• Les groupes d'amis des parcs sont inquiets des dommages potentiels que pourrait causer le sentier de motoneige proposé au Mont Carleton

    Communiqué de presse

    le 10 septembre , 2015

    Fredericton – Le plan d'élargissement d'un sentier pédestre qui remonte le plus haut sommet aux Maritimes et de l'ouvrir à l'usage par la motoneige au sein du seul parc sauvage désigné au Nouveau Brunswick : tout cela inquiète fortement la Société pour la nature et les parcs du Canada, section du Nouveau-Brunswick (SNAP NB) et les Ami(e)s du Parc provincial du Mont Carleton.

    « Ce n'est que récemment que nous avons appris ce projet de sentier pour le Mont Carleton, qui fait partie d'un plan d'augmenter les sentiers de motoneige dans le nord du Nouveau-Brunswick. Le gouvernement semble être prêt à accepter cette proposition sans une analyse environnementale ou sans consultation publique. On verrait donc un sentier pédestre remontant le Mont Carleton et dont la largeur serait doublée à 12 pieds et dont la voûte forestière au-dessus serait coupée à une hauteur de 12 pieds, » déclare Roberta Clowater, Directrice générale de la SNAP NB.

    « Ce type de développement va fragmenter l'habitat de la faune sauvage, y compris celui de l'orignal, du polatouche (écureuil volant) et de la martre d'Amérique. Un accès continu aux motorisés sur ce sentier va probablement compacter le sol, causant un ruisellement pluvial accéléré et de l'érosion. Le surfaçage des sentiers va encourager un accès accru par les véhicules motorisés qui pourraient les mener à continuer à monter jusqu'au sommet fragile de cette montagne. Cela est complètement inapproprié dans un parc désigné à l'état naturel, » ajoute Clowater.

    « Depuis plus de huit ans, les Ami(e)s du Parc provincial du Mont Carleton Inc. ont travaillé avec diligence afin de promouvoir, préserver et protéger le milieu sauvage naturel et les écosystèmes du Parc. Nous avons travaillé pour développer ce que nous pensions être une bonne relation de travail avec le Ministère du Tourisme, du Patrimoine et de la Culture. L'annonce de l'infrastructure d'un carrefour pour la motoneige est arrivée sans avertissement, ni consultation avec notre groupe, » déclare Susan Mulherin, Présidente des Ami(e)s du Parc provincial du Mont Carleton Inc.

    « Les Amis se sont engagés à travailler en collaboration avec le Ministère, tout en s'assurant que l'on maintienne l'intendance du parc, et que la protection de l'environnement, de l'habitat des animaux et le patrimoine soit reflétée dans toutes les politiques et programmes. Nous sommes préoccupés que dans ce cas-ci, cela ne se produit pas. Assurément, un compromis peut être réalisé qui respecte nos aires protégées et qui répond aux intérêts des motoneigistes, » ajoute Mulherin.

    Aucune discussion publique à savoir si un sentier de motoneige est compatible avec les sections les plus sauvages d'un parc à l'état naturel

    Le Parc du Mont Carleton est le seul « Parc provincial à l'état sauvage » qui a été classifié ainsi dans les révisions à la Loi sur les parcs en 2014. Ces mêmes révisions mandataient le Ministère du Tourisme, du Patrimoine et de la Culture à mettre au point des Plans de gestion des ressources pour les parcs provinciaux, faisant état des utilisations récréatives qui seraient compatibles avec la conservation des aires naturelles de ce parc.

    « Nous sommes très préoccupés que le Ministère pourrait considérer de prendre une décision irréversible, telle que celle-ci, avant que le Plan de gestion des ressources et le zonage connexe soient discutés publiquement et approuvés. Le Ministère est donc prêt, par le fait même, à décider que les véhicules motorisés sont permis dans les aires de conservation dans un parc à l'état naturel, ce qui va créer un précédent duquel il sera difficile d'en revenir.

    « Permettre des loisirs motorisés dans l'une des parties les plus sauvages d'un parc à l'état naturel n'est pas cohérent avec la gestion normale des zones sauvages dans ce type de parc à travers le Canada et les États-Unis. Si le sentier qui monte le Mont Carleton est surfacé pour utilisation par les motoneiges, cela va empêcher son utilisation par les gens qui veulent vivre une expérience de qualité en milieu sauvage en faisant de la raquette ou du ski de fond dans cette partie du parc, » affirme Clowater.

