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WINTER 2019

Learning the land Indigenous-led conservation efforts can help foster reconciliation between humans and the land

2 WINTER 2019 natureconservancy.ca

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Nature Conservancy of Canada | 245 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 410 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 3J1 [email protected] | Phone: 416.932.3202 | Toll-free: 800.465.0029

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation’s leading land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect 2.8 million acres (more than 1.1 million hectares), coast to coast.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine is distributed to donors and supporters of NCC.TM Trademarks owned by the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Printed on Rolland Opaque paper, which contains 30% post-consumer fibre, is EcoLogo, Processed Chlorine Free certified and manufactured in Canada by Rolland using biogas energy. Printed in Canada with vegetable- based inks by Warrens Waterless Printing. This publication saved 29 trees and 104,292 litres of water*. Design by Evermaven.

FSC is not responsible for any calculations on saving resources by choosing this paper.

here is a changing conservation dynamic in Canada, one in which Indigenous Peoples are regaining

their voices. It is a time of shifting paradigms, “where Indigenous Peoples decide what conservation and protection means to them and to the lands and waters and are given the space to lead its implementation in their territories.”1

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) recognizes the deeply spiritual connections between Indigenous People and the land on which they have lived for millennia.

Today, as a leading conservation organization, NCC also recognizes we have much to learn from Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, which in turn will help us to become even better land managers and conservationists.

NCC is already working with Indigenous com-munities on many productive collaborations coast to coast to coast. In this issue of the NCC Magazine you will learn about some of these innovative approaches to conservation. But we can do more. NCC has a unique opportuni-ty to contribute the skills we have acquired to assist Indigenous communities and nations to achieve their conservation goals

We believe that by working together, in the spirit of reconciliation, we can help to heal broken connections between Indigenous people and the land. We envision a future in which our relationships with Indigenous com-munities grow and are grounded in mutual respect and the common desire to achieve significant and durable conservation outcomes for the sake of the Earth we all share.

John Lounds John Lounds, President and CEO

Conservation: New pathways

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1 We Rise Together, 2018. Indigenous Circle of Experts.

WINTER 2019 3natureconservancy.ca

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WINTER 2019

CONTENTS Nature Conservancy of Canada

14 Fighting climate change with conservationNature conservation will help store carbon and allow people and wildlife to adapt to the changes brought on by climate change

16 Pointe Saint-PierreThis gem on the Gaspé Peninsula offers natural and historic treasures

17 Water smartAnishinaabe artist and curator Jaimie Isaac respects her connection to nature by always using a reusable water canteen

18 A kinship with the landIndigenous Peoples and the Nature Conser-vancy of Canada are partnering to conserve lands that thread together Indigenous values, language and culture

12 Swift foxTravelling at up to 60 kilometres per hour, the swift fox is aptly named

14 Project updatesExpanding our efforts in Darkwoods, big news about the little brown bat and cross-country skiing for conservation in Quebec

16 Reciprocity with the landNuu-chah-nulth Canadian political scientist Eli Enns shares how Indigenous-led conservation efforts can foster reconciliation between people and nature

18 There’s nothing like itReflecting on a blessedly long season on the Big Lake (Lake Superior) in Ontario *G

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or a long time, I struggled with what being Indigenous meant. I knew that my grandfather was Kanien’keha’:ka (Mohawk), but there had always been a spiritual disconnection between my culture and my identity. What

did it mean to be native, and what responsibility did I have to my community and to Mother Earth?

It wasn’t until I stepped outside and into nature that I began to answer these questions. I found my identity on the land. In the words of Darryl Chamakese, featured in Saulteaux writer Michelle’s Brass’ story “A kinship with the land,” “There’s no way to separate the values, the language, the culture from the land.” Indigenous culture lives and breathes within the waters that flow in rivers and streams and the trees that grow tall and shade the plants below.

The resiliency of Indigenous Peoples and our culture is evident where landscapes thrive. This strength is echoed in the places the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) cares for across Canada.

I see myself and my culture in the work we do at NCC, and I relate so much to my brothers and sisters in the way they too find themselves in the land.

In speaking with Eli Enns, Nuu-chah-nulth Canadian political scientist, he taught me about reciprocity and how Indigenous communities have lived since the start of Creation. Traditional Nuu-chah-nulth laws help guide Enns in his work and in his relationship with the land. The energy we exchange with the land through reciprocity is how we can protect landscapes, enjoy nature and move toward reconciliation.

