Ontario gets help with endangered species

Tuesday, March 15, 2011   by: Rick McGeeNEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN WILDLIFE
FEDERATION

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CWF awards $1.1 million to endangered species conservation research projects

OTTAWA (March 15) - The Canadian Wildlife Federation Endangered Species Fund has awarded $1.1 million in funding to 52 research projects to help conserve at-risk wildlife across Canada.

The fund, launched last March, focuses on improving our knowledge of marine and freshwater species, as well as iconic species such as the caribou and the monarch butterfly.

Projects include:

- Identifying new critical habitat for northern resident killer whales

- Evaluating ways to reduce the loss of endangered Coho salmon in Fraser River fisheries

- Assessing the threat posed by a road through spotted turtle habitat in Eastern Ontario

- Determining the behaviour and habitat use of leatherback turtles in waters off Nova Scotia.

"Funds provided by the Canadian Wildlife Federation are fundamentally important, indeed critically vital, to our understanding of the factors that affect the viability, persistence, and recovery of endangered species in Canada. There is no comparable financial support for research on Canadian species at risk," said Dr. Jeffrey Hutchings, Canada research chair on marine conservation and biodiversity at Dalhousie University, and former chair of COSEWIC.

Wildlife is declining due to a wide range of pressures including habitat loss, contaminants, commercial over-exploitation, invasive species and climate change.

To date the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has listed 617 species at some level of risk - extirpated, endangered, threatened or of special concern.

"When it comes to conserving species at risk, our lack of knowledge of these species is a major stumbling block in moving forward on protection and recovery. By funding leading edge conservation research we hope to create the tools governments and citizens need to take action," says Dr. David Browne, director of conservation at the Canadian Wildlife Federation.

By understanding the causes of decline, determining the best methods for recovery, and increasing our basic knowledge of these species, the Endangered Species Fund is making great strides to conserve the wildlife Canadians hold so dear.

"CWF is proud of what the Endangered Species Fund has accomplished so far," says Browne. "There is a significant lack of funds for the work needed to help recover species at risk and when we went to our supporters across the country with the idea of creating a research fund they responded enthusiastically. We hope to continue to build on this enthusiasm to build a broad program for species at risk."

About the Canadian Wildlife Federation

The Canadian Wildlife Federation is dedicated to fostering awareness and appreciation of our natural world.

By spreading knowledge of human impacts on the environment, sponsoring research, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, recommending changes to policy and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature.

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