    « Il est important pour les touristes, qui sont attirés par les zones sauvages, que le marketing du Parc provincial du Mont Carleton en tant que destination de nature sauvage soit appuyé par une gestion qui soit cohérente avec l'expérience de qualité en milieu sauvage, » ajoute Clowater.

    « Il s'agit d'un des premiers tests de la Loi sur les parcs révisée, que notre organisation avait applaudit comme étant un pas dans la bonne direction pour la modernisation de l'approche du Nouveau-Brunswick envers la gestion des parcs. Si le sentier est approuvé sans processus d'engagement du public ou d'analyse environnementale, selon nous le gouvernement aura échoué ce premier test de notre nouvelle législation, » explique Clowater.


    La SNAP recommande que le gouvernement provincial prenne le temps d'évaluer les impacts potentiels de ce projet, d'entamer des consultations avec le public et les parties prenantes, et ensuite déterminer si le Mont Carleton est un endroit approprié pour un tel développement.

    -30-

    Pour plus d’information:

    Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; 506-452-9902



    SNAP est la voix pour la vie sauvage et les parcs pour Nouveau-Brunswick. Pour plus d'information sur SNAP NB et notre travail de conservation, s'il vous plaît visitez : www.cpawsnb.org

  • New Brunswick lagging behind other parts of Canada on wilderness protection: CPAWS report

    Fredericton – In its latest annual report released in advance of Canada Parks Day, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling Canada out for falling behind most other countries in protecting its land and fresh water.  CPAWS’ 2015 report, Protecting Canada: Is it in our nature?, assesses whether our governments are on track to meet their collective international commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and fresh water by 2020, and to improve the quality of our protected areas.
    “Based on our assessment of progress since Canada endorsed the UN Convention on Biological Diversity 10-year plan in 2010, it would take us 50 years from today, not five, to meet our commitment to protect at least 17% of our land and fresh water. And 17% is only the next step we need to take towards protecting at least half to ensure Canada continues to have healthy, functioning ecosystems,” says Alison Woodley, national director of CPAWS’ parks program.
    “In New Brunswick, we are particularly worried that New Brunswick is so far behind most of the other provinces in Canada, there is no plan in place to catch up, and no commitment to add any new protected areas,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick.
    “Furthermore, the opportunities for creating more protected areas in the future are quickly being foreclosed due to the province’s new Crown Forestry strategy. There will be fewer and fewer wild forest options left to add to the protected areas systems over time.”

    Slow to no progress since 2011

    CPAWS found that the current percentage of lands and inland waters protected varies dramatically across Canada, ranging from just under three percent in Prince Edward Island, to more than 15% in British Columbia.  Since 2011, the area protected in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Yukon Territory has not grown at all, and all other provinces have increased protection by less than 2%. B.C.’s progress is undermined by its 2014 Parks Act amendments that allow industrial research in parks and boundary changes to accommodate pipelines and logging.

    Reasons for optimism

    “Some of Canada’s provinces and territories and Indigenous communities are making impressive efforts to advance protected areas. Quebec and Ontario have committed to protecting half of their northern territories, although implementation of these commitments is very slow. Nova Scotia has ramped up efforts and appears to be on track to reach 14% protection, Manitoba has committed to creating 15 new parks and protected areas and to expanding others, and Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut all have land use planning processes underway that could lead to new, large protected areas,” says Woodley.

    At the federal level, a large new national park called Qausuittuq in Nunavut (11,000 km2) was just finalized in June, and two more could be announced within the next year. These include an area called Thaidene Nene around the East Arm of Great Slave Lake, NWT, where approximately 30,000 km2 could become a combined national and territorial park shortly. Similarly, the process for finalizing the 10,700 km2 Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve in Labrador is nearing completion, with an adjacent 3,000 km2 provincial park still at the early stages of establishment.
    Local Indigenous communities are playing a significant leadership role and partnering with federal, provincial, and/or territorial governments to protect many of these large areas.
    CPAWS calculates that if existing plans for creating new protected areas were implemented, along with other commitments for which specific sites have not yet been confirmed, Canada could meet its obligation to reach 17% protection by 2020.


    Government leadership needed In New Brunswick

    Over the past 20 years, New Brunswick has only moved from 1.3% to 4.7% of the province in permanently and legally designated protected areas.
    “We’re looking for New Brunswick to take on leadership to help meet Canada’s 2020 protected area commitments. To start, the New Brunswick government needs to revise the Crown Forestry Strategy to allow space for new forested protected areas across the province, and needs to commit to an ambitious  plan to establish new protected areas around ecologically important forests, coastal shores, cliffs, wetlands and river headwaters. We cannot maintain the current slow pace of protection, because we are losing opportunities to protect our wild nature at an even faster rate,” says Roberta Clowater.

