GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INVESTING IN COMMUNITY ACTION TO PRESERVE LOCAL HABITAT
AND SPECIES AT RISK IN ONTARIO

CENTRETON, ON, Nov. 22 /CNW/ - Rick Norlock, Member of Parliament for Northumberland-Quinte West,
on behalf of Canada's Environment Minister John Baird, today announced funding from the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. $40,000 in federal funding will support environmental action focusing on conservation and protection of species at risk and their habitats, helping to preserve Canada's biodiversity.

"As part of the International Year of Biodiversity, we are pleased to announce funding to support a habitat stewardship project for species at risk on the Oak Ridges Moraine," said MP Rick Norlock. "We are proud to support partners who are devoted to sustaining our environment through this important work."

"This project will help to protect Canada's rich biodiversity for generations to come, said Minister Baird. "The Government of Canada is proud to support the Nature Conservancy of Canada through the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk. Your actions, large and small, will help to protect the abundance and variety of life that is part of our natural heritage."

The Habitat Stewardship Program funding will allow the Nature Conservancy of Canada to enhance habitat for bird and snake species at risk in Tallgrass Prairie and Savanna areas of the Rice Lake Plains. It will also enable the Nature Conservancy of Canada and their partners to lead field surveys, site visits and landowner workshops to help preserve the habitat of these species in these areas.

"Habitat Stewardship Funding is playing a central role in the Nature Conservancy of Canada's outreach work in the tallgrass prairie areas of Northumberland County," said Mark Stabb, Central Ontario Program Manager with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "Together with our partners—including Alderville First Nation—we have made great inroads in improving awareness and enhancing habitat of species at risk such as Eastern Hog-nosed Snakes, Red-headed Woodpecker and Whip-poor-will. The generous financial help, as well as tremendous staff support from Environment Canada, has been very much appreciated."

The goal of the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk is to contribute to the recovery and protection of species listed as endangered, threatened or of special concern under the Species at Risk Act. 

Projects that will receive funding this year include stewardship actions to conserve habitat for plant species at risk, negotiations with landowners to develop voluntary Land Care Agreements, targeted educational outreach efforts to reduce the entanglement of species at risk in fishing gear, and the enhancement of water quality and aquatic habitat on private lands to benefit aquatic species at risk. They will be undertaken with many partners such as agricultural producers, private landowners, and commercial fishers.  These projects will benefit many species at risk, including the north Atlantic right whale, steller sea lion, swift fox, and small white leek.

The Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk is administered by Environment Canada and managed cooperatively with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Parks Canada Agency. More information on the Species at Risk Act and the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk can be found on the Internet at: http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/ or http://www.ec.gc.ca/hsp-pih/default.asp?lang=En&n=59BF488F-1.

For more information and to view a backgrounder on this announcement, please visit the Web site of Environment Canada, at http://www.ec.gc.ca/.

(Également offert en français)

                                                   

For further information:

please see the attached backgrounder or contact:

Media Relations
Environment Canada
819-934-8008
1-888-908-8008

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