Regional district receives largest individual land donation in Central Okanagan history

More than 324 hectares of land along the south slopes will be protected for generations thanks to the Central Okanagan’s largest individual land donation.

The land will become the Johns Family Nature Conservancy Regional Park.

With several members of the Johns family in attendance, regional board chair Robert Hobson made the announcement at Cedar Creek Community Centre Wednesday.

“As a result of the generosity of (the Johns), we’ve spent about 20 years working toward the acquisition with the Central Okanagan Land Trust, the regional district and other individuals in the community,” said Hobson.

He noted regional staff has yet to discover a larger individual land donation in provincial history.

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Puerto Rico protects premier turtle nesting site

Puerto Rico’s governor on Saturday signed a law to protect a swath of land along the island’s northeast coast that is a top U.S. nesting site for the world’s largest turtle species.

The law ends a 15-year fight that environmentalists and celebrities including actor Benicio Del Toro had waged against developers eager to build hotels, golf courses and luxury homes in an area fringed by palm trees and turquoise waters.

“This is so exciting,” said Angie Colon, an official with a nonprofit activist group that fought to preserve the land. “I’m still coming to terms with the fact that this is real.”

The area, known as the Northeast Ecological Corridor, covers more than 1,200 hectares (2,900 acres) of lush vegetation and pristine beaches that are a nesting site for the federally endangered leatherback turtle. It is also the site of a popular bioluminescent bay featuring microorganisms that emit a blue glow in the dark when agitated.

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UK nature reserves attract new bird species

The UK’s nature reserves act as ‘ecological welcome mats’ to new species, according to scientists.

Since the 1960s, there has been a natural influx of wetland bird species from continental Europe.

Species such as whooper swans, Cetti’s warblers and little egrets have used the nature reserves to colonise new areas of the UK, found the scientists.

The findings are published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

The effectiveness of the UK’s Protected Areas, from National Parks to nature reserves, was criticised in 2010 by a government review that concluded they were too fragmented and offered limited long term security.

“They fear that climate change might ‘push’ species out of static reserves,” said Jonathan Hiley, a PhD student at the University of York and co-author of the study.

Protected Areas are often formed to protect individual species, so if these species move out the area’s strengths can become redundant.

To examine whether nature reserves can still offer benefits in these situations, Mr Hiley and colleagues conducted research into migrant species as part of a wider project run by the RSPB.

“We have shown… that for birds which are shifting range in response to climate change or other factors, it is crucial they have good quality habitat to move in to, and our reserves provide that habitat,” he said.

Twenty previously unrecorded species of wetland bird have arrived in Britain since the 1960s, six of which have established continuing breeding patterns.

Tursujuq: Park created through exemplary cooperation

Today at Umiujaq in Nunavik, Yves-François Blanchet, the new Minister of sustainable development, the environment, wildlife and parks (MDDEFP), announced the creation of Tursujuq National Park. The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) would like to commend the cooperative efforts of all stakeholders, which allowed for the creation of Quebec’s largest national park.

For more than 10 years, various stakeholders and Aboriginal groups have contributed to the project, including the Government of Quebec, the Kativik Regional Administration, Inuit and Cree elders and members of the villages of Umiujaq, Kuujjuarapik and Whapmagoostui, the Grand Council of the Crees, the Makivik Corporation, the Avataq Cultural Institute, members of the scientific community, CBI, CPAWS Quebec and the Pew Environment Group. Their willingness, knowledge and combined efforts allowed the park, which covers 26,100 km² of land at the junction of the boreal forest and tundra, to finally see the light of day.

“We consider the creation of this park by way of a cooperative process with the Inuit and Cree is a model for the establishment of parks and protected areas throughout the boreal region,” explained Valérie Courtois, CBI’s Senior Advisor, Aboriginal Relations.

Tursujuq National Park, which will be managed by the Kativik Regional Government, triples the total area of Quebec’s national parks. In addition, while enabling the Inuit and the Cree to practise their traditional subsistence activities, Tursujuq Park means the preservation of populations of species of concern. These include one of the world’s only populations of freshwater seals, endangered beluga whales of the East coast of Hudson Bay, the only population of salmon on the East coast of Hudson Bay, and polar bears.

