David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @FloryGoncalves and 49 others
Methinks its interesting that I hear nothing but crickets from the peanut gallery where the Green Party sits at the circus N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/10/conservation-is-priority-minister-tells.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/conservation-is-a-priority-says-minister-to-skeptics-of-major-land-protection-plan-1.5340328
'Conservation is a priority,' minister tells skeptics of land protection plan
Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development to double amount of protected land by 2021
· CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2019 5:00 AM AT
Under the proposed expansion of conserved land in New Brunswick many areas, such as these clear-cut forests near Little Lake, may be protected and allowed to regrow into natural forests. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)
Conservation groups and environmentalists are applauding the provincial government's plan to more than double the amount of protected land in New Brunswick, but the initiative has its skeptics.
New Brunswick currently preserves around 4.6 per cent of its land, but plans to increase that to 10 per cent by the end of next year.
Despite recent calls for this exact policy, critics were caught off guard by the announcement, made Monday, and have been vocal about waiting for the other shoe to drop — specifically in the form of future concessions to major industrial forestry companies.
"Are they going to cut these protected areas like the Caledonia Gorge and North Pole Stream area?" asked one poster on a hunters group on Facebook. "Hard to imagine anything left worth protecting."
"Good luck it'll never happen haha," wrote another group member.
Mike Holland, minister of natural resources and energy development, said there's no deal with industry to offset the conservation plan with any other kind of incentive.
"This is a conservation announcement," he said. "It was meant to enhance, improve, and increase the conservation footprint of the province of New Brunswick."
Mike Holland, minister of natural resources and energy development, says he understands skepticism about the plan to more than double the amount of protected land in the province. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Holland said he's been working since the announcement to convince detractors that the conservation move is genuine.
But he said he understands the skepticism, especially after the fallout from the heavily critized forestry deal a previous Progressive Conservative government worked out with industry five years ago.
That deal, under former premier David Alward, gave some of the biggest forestry companies like J.D. Irving Ltd. — which lobbied hard for the change — access to 20 per cent more Crown land for logging, an increase of 660,000 cubic metres. Premier Blaine Higgs said earlier this year that he would be open to changing the deal.
"When you talk about the 2014 forestry plan and how it was weighted toward industry, there was no conservation piece in that," Holland said.
"So, in an effort to find balance and find collaboration between both industry and conservation, it was very crucial that we pay attention to that."
Because of the earlier criticism, Holland said he will decide what land will be conserved, with input from conservation groups and First Nations, as well as industry players.
Holland hasn't forgotten the fallout from a previous Progressive Conservative government's deal to open up more Crown land to industry under pressure from J.D. Irving Ltd. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Holland promised the land that will be conserved will not simply be areas that are of little interest to industry.
Although he wouldn't disclose which areas are being considered, he said the "size and scope of some are significant, in a variety of geographical areas," and in many cases "connected to each other."
Holland said he expects the protected lands will be designated as such for generations to come and that some areas will include clearcuts that will be able to mature into old-growth forests.
Conservation response
What could be considered more surprising than the conservation announcement itself are the figures Holland has been able to rally to champion the initiative.
Critics who are normally quick to decry many department announcements for pandering to industry are instead featured in online government ads expressing support for this move.
That includes Lois Corbett, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, who said she's cautiously optimistic about the plan.
"When you start at the back of the pack, it's actually not that hard to put aside some more protected area," she said.
Lois Corbett, executive director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, says she's optimistic about the plans to increase the amount of conserved land in the province. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Corbett suggested that a barrage of weather events over the last few years may have motivated the government to protect more lands.
She listed tropical storm Arthur, ice storms in the northern part of the province, and record high floods over the last two years that brought millions in damage, including a flood at the provincial legislature, as possible reasons for the government's about-face.
Protected areas such as Mount Carleton Provincial Park may expand in the new conservation plan, although government has yet to state exactly which lands will be protected. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
"What you have to have is the political will and the people behind you to get it done," said Corbett.
And while she said she was genuinely impressed with the conservation increase, she'll be waiting to see how much resolve the department has going forward.
"The proof in that will be in the minister's next step, which will hopefully be in December, when he goes about changing and modernizing the Crown [Lands and] Forests Act," said Corbett.
"And that's where we'll see some impact on our large industry."
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20 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Raymond Amos
Methinks its interesting that I hear nothing but crickets from the peanut gallery where the Green Party sits at the circus N'esy Pas?
Kyle Woodman
I'm not a big fan of the Higgs government but, I'm willing to give Holland the benefit of the doubt.
If he can actually deliver on this, I will give him credit. It's a bold move. Could be political suicide.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Kyle Woodman: "Could be political suicide."
