Press Release – CPAWS-OV congratulates Hull-Aylmer Member of Parliament, Greg Fergus, for tabling our petition calling on the House of Commons to grant Gatineau Park the same protections as our national parks. Click here.
Join us in celebrating Parks Day on Saturday, July 18th!
What is Parks Day?
Parks Day is a national celebration of all types of public parks; whether national, provincial, or local. It recognizes the vital role parks play in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems, protecting critical habitat for species-at-risk and contributing to human health and well-being.
Why participate in CPAWS-OV’s Parks Day Celebration?
These past months have been a challenge for all of us and it’s clear we’re ready to leave behind the chaos and stress and get out into nature for some peace and fun. Normally, we host a guided hike but this year we can’t so we encourage you to do your own favourite outdoor activity July 18th at a local place in nature and tell us about it with a pin on our Parks Day map.
After participants have pinned their activity on our Parks Day map, we’ll all have a guide to great outdoor adventures for the rest of the summer!
What’s involved
Questions?
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Sabrina Howe at showe@cpaws.org.
We look forward to celebrating Parks Day with you!
Please join us on Friday, July 17 at noon for a special update on our Gatineau Park – Make it a Real park campaign. This video conference will provide you with updates on some of the issues on which we are working, including efforts to secure legislation to formally enshrine the park’s boundaries and management regime in an Act of Parliament and our input on the renewal of the Gatineau Park Master Plan. Following a short presentation, you will be invited to share your thoughts on issues affecting the protection and management of Gatineau Park and provide feedback on our work. Your thoughts are important to us as we continue to work toward protecting the park for current and future generations.
Can’t make it? The conference will be recorded and made available in the days following the event. You can also email your questions or feedback to ov-outreach@cpaws.org
Register here (https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErcuiurz8qG9OfmEH5fH9aQqHujeILZIed) to receive the meeting ID and password.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
CPAWS-OV is pleased to invite our business and organization supporters to join us for some fun in celebration of Parks Day on Friday, July 17th!
What is Parks Day?
Parks Day is a national celebration of all types of public parks; whether national, provincial, or local. It recognizes the vital role parks play in maintaining healthy and resilient ecosystems, protecting critical habitat for species-at-risk and contributing to human health and well-being.
Why participate in CPAWS-OV Workplace Parks Day?
These past months have been a challenge for all of us and it’s clear we’re ready to leave behind the chaos and stress and get out into nature for some peace and fun. Officially, Parks Day is celebrated nation-wide on Saturday July 18th, but we thought this year would be a great time to offer workplaces the opportunity to join in.
It’s a great way for employers to not only show support for the environment and biodiversity but also to recognize the strain that staff have been under and encourage some stress management while keeping the day productive.
What’s involved
We provide all the tools necessary!
CPAWS-OV will provide you with email and social media templates that you can use to promote the event internally and externally, to engage employees, and publicly demonstrate your support for the environment.
How to participate
Simply email “We’re in!” to Sabrina Howe at showe@cpaws.org and let us know who we will be coordinating your participation with. She will be in contact with that person within 2 working days to get the ball rolling.
We look forward to celebrating Parks Day in the workplace with you!
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
Gatineau, June 5th, 2020 – On this World Environment Day, the Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) and the Ottawa Valley Chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS-OV) are grateful to the Government of Canada for encouraging conservation efforts in the Outaouais region by granting $ 300,000 in financial support. This support will enable the two organisations to carry out planning activities for the creation of a 115,000 hectares protected area in the Noire and Coulonge rivers’ watershed (MRC Pontiac), as part of a Quebec government initiative.
“We are delighted with this announcement because this project will reduce our regional deficit in preserving wilderness while helping the governments achieve their commitments regarding protected areas” responded the CREDDO Executive Director Benoit Delage. “This is a significant step towards the target of protecting 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas by 2020 that the governments of Quebec and Canada have set for themselves.
The amount of land and freshwater protected areas in Quebec only reaches 10.70%, while the Outaouais is even lower at 6.62%. For the region, the creation of this protected area would represent an increase of 3.37%, thus bringing the total cover of protected areas to 9.99%. “By accepting our proposal, the governments are demonstrating their will to respect their commitments to protect our wilderness,” continued Mr Delage.
“The Outaouais is entitled to its 17% of preserved lands. Protected areas must represent the diversity of Quebec’s ecosystems, and several valuable natural environments are found in our region, including species at risk habitats and old-growth forests” added Geneviève Le Blanc, Conservation Director at CPAWS-OV.
An essential project for the environment, the economy and the well-being of communities
In addition to preserving the lush wilderness of the MRC Pontiac, this project will contribute to diversifying the economy of the region by promoting recreational activities and tourism in the Noire and Coulonge rivers’ watershed. This sector of the Outaouais, less known to the general public, is ideal for whitewater paddling and is distinguished by the beauty of its landscapes. It is also the perfect backdrop for activities such as hunting, fishing and cottaging.