“Creation of this huge area, free of any industrial activity, represents the first grand responsible gesture of the Marois Government, which we hope will be part of a broader ecological planning process across the North,” noted Suzann Méthot, Regional Director, Quebec for CBI. “We would like to see early 2013 as the start of this process, with the participation of all Nations and communities of the North. Benefits of such planning would include ensuring connectivity between the different protected areas, and greater resilience to climate change.”

The Cook Islands has approved a shark sanctuary in its waters, making for the largest such sanctuary in the world.

The South Pacific island chain declared a 1.9 million-sq-km sanctuary, contiguous with one established last week by neighbouring French Polynesia. That sees a ban on shark fishing and possession or sale of shark products in an area now totalling 6.7 million sq km - nearly the size of Australia.

As top predators, overfishing of sharks disrupts complex oceanic food webs. And about a third of ocean-going sharks appear on the internationally-recognised Red List of Threatened Species.

“We are proud as Cook Islanders to provide our entire exclusive economic zone… as a shark sanctuary,” said Teina Bishop, Cook Islands minister of marine resources. “We join our Pacific neighbours to protect this animal, which is very vital to the health of our oceans, and our culture.”

Other island nations with sanctuaries also include Palau, the Maldives, Tokelau, Honduras and the Bahamas. Last week’s move by French Polynesia overtook the Marshall Islands’ area, outlined in late 2011, as the world’s largest - and the Cook Island’s claim adds 40% more area to that title.

As with the Marshall Islands’ declaration, the Cook Islands’ effort was with the help of the Pew Environment Group, which advocates island nations’ involvement because of the vast scope of their territorial waters.

“This is hopeful news for the world’s sharks and our efforts to protect them,” said Jill Hepp, director of shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group.Pew worked for more than a year with the Pacific Islands Conservation Initiative ahead of Thursday’s announcement.

“We are thrilled to see the Cook Islands become part of this global movement during a time when so many shark populations are threatened.”

New bridge means link to NY wildlife refuge island

A new bridge provides hunters, hikers, bikers and birders with year-round access to 3,500 acres of protected wilderness in the Montezuma Wildlife Management Area in Savannah, N.Y.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the elevated, 100-foot-long wooden bridge will carry vehicles across the Seneca River to Howland Island. It replaces a temporary gravel and culvert in the river, which often flooded in the spring and fall, preventing access to the island.

The bridge removes the last barrier to kayaks and canoes, opening up a 10-mile float around Howland Island.

A parking lot on the island provides access to 300 acres of marshland and 17 miles of gravel service roads in the refuge.

The bridge, completed this month, was built with funding from an excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

Australia created the world’s largest network of marine national parks on Friday, protecting an area of ocean the size of Western Europe in a move which will prevent oil and gas exploration and commercial fishing in the most sensitive areas.

Environment Minister Tony Burke said the decision would protect 2.3 million square kilometers (888,035 square miles) of ocean, including the tropical Coral Sea off the north Queensland coast and coral reefs off Australia’s southwest, and help support endangered sea life.

“We don’t want people to only know the magnificence of their oceans through aquariums or by watching ‘Finding Nemo’,” Burke told reporters.

The new reserves will be established from the Perth Canyon in the southwest to Kangaroo Island off the southern coast, and to the Coral Sea area which surrounds the Great Barrier Reef in the northeast.

The new marine reserves will limit commercial fishing and oil and gas exploration in the most sensitive areas, but won’t prevent shipping, tourism or diving.

The decision has angered the commercial fishing industry, particularly from the northern Queensland state, while recreational fishing groups are also angered at the loss of access to some areas.

Burke said the new marine reserves would only affect around one percent of Australia’s commercial fishing, and the government would spend A$100 million ($103.28 million) to compensate commercial fishers for the loss of access.

He said most recreational fishing would continue as normal, as the parks were hundreds of kilometers offshore and well out of range for recreational fishing.