Nope Holland has the safest seat for a conservative in NB
Methinks the skeptics are correct its just Pure D BS to support Higgy's bid to win another mandate ASAP N'esy Pas?
Nope Holland has the safest seat for a conservative in NB
Methinks the skeptics are correct its just Pure D BS to support Higgy's bid to win another mandate ASAP N'esy Pas?
Stephen Robertson
How unfortunate that we have reached the point where a minister releases what is essentially a good news story and our reaction is so, how are they going to stick it to us for this? This is neither a partisan nor jurisdictional issue, but running rampant in the land. It seems to me that this government is trying to change that by doing what they say they will. It will take a long time to break the classical conditioning of days gone by, but I encourage all leaders of all stripes to try it. If Minister Holland is being sincere, and I believe he is, then well done sir!
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Stephen
Robertson: Methinks if Minister Holland were doing his job he would be
showing more concern about NB Power trying to stick it to us again with a
new debt of about a 100 million bucks for smart meters so that they can
go about billing us even more N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/double-conservation-natural-areas-new-brunswick-1.5338670
New Brunswick plans to double amount of protected natural areas before 2021
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says it’s an unprecedented and welcome move
CBC News · Posted: Oct 28, 2019 7:07 PM AT
The Restigouche River, in northwestern New Brunswick, should be included on the list of new protected areas, according to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. The provincial government announced it was more than doubling the amount of conserved areas in New Brunswick. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
The New Brunswick government will more than double the amount of conserved land and freshwater within the next 14 months, the province announced Monday.
About 4.6 per cent of the province, or 3,386 square kilometres, is already protected, but the government aims to reach 10 per cent by the end of 2020.
"The government understands the importance of conserving natural areas as part of an overall approach to meeting forest and land management objectives," Mike Holland, minister for the newly renamed Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development, said in a release.
"This includes adapting to climate change, protecting biodiversity, protecting wetlands and watersheds, and protecting species at risk."
Mike Holland, the minister of natural resources and energy development, said the province understands the need to conserve natural areas. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Roberta Clowater, executive director for the New Brunswick chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said she was "thrilled" by the announcement, describing it as unprecedented.
"The commitment to protect at least 10 per cent of New Brunswick for nature, in law, will help conserve water, wildlife and the natural areas that support all of our communities," Clowater told Shift New Brunswick.
A pathway to change
She said it's a "first step" that brings the province more in line with its Canadian counterparts. But Clowater hopes the conservation will continue.
A report by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society released in July called on the federal government to protect or restore 30 per cent of land and inland waters in the country by 2030, or nearly triple what's currently protected.
New Brunswick's new plan is part of a nationwide bid to raise the percentage of protected natural areas from 11.8 per cent, as of spring 2019, to 17 per cent by the end of next year.
It's a joint plan among all levels of government, the private sector, Indigenous peoples, landowners and non-governmental organizations.
The province said it will receive $9.3 million from the federal Canada Nature Fund to achieve its goal.
Roberta Clowater, executive director for the New Brunswick chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, said she was 'thrilled' by Monday's announcement. (Maria Jose Burgos/CBC)
Clowater said Monday's announcement is the result of a number of factors aligning at the right time.
She said there's political leadership in Ottawa allocating funds to take on these kinds of projects, and she credited Holland and New Brunswick Environment Minister Jeff Carr for taking action on this file.
Conversations with Indigenous groups have also improved, she said, to a point where all sides can work in "the spirit of peace and friendship" on issues like conservation.
Shift - NB
Province says funding in place to protect more land
08:33
She added that amid climate change activism, there's growing public support to protect more areas.
What will be protected?
It's unclear exactly which areas will be considered for conservation, but Clowater said the Restigouche River area in northwestern New Brunswick is likely to be on the list.
"It's a critical area for Atlantic salmon," among other species, she said.
"It's also very important for the whole of northern New Brunswick's tourism and lots of tourism jobs depend upon it."
In July, Clowater said New Brunswick will suffer a "nature emergency" if it doesn't conserve more land.
Clowater said coastal areas with beaches, dunes, cliffs and wetlands should also be considered.
Holland said his department is engaging First Nations, conservation groups as well as natural resource industries to chart a course to meet the target.
The department said more details will become available once agreements with local partners are finalized and new conservation areas are identified.
With files from Shift New Brunswick
15 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Raymond Amos
Methinks that like closing the barn door after the horse has run off N'esy Pas?
Lorne Amos
A great move by both levels of Government. We need to protect our natural areas for the future.
David Raymond Amos
Reply to @Lorne Amos: Yea right tell me another one
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