Whether it’s on the rolling hills of the Qu’Appelle Valley in southeast Saskatch-ewan, a traditional gathering place in the heart of Treaty 4 territory, or in the mountainous Darkwoods in British Columbia, we can all find a bit of ourselves in nature. You just have to go out and look for it.1

Discovering my identity in natureBy Raechel Bonomo, NCC content creator & staff writer

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LEARN MORE natureconservancy.ca/climate-change

ith the recent warning from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that we have just over a decade to limit global warming comes our window of opportunity to act now.

Nature will play a critical role in our actions by providing a two-for-one solution to reduce the impacts of rapid climate change. The places we protect and restore both store carbon and help people and nature adapt to our changing climate.

Nature has been storing carbon for a very long time. The fossil fuels that we burn today are examples of carbon that was stored by ancient forests, wetlands and oceans. Protecting and restoring these habitats ensures that nature continues to absorb excess carbon from the atmosphere. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that nature conservation could provide over one-third of the emission reductions needed to help keep the average global temper-ature from increasing by two degrees.

Nature conservation is important in helping wildlife and people adapt to some of the changes that we are already experiencing as a result of climate change. Wetlands, forests and grasslands provide a buffer from extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts and rising sea levels. Intact, connected natural habitats will also help some species shift their ranges in response to climate change.

Across Canada, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is protecting and restoring some of Canada’s most important natural places. These projects are critical to protecting our wild spaces and wildlife. They are also instrumental in reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and helping communities better cope with the impacts of climate change.

Fighting climate change with conservationNature conservation will play a crucial role in our efforts to mitigate climate change by helping store carbon and allowing people and wildlife to adapt to changing conditions

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Here are five examples from across Canada where NCC is helping to reduce the impacts of climate change

Manitoba Nature conservation planning needs to incorporate the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events, flooding and changing temperatures. In Manitoba, NCC is updating several Natural Area Conservation Plans to ensure that climate change is incorporated in our conservation plans and actions.

QuebecWildlife corridors help species and habitats shift in response to our changing climate. With funds from the Province of Quebec’s Fonds vert, NCC and partners are working to provide information to local residents and safeguard these corridors.

Atlantic CanadaProtecting and restoring coastal habitats are a key strategy to help buffer communities from rising sea levels and storm surges as a result of climate change. NCC has conserved coastal habitats in all four Atlantic provinces. These not only protect important habitats for migratory birds and other species, they also provide valuable coastal protection.1

British ColumbiaNCC’s Darkwoods project is not just Canada’s largest private conservation project and a key link in North America’s Rocky Mountain wildlife corridor. It also stores a vast amount of carbon. NCC has been raising funds for conservation by registering and selling certified carbon credits from this property to help organizations offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

OntarioWetlands are a key habitat for many species of wildlife. They also play an important role in filtering water, absorbing floodwaters and storing carbon. NCC and our partners have protected over 13,500 acres (5,500 hectares) in the Minesing Wetlands. These natural lands are helping to protect nature and buffer downstream communities from the increasing frequency of severe weather events resulting from climate change.IL

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ocated between the towns of Gaspé and Percé, pointe Saint-Pierre provides habitat for thousands of seabirds, in-

cluding harlequin duck and Barrow’s golden-eye. Grey seals and several species of whales can also be seen along its coasts.

Pointe Saint-Pierre boasts meadows, forests and 10-metre-high cliffs along the shores of the Gaspé coast. A continuation of the Appalachian Mountain range, the area features a harsh landscape of exceptional

Pointe Saint-PierreThis gem on the Gaspé peninsula offers natural and historic treasures worthy of discovery

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natural diversity and dense stands of Mari-time mixed forest. Since 2008, NCC has secured more than 130 acres (53 hectares) in the pointe Saint-Pierre area.

A LEGACY TO CONSERVENot only does the area boast beautiful views and an abundance of wildlife, pointe Saint-Pierre also has a rich historical importance. With its traditional Loyalist architecture and Victorian touches, the LeGros House

is a testimony to the Jerseyan merchants who once lived here.

Jerseyans, inhabitants of the Anglo- Norman island of Jersey, once played an important role in commerce and trade in Gaspésie, and can be traced back to a number of families in the area. Families such as Alexandre, LeMaîstre, Mouilpied, LeMarquand, LeGresley and LeHuguet often travelled to LeGros House between 1880 and 1957. Here they celebrated weddings,

Not only does the area boast beautiful views and an abundance of wildlife, pointe Saint-Pierre also has a rich historical importance.