But fishing supporters complained that they were being discriminated against.

“The government is discriminating against recreational fishers by allowing divers, tourist operators, container ships and even defense force activities into marine parks, but banning fishing families from catching a fish,” recreational fishing foundation director Allan Hansard said.

Earlier this year, a United Nations report said Australia’s world-famous Great Barrier Reef was under threat from industrial development and may be considered for listing as a world heritage site “”in danger” within the next year.

Scotland waters for Europe’s largest marine area of nature conservation

The Scottish Government has submitted proposals to the EU that include plans for Europe’s largest marine area of nature conservation in waters west of Scotland.

The designation of Hatton Bank as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), located approximately 500 km west of Lewis, would cover an area of 15,694 square kilometres – more than 10 times the size of Fife.

Hatton Bank would form part of a package of five new SACs in offshore waters to the west and north of Scotland. The new sites would collectively cover an area larger than the entire Highlands region and contribute to the Marine Protected Areas network, an EU requirement under the Habitats Directive.

The five SACs proposed for designation are:

- Hatton Bank in the North East Atlantic: a volcanic bank that stretches almost 500 km and up to 1,000 m in depth and is home to a wide variety of soft and hard corals

- Anton Dohrn Seamount, 200 km West of Scotland: a former volcano with steep cliffs descending 2,400m, which includes cold-water coral reefs and is a hotbed for marine biodiversity

- East Rockall Bank, 320 km west of Scotland: a stony reef with steep canyons descending more than 1,000 metres, which supports rare sea slug, sponges and lace corals

- Pobie Bank Reef, 20 km east of Shetland: a stony and bedrock reef that supports many species, including cup corals and a unique sponge only found on the reef

- Solan Bank Reef, 50 km north of Cape Wrath: an ecosystem supporting many corals, sponges and brittlestars

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said:

“Scotland’s seas provide rich and diverse ecosystems that are home to a wide array of plants and animals, including internationally important species. It’s our duty to protect this precious environment and these five SAC designations are a big step towards our commitments under the international Marine Protected Area networks.

“The Scottish Government and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee has carried out extensive and productive engagement with stakeholders – including the fishing industry – before these proposals were submitted.

“We are fully committed to getting the balance right between marine conservation and use of the seas to support economic growth. We will continue dialogue with stakeholders to ensure that any future management measures are well designed and appropriate.

“Underwater landscapes such as Hatton Bank and Anton Dohrn are stunning and unique places, with dramatic crevasses and reefs that are home to thousands of species. We need to ensure these sites are protected for the benefit of both the marine environment and future generations.”

Marcus Yeo, Chief Executive of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, the UK’s statutory nature conservation body, said:

“This landmark submission of marine SACs means that over a twelfth of UK seas are now within Marine Protected Areas and is a major step forwards in the conservation of our precious sea life.

“These sites will protect substantial areas of colourful bedrock, stony and cold water coral reefs. People think that coral reefs are only found in exotic, tropical locations and don’t realise that we have these fragile habitats right here on our doorstep as well.”

An international push to create a giant marine sanctuary in Antarctica has gotten a big boost after the United States and New Zealand resolved their dispute over fishing.

The two countries on Monday submitted a joint proposal for a Ross Sea reserve to the international organization that regulates fishing in Antarctica. They’d earlier submitted competing proposals which stood little chance of success.

Both countries have touted an Alaska-sized sanctuary but previously couldn’t agree on fishing rules and boundaries. New Zealand boats catch toothfish in the region, which are marketed as Chilean sea bass.

The 24 nations and the European Union are currently meeting in Australia and will likely decide on the proposal later this week. The details of the compromise won’t be made public before then.

Breathtaking pictures show the beautiful orange glow of millions of butterflies flying around a reserve after annual migration

This is clearly not the best place for butterflies to head for if they have a fear of crowds. But congregating on trees in their millions and creating a wonderful orange glow as they fly around, the beautiful monarch butterflies at the Sierra Chincua reserve in Mexico are a spectacular sight.

