Nature News #9

Bird News

A hotel in Richmond, BC is under investigation by Environment Canada for removing a Canada Goose nest, which is illegal under The Migratory Birds Convention Act.

Researchers from Queen’s University have found that potent metals ingested by Arctic seabirds feeding in the ocean, end up in the sediment of polar ponds.

A plan to divert a colony of Common Terns away from boaters has involved covering their nest site with brush, forcing the birds to look for other locations.

The Bowen Island Conservancy is hosting a contest to build the best birdhouse as an initiative to conserve bird diversity on the island.

Parks Canada has completed the annual cull of Double-crested Cormorants on Middle Island, ON with a total of 3,627 birds killed this year.

Mammal News

A leading polar bear authority says their population could plunge by as much as 30 percent in a year, due to starvation.

Residents on BC’s Bowen Island are on the alert for a black bear that has been roaming near the  ferry terminal in an apparent search for food.

Herptile News

A Canada Border Services Agency detector dog located three live tortoises in a traveller’s suitcase at the Edmonton International Airport.

An awareness campaign last month about Western Painted Turtles being killed by cars has led to more reports of sightings in the Victoria, BC area.

Ecologists say the Marine Stewardship Council would set a dangerous precedent if  it put its stamp of approval on a longline fishery that kill thousands of sea turtles each year.

Fish News

The Nova Scotia Atlantic salmon catch in 2009 was the lowest ever recorded, below the estimate required to keep the stock from further decline..

Insect News

Ticks infected with Lyme disease have been found in Alberta, but a lack of immature stages of the tick suggests the insect is not established inn the provnce.

Ecosystem News

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has protected 1,375 hectares (14 square kilometres) of land in the Carolinian forest zone in southern Ontario.

An additional 462 acres (187 hectares) of aspen parkland have been protected around Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, a designated Biosphere Reserve.

Scientists battle hostile climate as they attempt to build a case that could expand the Canadian North by 1.7 million square kilometres

The federal government is spending $7 million on a project to restore native fescue grasslands and pine trees in Waterton National Park, Alberta.

The government of Nunavut has approved a plan for blasts from an underwater air gun to look for oil and natural gas in the summer breeding grounds of narwhals and beluga whales.

The federal government is developing a framework to evaluate the economic value of, and put a price on nature in Canada.

A British Columbia town is hoping to turn 56 hectares of nearby land into a nature park, but unexploded mortar shells may have to be cleared first.

Workers at a Burnaby, BC oil refinery are trying to stop oil from seeping into Burrard Inlet, but have yet to find the underground source of the contamination.

A Northern Bioenergy Conference in the Yukon is proposing to build bioenergy businesses from dead wood, and leavings from sawmill operations.

Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick has signed a stewardship agreement with Ducks Unlimited to restore and conserve hundreds of acres of wetlands.

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