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BACKPACK ESSENTIALS

births and anniversaries, and also mourned the loss of family members.

Donated to NCC in 2007, this house, with the exceptional condition of its content (including furniture, photos, accessories and attic) seems frozen in time. Visitors can immerse themselves in the everyday life of a Jerseyan family in this era.

EXPLORE A SPECTACULAR AREAThere is no shortage of natural wonders to see and explore in the Gaspé. In fact, in 2011 National Geographic magazine named the region one of the top tourism destinations in the world. Pointe Saint-Pierre forms the easternmost point of the Gaspé Peninsula. Im-merse yourself in pointe Sainte-Pierre’s beauty as you wander the hiking trail. Interpretive panels provide information on the area.

LOCATIONPointe Saint-Pierre (between Percé and Gaspé, 975 kilometres northeast of Montreal)

LEGROS HOUSE• Built between 1880-1885;• A vestige of Jerseyan heritage;• Incomparable historic relics;• Largest house on pointe Saint-Pierre.

SPECIES TO SPOT• Barrow’s goldeneye• common eider• grey seal• merlin• whimbrel

NATURE DESTINATIONOffers three trails totalling 10 kilometres. Bring your snowshoes and your binoculars.1

Nature Destinations Learn more at naturedestinations.ca

LeGros House offers many opportunities to learn about the daily realities of winter in the area.

curated an exhibition called Boarder X, which explored Indigenous artists who are

practitioners of skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding, as a way to respond to the lands they occupy. Being a lover of these ways of life myself but a “flatlander” living in the prairies, boarding really designs when and where I travel to connect with the natural world, especially near the ocean and the moun-tains. I almost always bring some form of canteen, stainless steel or copper preferably, in which to carry water. I am very aware of the plastic water bottle pollution in the landfills and oceans, and acutely conscious of clean water privilege, as millions of people around the world don’t have ac-cess to clean drinking water. With this knowledge, using a re-usable canteen is one way to contribute to a cultural shift of responsibility that considers future generations. As a good reminder, I think of an Indigenous concept: “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”1

Water smartAnishinaabe artist and curator Jaimie Isaac respects her connection to the natural world and the privilege of access to clean water by always carrying a re-usable water canteen

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BY Michelle Brass

Indigenous Peoples and the Nature Conservancy of Canada are collaborating toconserve lands that weave together Indigenous values, language and culture

A kinship with the land


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t’s a crisp fall day and the view of the Qu’Appelle Valley in southeast Saskatchewan is stunning and serene. This traditional gathering place is the heart of Treaty 4 territory. Treaty 4, signed in 1874 between the Crown and Indigenous Nations, is one of 11 Numbered Treaties that

outline the agreement to share the land and live in partnership for “as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow.”

This reference to the land is no accident. For Indigenous Peoples, the land truly is everything. “There’s no way to separate the values, the language, the culture from the land,” says Darryl Chamakese, lan-guage facilitator for Treaty 4 Education Alliance, as he gestures toward the rolling hills of the valley. “Even that term ‘land-based,’ I want to refer to it as ‘Mother Earth teachings,’ or ‘Walking Mother Earth,’ to convey that kinship connection we all have toward the Earth.”

That connection was disrupted when, after signing treaties, Canada forcibly removed many Indigenous Peoples from their lands. The impacts of these actions on Indigenous communities, and to local ecosystems, were felt across the country. For example, today, after more than a century of agricultural, urban and resource development, only 20 per cent of native prairie habitat remains in Saskatchewan, making conservation efforts vital and urgent.

This urgency to conserve rapidly declining habitats, as well as revive Indigenous languages and cultural teachings that rely on those lands, is one of the reasons the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) reached

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How can you be an organization that focuses on land without working with Indigenous communities?JENNIFER MCKILLOP, NCC ACTING REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT, SASKATCHEWAN

out to Treaty 4 Education Alliance, says Jennifer McKillop, acting NCC regional vice-president in Saskatchewan.

“It came out of a realization that we are an organization that deals primarily with land conservation, and we had few previous part-nerships with Indigenous Peoples in Saskatch-ewan. How can you be an organization that focuses on land without working with Indigen-ous communities, the longtime stewards of the land?”