The reserve hosts up to one billion butterflies each year, after they have made their migration from North America in a 2,500-mile journey to the warmer climes of Mexico between October and March. The spectacular images were taken by photographer Joel Sartore, who was amazed by what he saw.

He said: ‘I was doing a story to document animal migrations in North America and covering this world famous event was a highpoint in the coverage. I loved the fact that so many of the butterflies congregate on the wintering grounds. It was like being in an orange blizzard at times. It was a really wonderful life experience and one of the reasons I enjoy working as a photographer. It’s a world class spectacle that’s well worth seeing and an experience you’ll never forget.’

When the butterflies migrate to the reserve they congregate thickly on trees to conserve heat, open their wings to catch the sun’s warming rays and at dawn take flight in their millions and mate.

The monarch migrates from North America to central Mexico and back again each year.With a wing span of four inches, the monarch butterfly is known for its lengthy migration and is the only butterfly species to make annual north-south migrations, like many bird species.

However, having a life span of only two months, it takes four generations to complete the round trip.

Mexico declares nature reserve on Cozumel island

Mexico’s environmental authorities say they have declared the northern shore of the Caribbean island of Cozumel a protected nature area, with strict limits on human activity there.

The Environment Department says about 146 square miles (378 square kilometers) of the island and coastal waters will be protected under the measure.

The area designated Wednesday constitutes the shores and offshore shelf on the northern half of the island. The area is mostly unpopulated and well away from Cozumel’s town, marinas and cruise ship dock.

Two species have native ranges only on the island: the Cozumel spiny lizard and the Cozumel racoon, which is a dwarf raccoon.

Signs of change on the plains as grasslands reserve buys 150,000-acre Montana ranch

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Chile’s biosphere reserve ‘rescued’

A 100,000-hectare reserve that was to become deforested grazing land is being conserved to protect biodiversity.

PICTURED ABOVE: El Convento Beach within the Northeast Ecological Corrido.

Puerto Rico creates nature reserve in north coast

A pristine swath of Puerto Rico’s north coast that developers have long coveted is now a nature reserve, ending a bitter and lengthy battle between the government and environmentalists.

Gov. Luis Fortuno signed a law late Monday protecting 1,950 acres (790 hectares) of state-owned land from large-scale development, reversing a stance he took several years ago when he revoked its protected status to attract developers and boost the island’s sluggish economy.

Both the House and Senate already had unanimously approved the bill.

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Maldives creates world’s biggest marine reserve

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives announced at the Rio+20 summit it would create the world’s biggest marine reserve to protect its fisheries and biodiversity.

“I would like to announce today Maldives will become the first country to become a marine reserve,” President Mohamed Waheed said in a speech Wednesday.

“It will become the single largest marine reserve in the world. This policy will allow only sustainable and eco-friendly fishing. It will exclude deep-sea, purse-seining and other destructive [trawling] techniques,” he said.

He was referring to a fishing technique in which a seine – a vertical net – in the shape of a bag is used to ensnare fish and other catch.

Mr. Waheed added: “Already, Maldives is a sanctuary for sharks, turtles and many species of fish in the Indian Ocean. Trade in these products is now illegal in the Maldives.”

He did not spell out how big the reserve would be, but said: “We can do it in a short time. I hope we can do it in five years.”

Sue Lieberman, deputy director of the Pew Environment Group, a U.S. non-governmental organization, said the announcement was “highly significant … and a great commitment,” given that a marine reserve carried a much tougher status than a marine-protected area.

“Technically, a marine reserve is like where there is no extractive use, there is no industrial fishing, no mining. It doesn’t mean no recreational fishing or boating,” she said.

“It’s like, on land, having a national park.”

“What he said implies their whole EEZ, although we’ll wait to hear more,” she said.

The EEZ – exclusive economic zone – is the area of sea that can be claimed by a country to exploit its marine resources, to a limit of 200 nautical miles around its coasts.

“Maldives may be a small [set of islands] but it’s a large country when you count their ocean,” she said.