Published in the Spring 2006 401 Richmond Update
In a League of Their Own
This winter we met the whole gang at Wildlands League (Studio 380) in a cozy space during their bi-monthly staff meeting. After a quick piece of cake, we moved on to introductions. It is rare that we have the opportunity to meet with more than the principal from our profiled organization, so it was a pleasure to be able to sit down with the entire staff of Wildlands League to talk to them about what it is to be a not-for-profit conservation organization in Ontario. Following the tremendous success of the Nahanni Forever campaign to raise awareness about the Northwest Territories’ spectacular, and threatened, Nahanni wilderness (which included high profile celebrity backing from social advocate Justin Trudeau and singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer) the group is looking ahead to the next steps they need to take in an ongoing fight to raise awareness and support for the northern boreal forest – the centerpiece of their efforts. Forests are their business and they are clearly very passionate about their protection, not just as natural spaces for people to enjoy, but as crucial elements of healthy and sustainable ecosystems.
Wildlands League is one of thirteen chapters of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society ( CPAWS), Canada 's pre-eminent, non-profit, wilderness protection organization. Since 1968 Wildlands has functioned as a vital advocate for the conservation of Canada ’s precious wilderness. According to Executive Director Janet Sumner, what differentiates Wildlands from other conservation organizations is that: “We think about things at the landscape level. We understand that by preserving wilderness, and the whole landscape, we ensure that the entire ecosystem can survive.”
Wildlands has been instrumental in implementing a forest certification program. The Manager of Forest Certification and Policy Chris Henschel explains that for forest certification, they use “market mechanisms to improve conservation and forest management practices. It’s similar to organic certification in that it assures the customer that the product meets the standard that has been developed for forestry, which takes into account conservation issues, Aboriginal, and social issues in its development.” Wildlands works closely with companies like Domtar and Tembec to improve their practices and have them deliver forest certified products to a public who are increasingly demanding this kind of environmental responsibility from retail giants, like Home Depot.
Wildlands League also acted as the chief architects in the task of doubling Ontario’s parks system, representing an increase to over six hundred protected areas. Up next for Wildlands Director of Parks and Protected Areas Evan Ferrari, is the revision of the fifty year old Parks Act. New legislation will work to maintain ecological integrity, restrict mining and forestry, and limit the kind of hydro infrastructure that is installed.
Each portfolio that Wildlands staff represents is connected by the principle that the natural spaces we inhabit are vast and complicated ecosystems that need to be preserved and managed correctly in order to sustain all life, including humans. The fundamental underpinning of Canada’s landscape is the boreal forest.
Ontario’s northern boreal forest is located approximately three hundred kilometres north of Thunder Bay and spans an almost inconceivable forty million hectares. It is one and a half times the size of the United Kingdom. Canada ’s boreal forests constitute twenty-five per cent of the planet’s remaining original forests, and collectively compose the second largest expanse of intact forest left on Earth. It is home to an incalculable number of wildlife species and acts as a migration route for billions of birds. It is also the home of First Nations people whose relationship with this land is fundamental to their existence. One of the greatest challenges for Wildlands is getting a largely city-dwelling, urban population to pay attention to a region that is so far from their daily experience yet, is inextricably tied to air and water filtration, and climate regulation for the places they call home.
Wildlands is working to get people to understand the vital connection the boreal forest has to their own lived environment. As Evan Ferrari discussed, the greenbelt has garnered far more public outcry and media attention than the boreal forest due in large part to its proximity to the city. Representing 1.8 million acres of environmentally sensitive and agricultural land, the greenbelt is a mere fraction of the forty million hectares (one hectare equals 2.2 acres) of the northern boreal forest Wildlands is fighting to protect. The task at hand is to forge connections for people in urban communities to the forest to encourage participation in preservation, and this is no small task. The Director of Conservation and Land Use Planning Anna Baggio, who regularly travels to the Wildlands office in Thunder Bay, comments that the distance alone prohibits many media, let alone the public, from going to see what all the talk is about.
As Janet explained, “we have a line in Ontario at about the fiftieth parallel that industrial development hasn’t crossed and government is now starting to envision the possibility of crossing that line. It will allow industrial development, as it’s been done in this province, to move in to the boreal forest region and globally that has a huge impact.” Wildlands is not against development; their goal is to protect nature and promote the best global practices that ensure an equal and sustainable balance between nature and industry. What is feared is the unmitigated encroachment of industry into these areas in ways that will forever devastate a tremendous natural resource. It is important to remember that this land is publicly owned – the Government acts as a steward permitting use, but essentially it belongs to the people of Ontario. “Canadians see themselves at the forefront of environmental issues. People in Ontario need to know they have the opportunity to embrace the boreal forest and influence how development happens now before the opportunity is lost. No other country has this kind of opportunity - it’s not going to happen anywhere else!”
www.wildlandsleague.org for more information including upcoming events like Caribou Nites and the Northern Tour.
Back (left to right): Dave Pearce, Forest Conservation Analyst; Harvey Locke, Board Chairman Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Foundation; Dr. Derek Ford, retired professor of Physical Geography and Geology; Chris Henschel, Manager Forest Certification + Policy, Janet Sumner, Executive Director; David Lang, President. Middle (left to right): Julee Boan, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Coordinator + Protected Areas Specialist; Jill Sturdy, CPAWS Outreach Coordinator; Sarah Harmer, Singer/Songwriter + Conservation Advocate; Justin Trudeau, Children's Mentor + Conservation Advocate; Lana Kevic, Executive Assistant. Front (left to right): David Jeffrey, CPAWS Director of Development; Evan Ferrari, Director Parks + Protected Areas Program; Nicole Thouard, Director of Development; Cathy Jones, Comedian + Conservation Advocate; Anna Baggio, Director, Conservation Land Use Planning.