    -30-


    View executive summary and full report at: http://cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS_Parks_Report_2015-Single_Page.pdf
    For interviews, contact: Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; phone: 506-452-9902
    Founded in 1963, CPAWS is Canada’s only nationwide charity dedicated solely to protecting our public land and water, and ensuring our parks are managed to protect the nature within.

  • New Brunswick needs to step up and commit to new protected areas by 2020

    July 24, 2017

    Fredericton – In its latest annual report on the state of protected areas in Canada, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) is calling upon New Brunswick to step up efforts to protect more land by 2020. CPAWS’ 2017 report “From Laggard to Leader? Canada's renewed focus on protecting nature could deliver results”calls Canada out for ranking last among G7 countries in the percentage of land and freshwater protected for conservation purposes, and encourages governments to conserve Canada’s natural heritage, starting by delivering on their international commitment. New Brunswick ranks 2nd to last among the Canadian provinces and territories.

    With only 10.6% of its landscape currently protected, Canada lags behind the global average of 15%, and also trails other large countries such as China, Brazil, and Australia. In 2010, as part of a worldwide effort to stem the tide of biodiversity loss, Canada committed under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to protecting at least 17% of land and inland waters by 2020 and improving the quality of their protected area systems to more effectively conserve nature.

    The report recognizes that Canadian governments are finally starting to take this commitment seriously after years of inaction. In February 2017, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for parks and protected areas publicly announced their commitment to work together to achieve this target. A new Pathway to 2020 process was initiated, and the Indigenous Circle of Experts and National Advisory Panel appointed to advise Ministers on this work.

    “In New Brunswick, there has been no progress on working towards the national protected areas targets,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS New Brunswick. “There are steps that can be taken by the province immediately to help Canada reach our goals, including setting a target to increase protected areas, developing an action plan to 2020 and beyond, and protecting the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway.”

     “With less than 3 years to fulfill our 2020 commitment, we need to get going now,” adds Hébert-Daly. “In the report we identify places across Canada where a considerable amount of work has already been done on proposed protected areas. By acting now to permanently protect these sites, while also planning for what’s needed to conserve nature in the long term, Canada has a chance to move from laggard to leader.”

    Clowater adds, “The New Brunswick government could create a world-class wilderness tourism destination by establishing the Restigouche Wilderness Waterway – a wide protected corridor along the river, on Crown land. Currently, 97% of the New Brunswick portion of the Restigouche watershed is open to development, and industrial development is eating away at the region’s wild forests and rivers year by year. By conserving this area’s special nature, promising ecotourism businesses could reliably promote a quality wilderness destination to nature-seeking tourists around the world.”

    Protected areas are important to conserve wildlife and wilderness, as well as provide clean air and water for all Canadians, store carbon, and play a major role in improving our health and well-being. They also make economic sense. Protected areas around the world generate US$600 billion per year in direct spending, while costing less than US$10 billion per year to manage.

    For over 50 years, CPAWS has been working with all levels of government, and other partners across the country to protect more of Canada’s public lands. As the only nationwide charity dedicated to the protection of our public lands and water, we are uniquely positioned to help governments protect what nature really needs.

    -30-

    Read the full report. http://cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS-Parks-Report-2017.pdf

    Read the Executive Summary with recommendations. http://cpaws.org/uploads/CPAWS-Parks-Report-Executive-Summary-2017.pdf

    For interviews, contact: Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; 506-452-9902NB Needs to Act Protect Restigouche Wilderness Waterway2

  • Parks groups concerned about potential harm to Mount Carleton by proposed snowmobile trail

    NEWS RELEASE

    September 10, 2015


    Parks groups concerned about potential harm to Mount Carleton by proposed snowmobile trail


    Fredericton – A plan to widen a walking trail up the Maritimes’ highest peak and open it for snowmobile use within New Brunswick’s only designated Wilderness Park has the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, New Brunswick Chapter (CPAWS NB) and the Friends of Mount Carleton Provincial Park deeply concerned.

    “We’ve recently learned about this trail proposal for Mount Carleton, which is part of a plan for increasing snowmobile trails in northern New Brunswick. The government appears to be ready to agree to this proposal without an environmental analysis or any public consultation. It would see a walking trail up Mount Carleton cleared to double its width to 12 feet wide, and the canopy over it removed to a height of 12 feet,” says Roberta Clowater, Executive Director of CPAWS NB.

