FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ENVIRONMENT MINISTER DAVID ANDERSON ATTENDS PUBLIC LAUNCH OF NEW VENTURE TO HELP SHOREBIRDS IN UPPER BAY OF FUNDY

JOHNSON’S MILLS/DORCHESTER CAPE, NEW BRUNSWICK, August 12, 2001 - Environment Minister David Anderson today participated in the public launch of a $946,000 collaborative conservation program under the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture to protect and conserve shorebird habitat in the upper Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The program involves both public and private partners. It will secure critical shorebird habitat and implement a stewardship program with the help of private landowners. The new program was launched at an event overlooking flocks of shorebirds roosting at a protected area near the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s shorebird interpretive centre at Johnsons Mills, New Brunswick.

"The Upper Bay of Fundy is recognized internationally as one of the most important sites in the world for migratory shorebirds", said Minister Anderson. "Joint programs of federal and provincial wildlife agencies and universities have greatly expanded our knowledge of the significance of the Bay’s mud flats and key roost sites."

"This program builds on work done by the Nature Conservancy of Canada in securing key habitat within the upper Bay of Fundy, " said Minister Anderson. "The Nature Conservancy of Canada has been extremely successful in protecting critical habitat around the bay, as well as participating in conservation partnerships such as this."

A major portion of the funds in the program has been provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the U.S. based "The Nature Conservancy". The program is supported through the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture partnership, part of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. In addition to Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, other key partners include the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Wildlife Habitat Canada.

New Brunswick’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Jeannot Volpé, said "New Brunswick has a tremendous resource in our habitats for wildlife, particularly for shorebirds. We continue to support the efforts of this partnership in preserving and protecting special places for shorebirds."

Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Ernest Fage noted partners contribute different capabilities and resources to a program such as this and said, "Partnerships are crucial in protecting critical habitat such as we have surrounding the Bay of Fundy. Wildlife knows no provincial, territorial or even international boundaries, so we all must work collaboratively to achieve common goals."

"The Nature Conservancy of Canada and our supporters recognize the importance of protecting critical coastal habitat for shorebirds in the Upper Bay of Fundy," said Linda Stephenson, Atlantic Director for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. "This program is an important part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that the natural legacy of the upper bay is preserved and protected."

Each year millions of shorebirds, comprising 26 of Canada’s 47 shorebird species, pass through Atlantic Canada in late summer and fall. The inter-tidal and coastal habitats in this area are a critical link in the life cycle of more than five million sandpipers and plovers, as well as significant populations of migratory waterfowl and fishes.

Due to a long history of human use and recent increases in development and recreation in this coastal zone, these habitats are threatened. Although habitat loss and degradation have been significant, there remains a unique opportunity for the conservation of these globally important birds and habitats. The program will provide multiple conservation benefits to shorebirds that stop to re-fuel on their migration through the Bay of Fundy.

The program also supports species such as the endangered Piping Plover and the threatened Peregrine Falcon. As well, the program protects the integrity of coastal habitat, thereby providing long term benefits to marine wildlife - including invertebrates and several migratory fishes (e.g. American Shad) that breed in rivers along the east coast of Canada and the United States.

The efforts of this innovative partnership will secure habitat in the coastal landscape used by roosting shorebirds. A stewardship program will develop shorebird land use guidelines and agreements with private landowners and educate coastal land owners and users to ensure that their activities are compatible with the needs of shorebirds and other wildlife.