected.
“In Canada, the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas (www.ccea.org) has been working for the past 5 years with the protected areas community of practice to develop science-based guidance for the identification and reporting of OECMs on land and in the sea. We are concerned that DFO’s approach is not consistent with emerging guidance from the CCEA and could also undermine efforts to define OECMs on land”, said Alison Woodley, CPAWS National Parks Program Director.
“The DFO policy is also not consistent with the emerging international consensus on OECM guidance being developed for the CBD by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)”, noted Jessen. “The draft IUCN guidance and the CCEA guidance are clear that any sites contributing toward the CBD Aichi Target 11, should be effective at conserving biodiversity. That cannot happen if these areas are left vulnerable to industrial-scale fishing, oil and gas exploration and development, and other industrial uses, which should be expressly prohibited.”
“In reviewing the sites that are being counted, we are concerned that the ancient and globally unique Strait of Georgia glass sponge reefs in BC, while protected from all bottom contact fishing, remain vulnerable to anchoring and cable laying and fail to consider the ecosystem linkages between the surface waters and seafloor ecosystem,” said Jessen.
“In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, based upon the information provided so far, the scallop buffer zones only restrict scallop fishing, and all other activities would be allowed to continue,” noted Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS-New Brunswick. “This single restriction is not likely to contribute much to protecting overall biodiversity in these zones from current or future industrial activity.”
“In the case of the 3O coral closure, we are concerned that scientific advice that the closure should include areas within the 400m to 800m depth contour, has not been addressed,” noted Tanya Edwards, Co-Executive Director, CPAWS Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter. “In addition, while corals and sponges are being protected through the prohibition of bottom contact fishing, the other ecological values and linkages within the pelagic realm are being completely ignored.”
“While these sites each have some interim steps toward protection of specific elements of biodiversity, CPAWS believes that they all need additional measures to provide long-term protection for all elements of biodiversity, before they can count towards meeting the CBD target”, said Jessen.
For further information about the CCEA guidance on OECMs see: http://www.ccea.org/aichi-target-11-guidance/
For further information about the IUCN guidance on OECMs see: https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/wcpa/what-we-do/other-effective-area-based-conservation-measures-oecms
Enjoy People Power Day at the park. Try your hand at sailing, canoeing and kayaking, and enjoy a barbecue.There’s fun for the whole family. For further information, contact Ian Smith, parks Officer, at (506) 363-4912.