Offered in partnership by the Treaty 4 Edu-cation Alliance and NCC, the Learning the Land project has students learning about nat-ural habitats and species at risk through classroom-based activities, such as research and art-based projects, and outdoor activ-ities, such as medicine walks and visits to culturally significant sites on both reserve lands and NCC properties.

The partnership with NCC was a natural fit for Treaty 4 Education Alliance, as Indigenous educators wanted to get students back on the land to rekindle their cultural connections to it.

“We’ve consistently found that with any land-based learning initiatives we’ve done that the students are hungry for it. They want to see more of it, they enjoy it and they’re getting a lot out of it,” says Scott Fulton, Learning the Land consultant with Treaty 4 Education Alliance. “We’re hoping projects like this will help strengthen land-based learning, native prairie land conservation and language revitalization efforts within the alli-ance of Treaty 4 schools and communities.”

McKillop is confident that will happen.

“The education piece and the relationships that are being developed are what will pay off for everyone in the long run. That’s really what this is about,” adds McKillop. Building relationshipsIn Ontario, Esme Batten agrees. She’s spent years developing relationships with members of Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and Saugeen First Nation, who together form the Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON). As the coordinator for conservation biology on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula, she says the relationships, and the partner-ships that naturally arise from them, are crucial to her work and the conservation efforts of NCC.

“If we’re not working with Indigenous com-munities, we’re really missing out on a key part of conservation,” says Batten. “Without the benefit of thousands of years of really valuable knowledge, we’re not going to achieve as much and we’ll use more resources trying to get to where Indigenous Peoples already are.”

NCC and SON are sharing their knowledge and expertise to create an inventory of cul-turally significant species, medicinal plants, species at risk and invasive species in the area. Incorporating Traditional Knowledge provides a deeper understanding that helps to develop more effective management plan-ning, says Batten.

“We can compare our information to what the Elders say. If they say that a certain spe-cies was really common and now we’re only documenting, say, 30 plants in an area, and they remember hundreds, that’s critical infor-mation to know what’s actually happening to those species in the territory.”

Understanding what’s happening in the ter-ritory is a key reason SON partnered with NCC, says Doran Ritchie, infrastructure planning co-ordinator with SON’s Environment Office.

“It’s an exercise in jurisdictional authority,” he says. “Saugeen Ojibway Nation has the right to have a say and give consent to what’s happening in their territory. Generally this is a challenge for developers and government to

Left: Darryl Chamakese and his son. Elders such as Francis Bird (below) are important knowledge-sharers in the T4E program.

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understand what that means. An organization like NCC is a little more open to the idea of what that means in translation to what they’re trying to do. Ultimately, we’re both trying to preserve and protect these areas.”

Sharing valuesThis common goal is what makes these part-nerships possible, agrees Colin Richardson, stewardship director with the Haida Nation on Haida Gwaii in British Columbia. “Their value to preserve and protect land is very consistent with our core Haida value of Yah’guudang, which is to pay respect. I would suggest that those two values are very much in sync with each other and therefore creates a possibility for a great relationship.”

NCC and the Haida Nation have an incred-ible task ahead — a challenging, but potentially rewarding, partnership opportunity. They are embarking on an extensive restoration project that includes co-ownership as well as co-management. After logging practices re-sulted in ecological and cultural damage to salmon habitat, a BC provincial court decision resulted in the land being transferred to both NCC and the Haida Nation to share ownership and managementof the lands in the Gamdis Tlagee Conservation Area.

“This is a first for NCC. We continue to focus on building trust and learning how to move forward in a mutually respectful rela-tionship,” says Hillary Page, director of conservation for NCC in British Columbia.

For the Haida, moving forward in a mutually respectful relationship means acknowledging the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). This com-prehensive, universal framework was drafted over a 20-year period by Indigenous Peoples around the world and represents the minimum standard for engaging with Indigenous Peoples and their right to maintain their survival, dignity and well-being in their homelands. Canada announced its support of UNDRIP in May 2016. Richardson says he would like to see this international framework set the foun-dation for their relationship with NCC.

Though it takes time and effort to develop these partnerships, Page recognizes that sup-porting one another is crucial to addressing the quickly diminishing land base.

“We are eager to work hand-in-hand with local Indigenous communities in order to achieve culturally and ecologically viable conservation,” she says.

Back at Saugeen Ojibway Nation, Doran Ritchie says it’s great that NCC is reaching out to the Nation, but states that there are contentious issues to address. He says it’s vital to understand the history, accept that

Indigenous Peoples are the original owners of the land, and know the politics of working with Indigenous Peoples in their traditional and unceded territories. “They need to know, this is what it means to work on First Nations land. Here are our rights, here are our values, here’s how we want to be included in future plans,” says Ritchie. “To me that’s what’s important about working with organizations like NCC.”

Colin Richardson says there needs to be a meaningful process put in place to understand and define the relationship, but remembering their common goals will help move it forward.

Honouring the land In the Qu’Appelle Valley, Fulton looks towards the area where the Treaty 4 Gathering is held each year to honour and strengthen the treaty relationship. He reflects on the natural alliance between NCC and the Treaty 4 Education Alliance when it comes to protecting natural prairie habitat. “It’s sort of like looking at pre-colonized landscapes and the value of those landscapes,” he says.

That connection to the past is what’s guiding the future of the Learning the Land project as it enters its fifth year and embarks upon a mapping project that includes Indigen-ous place names. Valuing those landscapes supports Indigenous students to learn their history and relationship to the land and

revive their languages and cultural teachings, says Chamakese.

“There’s that really deep, deep history that goes way back, way further than 1874, that our youth have to learn, otherwise we are colonized,” says Chamakese. “This whole Qu’Appelle Valley, kâ-têpwêwi-sîpiy (“Calling River” in Cree), is what it was called. There’s areas where people would hunt and pick ber-ries, and sacred sites that define who we are as a people. That’s the exciting thing about this mapping project, is that we get students to start learning the original place names of these areas, but also the traditional lands, the rivers and the little lakes, the sacred sites.”

In an area where natural, pre-contact land-scapes are quickly diminishing, these kinds of collaborations signal a shift toward what Indigenous Peoples refer to as the “spirit and intent” of the treaties. By working together, such innovative collaborations can help provide tangible ways to protect the land and cultures for our children and grandchildren. It starts by taking respectful, deliberate, relationship- building steps toward what it really means to share the land for the benefit of all.1

Michelle Brass is a writer and journalist who lives in Saskatchewan. She is of Saulteaux heritage and a member of the Yellow Quill First Nation.

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WORKING TOGETHER The NCC/Indigenous collaborations featured in this issue (A,B,C) are but three of many across the country.

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Swift foxTravelling across the prairies at up to 60 kilometres per hour, the swift fox is aptly named


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SIZE AND APPEARANCENorth America’s smallest canine species, the swift fox is about the size of a housecat and weighs up to three kilograms. Its fur is pale, yellowish-red and grey, with a thick grey stripe down its back that extends to its black-tipped tail. Its underside is lighter in colour, and it has black patches on either side of its muzzle.

RANGEThis species ranges from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, south into Texas and New Mexico. Today, swift foxes only occur in about 40 per cent of their historic range. Many populations are now isolated.

DENSBecause swift foxes spend more time underground than any other canine species, their dens are very important to their survival. They use them year-round for protection against predators and as a place to raise their young.

NIGHT HUNTERSSwift foxes hunt mainly at night. They will, however, sun themselves around their dens during the day. They primarily feed on rodents, but will also eat birds and their eggs, insects, plants and carrion.

PRAIRIESIn Canada, swift foxes are now found in only a small area of prairie grasslands in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. More than 70 per cent of Canada’s native prairie grasslands have been lost, and they are continuing to disappear. The protection of these grasslands is critical to the survival of the swift fox and other species that depend on this habitat.

HELP OUTTo help protect habitat for species such as the swift fox, visit giftsofnature.ca.

A swift recovery The return of swift foxes is one of the most successful species reintroduction stories in Canada. Once abundant in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of Alberta, Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba, they were no longer found in Canada in the 1930s. Their decline was primarily the result of habitat loss.

In 1973, a privately run program began breeding swift foxes in captivity in the United States, so that they could eventually be reintroduced back into the wild in Canada. With the help of federal agencies, non-governmental organizations and academia, including the Cochrane Ecological Institute and the Calgary Zoo’s Centre for Conservation Research, the program has been one of Canada’s most successful species reintroductions. The first captive-raised swift foxes were reintroduced along the Alberta–Saskatchewan border and the Milk River Ridge areas in 1983. These foxes survived, and over the years more captive-bred animals were reintroduced into the wild. Between 1983 and 1997, more than 900 animals were released in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Today there are approximately 650 swift foxes living in Canada. This population appears to be stable, and is now connected to populations in Montana. This species is classified as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act and is still at risk because of habitat loss and fragmentation.

Protecting prairies for predators The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) landscape-scale work in prairie areas, such as in southeastern Alberta, is helping to protect swift fox habitat.

This past July, a swift fox den was discovered on an NCC conservation site in southeast Alberta. This discovery is proof that the work of conserva-tion organizations like NCC to secure and steward privately owned land is helping species at risk — in this case, providing a home to help in the recovery of this threatened species.

By working together with local communities, other land trust organizations and private landowners, NCC will continue to conserve and steward these lands to ensure animals like the swift fox still have wild places to live.1

PROJECT UPDATES

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Want to learn more? Visit natureconservancy.ca/where-we-work to learn more about these and other NCC projects.

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Expanding DarkwoodsBRITISH COLUMBIA

he Next Creek watershed lies in the middle of Darkwoods, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) flagship conservation area in southeastern British Columbia. Currently, most of Next Creek is not part of the conserva-

tion area; it is privately owned and unprotected. But not for long. We are actively fundraising to acquire and steward the 19,500-acre (9,700-hectare)

Next Creek property. This campaign will expand Darkwoods by 14 per cent and bring essential habitat under conservation management for dozens of species at risk. It will enhance protection within the world’s only inland temperate rainforest.

In November, NCC staff joined the federal minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Catherine McKenna, and BC Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman, to celebrate the significant contributions made by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia to support habitat conservation in the Canadian Rockies.

Together, the governments’ investments total $14.65 million ($7 million from the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas Conservation Program and $7.65 million from the Province of British Columbia). The funds will directly support the expansion of Darkwoods through the acquisition of the Next Creek property.

We are now looking to raise $2 million from private individuals, businesses and foundations to complete this project.

Darkwoods and Next Creek are located along Kootenay Lake, between Nelson and Creston. The threat of industrial or incompatible recreational activity makes the acquisition in the Next Creek property NCC’s highest conservation priority in BC.

Darkwoods provides essential habitat for 50 species at risk, including grizzly bear, wolverine, mountain caribou and whitebark pine.

The Darkwoods expansion is part of NCC’s initiative to raise and invest at least $25 million to significantly expand its conservation work in the Canadian Rockies region. NCC aims to acquire more land for conservation in this natural area, undertake restoration of high priority degraded sites and work with partners to protect ecosystems and wildlife.

To learn more and to donate, go to natureconservancy.ca/darkwoods.

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The mountains of Darkwoods rise from the shores of Kootenay Lake, encompassing an impressive diversity of habitats.


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Cross-country skiing for conservationSOUTHWESTERN QUEBEC

In collaboration with the Kenauk Institute, NCC is working to deepen its understanding of wolves and other large mammals found at the Kenauk property, to ensure that conservation and management actions will protect these species.

This February, teams of volunteer cross-country skiers will monitor Kenauk’s ski trails, on the lookout for eastern wolves and eastern coy-otes. Their observations of animals, tracks and scat will help them estimate the population size of eastern wolves and to study the species’ genetic makeup. Eastern wolves are threatened in Canada, due to the fragmentation of their habitat and their hybridization with coyotes. This information will help advance our knowledge on eastern wolves, whose range is restricted to the large forests of central Ontario and Quebec.1

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Big news about the little brown batSASKATCHEWAN

Joe Poissant, a bat researcher working with NCC, recently found endangered little brown myotis (also known as little brown bat) living at NCC’s Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area (OMB). This isn’t just unusual because the species is endangered, but also because the little brown myotis normally roosts in tree cavities. OMB is a large area of mixed prairie grassland, with few trees.

This summer, Poissant recorded the sounds of little brown myotis at OMB using Anabats — passive ultrasonic recording devices. Since little brown bats don’t migrate long distances, Poissant thinks they may be roosting in structures like old brick buildings or barns and hibernating at only a few degrees above zero during the winter.

Little brown myotis have been federally listed as endangered largely due to white-nose syndrome. It is possible the fungus may not be able to survive in the dry climate of the prairie. NCC staff and volunteers have built and placed bat boxes in the OMB area and other properties to ensure that the species has places to roost this spring.

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It is possible that white-nose syndrome may not be able to survive in the dry climate of the prairies. Good news for little brown bats!

Partner Spotlight Lowe’s Canada is committed to reducing the environmental footprint of its operations, including the amount of waste that is being sent to landfills. To that effect, the company has taken tangible measures to encourage customers to stop using plastic bags when shopping.

This year, to provide a deterrent to the use of these bags and incite customers to change their shopping habits, the company implemented a charge for plastic bags at all its Lowe’s, RONA and Reno-Depot corporate stores: 5¢ for standard plastic bags and 10¢ for thicker bags. Profits from this initiative are donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to fund conservation across the country.

NCC has 90 priority natural areas across the country where we are continually seeking opportunities to conserve new lands. This advantageous partnership with Lowe’s Canada will provide NCC with the resources we need to protect the natural areas we love and the species they sustain.

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FORCE FOR NATURE


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Reciprocity with the land Eli Enns shares how Indigenous-led conservation efforts can help foster reconciliation between people and nature


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After watching his uncle meticulously carve away at the red cedar wood, Enns decided to explore the remote and quiet island.

“There’s not many animals on the island, as it’s quite inaccessible from the large tides ripping around it,” he describes. “As I came up over a ridge, there was a deer standing there. We were a couple metres apart and looked each other in the eye. That moment always stayed with me.”

Enns is a Nuu-chah-nulth Canadian political scientist and inter-nationally recognized expert in biocultural heritage conservation. He is the co-founder of the Ha’uukmin Tribal Park in the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on Vancouver Island, where his father’s ancestry originates.

Enns also serves as the co-chair on the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE). ICE is dedicated to leading conservation efforts in Canada around Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and their significance toward achieving Canada’s Target 1* in the spirit of reconciliation.

“For me, the most important and integral part of what an IPCA is, is that it’s a modern day application of very old, traditional governance models. The heart and soul of an IPCA is the language, the culture and the traditional governance values and principles,” says Enns. “Ha’uukmin Tribal Park is based on the ha’hopa and the ha’houlthee, the old laws of uyuthluk usma — the understanding of the relation-ship with the land.”

According to Enns, the distinction between a Tribal Park or an IPCA and a national or provincial park is that sustainable livelihoods are taken into account in Tribal Parks and IPCAs.

“It’s a key element in the creation of IPCAs. In order for there to be maintained healthy biodiversity, we need to continue to have a relationship with the land. Part of that relationship is using the land. It all goes back to the law of reciprocity.”

Reciprocity plays a significant role in how Indigenous Peoples in Canada interact with and care for the land.

“One thing my Uncle Levi always told me was that whenever we take something from the land, we have to give something back,” recalls Enns.

This take-less, give-more approach with the land is how Indigenous com-munities have lived since the start of Creation, and is something Enns practices in his personal relationship with Mother Earth.

“It was something I always knew about intellectually before I learned it experientially. It was shortly after my father passed away, and I experienced

it while fishing with my Uncle Joe,” recalls Enns. “When heading home from fishing, my uncle pulled up the boat beside a small islet of rocks and asked one of us to collect eggs from the seabird nests above. I grabbed a bucket and climbed the rocks, not sure what to expect. The birds were very upset that I was there. I was an intruder on their land. It made my heart feel disturbed.”

Enns believes that through reciprocity and protecting the land, we are taking steps toward nation to nation reconciliation.

Before returning to the boat, Enns found the teaching he needed from the land — one that would shape his relationship with Mother Earth for the rest of his life.

“I found a nest, but was relieved to see that the eggs were all hatched or had been eaten by a predator. When I turned around, I saw my Uncle Joe gutting the fish we had caught and leaving it for the birds to eat. It was an exchange of energy. In that moment, it made my heart feel better. I went back out and, without a heavy heart, was able to find some eggs. This was the reciprocity that my Uncle Levi had taught me.”1

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li Enns recalls being around 10 years old and watching his Uncle Joe carve a traditional dugout canoe on the shore of Echachist.

An old whaling village, Echachist is located at the westernmost part of Canada, about a 10-minute boat ride from Tofino, British Columbia.

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The take-less, give-more approach with the land is how Indigenous communities have lived since the start of Creation.

Native licorice ferns, as Eli Enns explains, are important to his family history and Indigenous culture.

*Target 1 is Canada’s national initiative to conserve at least 17 per cent of our terrestrial and inland waters and 10 per cent of our marine and coastal areas through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based measures by 2020.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS


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ast night was probably my final night for this blessedly long season on the Big Lake (Lake Superior) in Ontario. I was there monitoring for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Since 2012, each field season I assess visitor disturbance and overall traffic, and I check

for invasive species. The days are quite long, but any day on Lake Superior will always surpass any day in any office. I love monitoring Wilson Island, the Powder Islands and others on the lake.

