endangered species news

[Kondla, Norbert FOR:EX]

fyi - the latest news on Canadian endangered species legislation

        PUBLICATION        National Post
        DATE               Mon 08 Nov 1999
        EDITION            National
        SECTION/CATEGORY   News
        PAGE NUMBER        A1 / Front
        BYLINE             Robert Fife, Ottawa Bureau Chief
        STORY LENGTH       765

        HEADLINE: Razing habitats of at-risk animals to be criminalized

        OTTAWA - New endangered species legislation will contain criminal
        law sanctions to preserve the habitat of animals at risk of
        extinction on private property, and the federal government is
        prepared to create a $250-million fund to compensate landowners
        who agree to protect critical habitat, according to secret cabinet
        documents obtained by the National Post.

        The government will invoke its criminal law powers to step in to
        protect endangered species if a "province does not have the
        capacity or intention to provide protection for a listed species,"
        say the cabinet documents, stamped secret.

        Ottawa will also prosecute landowners, impose heavy fines of up to
        $500,000 and perhaps confiscate their habitat lands if they
        deliberately or recklessly engage in the "outright destruction" of
        critical lakes, woodlands, swamps or forests.

        There are 339 endangered species in Canada, such as the peary
        caribou, the eastern cougar and the loggerhead shrike.

        "The proposed legislation will provide legal protection, including
        automatic prohibitions against killing, harming, harassing,
        capturing, possessing, buying, selling, etc., an individual of an
        endangered or threatened species," the documents say.

     ** David Anderson, the Environment Minister, will propose a
        $250-million "species at risk stewardship fund" to help compensate
        landowners for any economic loss. Some of the funds would also be
        used to maintain and recover habitats. Finance Department
        documents show that funding will be provided over a five-year
        period.

        "It is anti-social behaviour for someone to do something to wipe
        some species off the planet, but it is also undemocratic for
        government not to assist someone to deal with the impact of
        protecting wildlife habitats, but it is going to cost money," a
        senior government official said.

        "We are going to try to emphasize more sugar than vinegar. We
        can't expect someone to comply if what you are doing is limiting
        or ruining their business by saying: 'Your land is critical
        habitat for the recovery of the species. You cannot use your
        land.' "

        On federal lands, the government will protect the habitat of
        endangered species and it will expect the provinces, corporations
        or private landowners to safeguard species and habitat on their
        lands. Failure to do so would cause Ottawa to invoke its criminal
        law powers, although anyone who is prosecuted would not have a
        criminal record.
_
        "There may be cases where ... agreement cannot be reached --and
        then it will be important to take steps to secure unprotected
        critical habitat. It would be politically untenable for a federal
        minister of the environment not to include some measures for
        protecting critical habitat in federal species at risk
        legislation," the documents warn.

        "The federal government can prohibit the destruction of essential
        habitat whether it occurs on federal, provincial or private lands
        as long as such habitat is clearly delineated."

        Mr. Anderson is about to introduce a new endangered species act in
        Parliament to strengthen the provisions of previous legislation,
        which died on the order paper in 1997. Bill C-65 would have
        protected the nests and dens of endangered species, but it would
        not have prevented clear-cutting, bulldozing or flooding of vital
        habitat.

        The document notes that loss of habitat accounts for 75% of the
        decline of wild species that are currently listed as threatened or
        endangered. The only solution is to protect the habitat and to put
        recovery plans in place where the habitat is threatened, the
        documents say, while stressing that this should be accomplished by
        co-operating with the provinces and private landowners.

        "Options such as agreements, programs, stewardship initiatives
        should be explored first. On private lands in particular,
        landowners should be encouraged to protect species and their
        habitats, and be provided with the tools and incentives to foster
        such behaviour."

        Mr. Anderson will propose compensation and cash incentives to
        landowners who cannot use their land for economic gain or who take
        measures to improve their habitat to recover a species to healthy
        status.

        "But if someone is not prepared to get into the plan, or the
        provincial legislation is not garnering any kind of clear
        activity, then there is going to have to be other means to ensure
        compliance, and if it involves a sanction under the Endangered
        Species Act, then that is what we are going to do," the official
        said.

        Aware that some provinces, particularly Alberta and Quebec, might
        object to Ottawa's use of its criminal law powers, the document
        stresses it will "seldom be used" because every effort will be
        made to get provincial agreement.

        The proposed legislation will create an independent scientific
        body called the Committee on Status of Endangered Species to
        decide which species of animal and plant are in danger of
        extinction.


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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Norbert Kondla  P.Biol., RPBio.
Forest Ecosystem Specialist, Ministry of Environment
845 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, British Columbia V1N 1H3
Phone 250-365-8610
Mailto:Norbert.Kondla at gems3.gov.bc.ca
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca