Nature News #10

Bird News

A record  number of raptors – more than 11,000 of 15 different species –  were recorded migrating through Manitoba this spring.

Waterfowl hunting will close for one month in The Yukon, to allow for breeding and nesting season.

Bird Studies Canada is looking for volunteers in British Columbia to participate in the annual loon count.

The city of Ottawa is using the services of a dog handler and two trained Border Collies to persuade an overabundance of Canada Geese to leave some parks.

Mammal News

Manitoba Conservation has canceled moose hunting seasons in several areas of the province after recent aerial survey results showed a substantial decline in their population.

The province of New Brunswick is erecting 29 kilometres of wildlife fencing along the Trans Canada Highway, to reduce the number of moose killed by collisions.

A Newfoundland man waded into a freezing cold pond to rescue two moose calves that were struggling in the water.

The government of Nunavut disagrees with scientist’s proposal to list the polar bear as a Species of Special Concern, saying their bear population is healthy.

A young Beluga whale has shown up in The Bay of Fundy, NB, hundreds of kilometres from its likely home in the St. Lawrence estuary.

A four and a half year old female grizzly was struck and killed by a train west of Banff National Park, the fifth bear to die in that location since 2007.

A 38-page report, the product of four years of research by a coalition of environmental groups, says the Alberta government is not doing enough to protect grizzly bears.

DNA testing shows a dead killer whale calf that washed up on a Vancouver Island beach was not from B.C.’s southern resident orca population.

The province of Alberta (finally) declares the grizzly bear a threatened species based on information they’ve had since 2000.

Fish News

Researchers from the University of Washington have found the key to restoring the West Coast salmon population lies in ensuring there is a wide diversity of stocks within a given species.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, the scores of dead fish that have been washing up on Lake Erie shorelines died from post-spawning stress.

Crustacean News

The government of New Brunswick is offering $11 million in loans to the province’s lobster fishing industry, to buy back about 13 per cent of the fishing licences.

Insect News

Two bee hives containing about 50,000 honey bees were installed on the roof of Vancouver’s city hall to mark the Day of the Honeybees.

Ecosystem News

An analysis by The Canadian Press has found that millions of litres of sewage, jet fuel and other harmful contaminants have been spilled across The Arctic in recent years.

The U.S. has begun hearings on a bill that would ban development in the Flathead Valley, protecting a corridor  of about 150 kilometres from BC to Whitefish, Montana.

The Canadian government is moving ahead with plans to grant new offshore oil exploration licenses in The Arctic, despite the U.S. government’s expanding freeze on offshore drilling.

The Canadian Hydrographic Service has advised water levels in the Great Lakes are at dangerously low levels throughout the lakes system.

Provincial funding for the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve in Saskatchewan has been stopped, forcing them to curtail education and research activities.

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