NCC applauds progress on NL conservation plan
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is commending the provincial government for supporting the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council (WERAC) in releasing a draft protected areas plan for Newfoundland and Labrador and launching a public consultation. A Home for Nature: Protected Areas Plan for the Island of Newfoundland is the province’s first-ever plan to identify and protect a network of key wildlife areas and ecologically significant sites. The plan has been published online and will be open for public comment through engageNL.ca until June 22.
“I am pleased to see the Province taking this important step, and our organization is looking forward to providing feedback on the protected areas plan,” says Megan Lafferty, program director for the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Newfoundland and Labrador. “I would also like to commend the past and present volunteers on the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council for their dedicated work on this plan over many years. Our organization has a keen interest in seeing more land conserved in Newfoundland and Labrador — for wildlife, community recreation and climate change adaptation. We hope to see a high level of participation in the public consultation process.”
NCC has 11 nature reserves on the island of Newfoundland, primarily on the west coast and the Avalon Peninsula. The charitable land trust uses conservation science in its planning and places a high priority on protecting wetlands, connecting protected areas, and conserving habitat for biodiversity and for species at risk.
NCC is working with the federal government to help meet Canada’s international commitments to conserve 17 per cent of the country’s land and inland waters in 2020. Currently, Newfoundland and Labrador has conserved approximately seven per cent of its area, one of the lowest percentages in the country after PEI and New Brunswick.
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