An expert-led impact assessment will be conducted as part of the planning process for the creation of the protected area. The objective of this study is to evaluate its implication for all stakeholders.
“Proper planning of protected areas is essential for maintaining the rich local biodiversity, but it must also be done in collaboration with local stakeholders to contribute to a development that is sustainable for the region,” said Jérôme Dupras, professor at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and one of the researchers mandated to conduct the impact assessment.
In addition to the contribution from the Government of Canada, this project is made possible thanks to the support of the Schad, Consecon and Echo foundations, CREDDO, Evolugen, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Eco2Urb and CPAWS-OV.
Quotes of elected officials
“This funding announcement is great news for the Pontiac! The Coulonge and Noire Rivers are part of our heritage and are enjoyed today by many tourists, outfitters and residents of the Pontiac. It is important to protect these waterways and their natural ecosystems, as well as our magnificent forests. We are proud of our beautiful wilderness and it is important to protect it. We look forward to working with CREDDO on this study.” – Jane Toller, Warden of MRC de Pontiac.
“I am proud that the Government of Canada is providing significant and precedent-setting financial support to enable this provincial conservation initiative. Furthermore, I am glad that the impact-assessment study will ensure that all points of view are incorporated in the planning process, including those of the Algonquin Nation, the forestry sector, the tourism sector, and our municipalities” – Will Amos, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry (Science) and Member of Parliament for Pontiac
“I am delighted by this collaboration involving several partners, which will make it possible to protect areas of great richness. Québec has more than 40,000 plant and wildlife species. Creating and soundly managing protected areas is essential to maintaining this highly varied biodiversity. ” – Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change of Quebec
“By working with organizations across the country like CREDDO and their partners, we will continue to protect more of our nature. Our shared resources will ensure we have a healthy environment for wildlife and for future generations of Canadians.” – The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
The opinions expressed in this document are those of CREDDO and CPAWS-OV.
About CPAWS-OV
CPAWS-OV is a charitable organisation and a major advocate for the conservation of wilderness in the region. Our mission is to protect the biodiversity on public lands in and around the Ottawa River watershed through environmental policy recommendations, awareness and education activities and by working with various regional stakeholders.
About CREDDO
The CREDDO is a major partner for environmental, political and economic stakeholders in the Outaouais. Its mission is to protect the environment in collaboration with others while promoting sustainable development.
Information :
Benoit Delage, Executive Director
Conseil régional en environnement et développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO)
514-692-1273
dg@creddo.ca
Geneviève Le Blanc, Conservation Director
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Ottawa Valley Chapter (CPAWS-OV)
438-777-3293
gleblanc@cpaws.org
Jane Toller, Warden
MRC de Pontiac
819-648-5689 ext. 245
prefete@mrcpontiac.qc.ca
Jérôme Dupras, Professor
Université du Québec en Outaouais
514-692-1273
dg@creddo.ca
Everyone is beginning to feel the strain of two and half month’s lockdown. It started in late winter and has lasted well into spring. It has been good to be able to get outside more, and see the progress of spring. The warmer weather has accelerated the growth of leaves, and most trees are now fully leafed out. At the same time, early spring wildflowers, such as bloodroots, trilliums, and trout lilies have disappeared. This is not a coincidence.
These early spring flowers are called ephemerals. They begin to appear in late April, and within the space of a month grow to maturity, produce seeds, and produce and store enough nutrients in their root systems to last them for the next 11 months. An amazing lifecycle, and an adaptation these plants have made for survival in northern hardwood forests. Green plants rely on sunlight to produce the food and energy they need to grow and reproduce. In northern hardwood forests large deciduous trees dominate the canopy, and the forest floor is in deep shade for most of the growing season. There is a brief period in the spring, however, before the deciduous trees fully leaf out, when the forest floor is in full sunlight.
Spring ephemerals have adapted to take advantage of this period, and complete the active phase of their life in the space of a month. The warm spring sun on the forest floor gives them a head start, and they appear before most other plants. The attached photograph of bloodroot shoots shows them surviving a late winter snowfall, the next, the same plants about a week later in full flower. One of the striking sights of spring is to see the forest floor turn green with extensive stands of trout lily leaves, only to see them all disappear within a couple of weeks. So, if you are feeling oppressed by the long period of lockdown we have been experiencing, be thankful you didn’t arrive as a spring ephemeral, with each year, one month in the sun and eleven in lockdown!
CPAWS Ottawa Valley works to ensure the survival of these amazing plants, by seeking protection of the native forests in which they grow. We rely on your support to continue to be a strong voice for nature in the region.
Brian Roadhouse