Last night was my last night of sleeping on the boat under the stars and being woken up by a pesky whiskey jack (gray jay) chirping and breaking off tiny sticks and twigs to throw at my head. This morning, I check on a nearby eagle’s nest to see if she’s still there, keeping me in check…She is. “Boozhoo, kookum migiizii” — Hello, Grandmother Eagle.

The sky is dark and grey; typical for a November morning on Gitchigumee (Lake Superior). I think of how I hardly feel the waves anymore, and how those who may have never been

on the Big Lake, or haven’t been for some years, can “still feel the waves” for some time after coming off Lake Superior. I also think that I should always take more pictures or videos, as there are so many people that don’t get to appreciate what I get to every day.

There’s nothing like being on the Big Lake. It can be quite tiring. The fresh air doesn’t get to me like it used to; it doesn’t wear me out as much as it does those I take out. During the community Fish Derby, a 16-hour day is quite common.

I look out on the waters and see that they are pure lake water, green and blue. I can recall taking out youth from our multicultural centre and how they were completely amazed by the colours of Lake Superior: the shores, the huge waves, the shock from diving in. I forget what it’s like to see all this beauty for the first time.

There’s nothing like my life.1

There’s nothing like itWritten by Gary A. Bouchard, traditional name: Zhowno Biness (Thunderbird of the South), from Pays Plat First Nation, traditional name: Pawgwasheeng (Shallow Water).

To read Gary’s story in full, visit natureconservancy.ca/theresnothing.

LJoin Canadians across the country in achieving the largest private fundraising campaign in Canada’s history.

Your gift to the Landmark Campaign will help conserve more land faster, connect more Canadians to nature and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders. But none of this will be possible without you!

Donate today and protect nature’s tomorrow.LeaveYourLandmark.ca

GIVE TODAY. SAVE TOMORROW.

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Join Canadians across the country in achieving the largest private fundraising campaign in Canada’s history.

Your gift to the Landmark Campaign will help conserve more land faster, connect more Canadians to nature and inspire the next generation of conservation leaders. But none of this will be possible without you!

Donate today and protect nature’s tomorrow.LeaveYourLandmark.ca

GIVE TODAY. SAVE TOMORROW.

EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS Together, we can accelerate the pace of conservation and double the amount of land and water protected by NCC, helping to restore rare habitats, support species at risk and improve the quality of our air and water. There are several ways you can contrib-ute, including giving monthly or making a legacy gift.

MONTHLY GIVING Monthly giving is easy, flexible and convenient. When you spread your donation out during the year, we can invest in long-term projects to protect and restore wildlife habitat, every single day.

LEGACY GIFTS Legacy gifts are important for NCC’s long-term conservation planning. You can leave a gift in your Will, make a gift of publicly traded securities or of RRSP/RRIF, a gift of life insurance or a gift of land.

YOUR VOICES

Why this city boy chose to support nature conservationI am a city boy who has spent my entire life living close to downtown Montreal. So why do I support the Nature Conservancy of Canada? Why do I occasionally spend a day in the country cleaning up a mess left behind by other people, or pulling out plants that never should have crossed the Atlantic Ocean?

Because I feel a deep need to do something to help conserve nature in Canada. When I go hiking, the mountains, rivers and lakes of eastern Canada inspire something in me. Helping NCC financially on a regular basis through monthly donations, and occasionally volunteering, are the best ways I know to leave this natural legacy for others to enjoy.

The great biologist E. O. Wilson once said in a con-ference I attended that he believed we have a moral imperative to stop destroying the environment, so that other species can continue on their evolutionary path. If our actions drive humanity to extinction, that would be tragic, indeed. What moral right do we have to destroy the environment that is crucial to the survival of plants and animals that share our planet?

So, when the Nature Conservancy of Canada acquires land to protect salamanders, or turtles, or rare finches, I get it. And I want to do whatever I can to help.

~ Peter Solonysznyj has been an NCC Leader in Conservation and Conservation Volunteer since 2008

Send us your stories! [email protected]

We are better togetherThank you for joining us in the single largest private fundraising campaign for conservation in Canada: the Landmark Campaign. We need to do more, faster, and we can’t do it without our donors and supporters.

NATURE CONSERVANCY OF CANADA 245 Eglinton Ave. East, Suite 410, Toronto, ON M4P 3J1

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M. Rittinger Mark Rittinger Vice-president, Marketing and Development

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