    “This type of development will fragment the habitat of wildlife species including moose, flying squirrels, and American marten. Sustained motorized access on this trail is also likely to compact the soil, causing fast rain runoff and erosion. Grooming the trail will encourage increased motorized vehicle access that could lead to them continuing up to the fragile mountain top. This is completely inappropriate within a designated wilderness park,” adds Clowater.

    “For over eight years, the Friends of Mount Carleton Provincial Park Inc. has worked diligently to promote, preserve and protect the Park’s natural wilderness setting and its ecosystems. We have worked to develop, what we thought, was a good working relationship with the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture. The snowmobile hub infrastructure announcement came without any forewarning or consultation with our group,” says Susan Mulherin, President of Friends of Mount Carleton Provincial Park Inc.

    “The Friends are committed to working cooperatively with the Department, while also ensuring that stewardship of the Park is maintained, and the protection of the environment, animal habitat and heritage is reflected in all policies and programs. We are concerned that in this case, that is not happening. Surely a compromise can be found that respects our protected areas and meets snowmobilers interests,” adds Mulherin.

    No Public Discussion Whether Snowmobile Trail is Compatible with Wildest Parts of Wilderness Park

    Mount Carleton park is New Brunswick’s only “Wilderness Provincial Park”, having been classified as such in revisions to the Parks Act in 2014. Those same revisions mandated the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture to develop Resource Management Plans for the provincial parks, outlining the recreational uses that would be compatible with conservation of the park natural areas.

    “We are very concerned that the Department would consider making an irreversible decision such as this before the Resource Management Plan and the associated zoning are discussed publicly and approved. The Department is poised to, by default, decide that motorized vehicles are allowed in conservation zones in a wilderness park, setting a precedent from which it will be hard to back away.

    “Allowing motorized recreation in one of the wildest parts of a wilderness park is inconsistent with how wilderness zones are generally managed in this level of park across Canada and the US. If the trail that goes up Mount Carleton is groomed for use by snowmobiles, it will prevent its use by people who want a wilderness experience of snowshoeing or cross-country skiing in that part of the park,” says Clowater.

    “It’s important to tourists who are attracted to wilderness that the marketing of Mount Carleton Provincial Park as a wilderness destination be backed up with management that is consistent with a wilderness experience,” adds Clowater.

    “This is one of the first tests of the revised Parks Act, which our organization has been applauding as a good step forward for the modernization of New Brunswick’s approach to parks management. If this trail is approved with no public engagement process or environmental analysis, in our view the government will have failed this first test of our new legislation,”adds Clowater.

    CPAWS is recommending that the provincial government take the time to assess the potential impacts of this proposal, undertake public and stakeholder consultations, and then determine whether Mount Carleton is an appropriate location for such a development.

    -30-

    For more information, contact: Roberta Clowater, rclowater@cpaws.org; phone: 506-452-9902

    Founded in 1963, CPAWS is Canada’s only nationwide charity dedicated solely to protecting our public land and water, and ensuring our parks are managed to protect the nature within.Learn more at www.cpawsnb.org.

  • Show support for New Brunswick Provincial Parks

    Photo: Mount Carleton Provincial Park - LeeAnn Haggerty

    For the first time in decades, the province is asking for your input on the New Brunswick Parks Act, the law that decides what happens in our provincial parks.

    Despite all of our parks’ stunning scenery, wildlife watching and beautiful beaches, the current Parks Act doesn’t even refer to nature or conservation! CPAWS' calls for a review of the Act have been successful, so now it's important that the government hears from people like you who care about our provincial parks.

    Please take a moment right now to write a letter to let them know what you think is important to include in our Parks Act. Comments are due on September 13th.

    We need a strong law that will forever protect the wilds of Mount Carleton Provincial Park, the seashore of New River Beach and all our other provincial park treasures. With your help, we can secure a better future for our provincial parks.

    Yours in conservation,

    Roberta Clowater
    Executive Director, CPAWS-NB

    Photo: Mount Carleton Provincial Park - LeeAnn Haggerty

  • Still Time to Submit Comments - Snowmobile Trail Development up Mount Carleton

    You can still send in your comments until end of day Nov 21 (Monday) on the environmental assessment report about the proposed snowmobile trail at Mount Carleton Provincial Park. If you're not sure what to say, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - NB Chapter has summarized some of our key messages here: http://cpawsnb.org/images/upload/key_messages_EIA.pdf

    Please send comments or questions to: lynn.white@gnb.ca or mail to: Lynn White, Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture, P.O. Box 6000, Fredericton, NB E3B 5H1.
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