Presentation on Sustainability Act

By

Ward Samson (President)

Membership

• NO Membership Fee

• Approximately 20,000

• Affiliated with CWF(Canadian Wildlife Federation)

• 1962-Present: 44 years seeking sustainability of our resources.

Affiliate Groups

• CORA(Citizens Outdoor Rights Association)• CAMP(Citizens Against Mandatory Permits)

• ORCA(Outdoor Rights Conservation Association)

• Newfoundland Rod and Gun Clubs• RRBO(Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association)

• NFI (Newfoundland Federation Of Indians)

Highlights of Activities

• Pine Martin Endangered list* Our efforts to protect species at risk in Canada lead to the creation of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 1977, The first official list of Canadian endangered species resulted. NLWF cooperated with C.W.F. to help bring this about.

Cont’d

• Project WILD, which is used by 50,000 elementary and high school teachers throughout Canada, in an innovative approach to teaching wildlife conservation. It has spawned several complementary programs including Below Zero, Sustainability, and Fish Ways. Again, the C.W.F. was the initiator.

Cont’d

• We have been actively pressuring foreign governments to stop overfishing in the northwest Atlantic and are pushing for the development of an international, legally binding agreement to manage highly migratory and straddling fish stocks on the high seas.

Cont’d

• A paper entitled The Efforts of Forest Management on Wildlife contains sound, practical recommendations on how industries and governments can reduce the negative effects of forest management on wildlife and its habitat. The paper is now part of the curriculum at the Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology.

Cont’d

• Our national survey on the location and extent of purple loosestrife infestations across Canada has aided in research efforts and reused awareness about the dangerous implications of exotic species introductions.

Cont’d

• Main River Natural Heritage Site-mandated the government to court against logging in this area and WON.

• River Privatization- Organized a province wide campaign and this concept was put on the back burner. It is rising again through the concept of Community Watershed Management

Three –Mile Limit

• Through extensive research the NLWF seeks to have the courts decide on the existence of our Three mile (headland –headland rule). One judge ruled we were a colony when we joined confederation. We disagree and filed an appeal.

Bill 45- Mandatory Trail Permits

• On June 16, 2006 the court will decide if the NLWF(outdoor rights legal fund) will have to pay $15,000 as court recovery costs to have Bill 45 deemed an illegal tax.

NLWF Vision Statement

• -- The N.L.W.F. is an organization dedicated to the principle that natural renewable resources are economic, social, recreational and aesthetic assets that must be restored, wisely used and perpetuated for posterity.

Sustainability with Cultural Integrity

• NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

• OUTDOOR BILL OF RIGHTS 1.The Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador hereby acknowledges, declares and affirms the ancient and traditional rights of hunting, angling and the gathering of wild foods by the citizens of this province and their free and unimpeded access to public lands for that purpose.

Cont’d

• 2. And the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador acknowledges declares and affirms these rights of hunting, angling and the gathering of wild foods as constituting an inalienable part of the way of life of the citizens of this Province being part of their freedom, life, liberty and security of the person.

Cont’d

• 3)And the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador acknowledges declares and affirms that the Crown in Right of Newfoundland and the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador hold the wildlife, fish, game, wild foods and other natural resources of this province in trust for all the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Cont’d

• 5.It is hereby acknowledged that the rights contained in this act are subject to laws for the purpose of conservation of wildlife, fish, game, wildfoods and other renewable natural resources.

Cont’d

• 6.Every law of Newfoundland and Labrador shall, unless it is expressly declared by an act of the Legislature of Newfoundland and Labrador that it shall operate notwithstanding the Newfoundland and Labrador Outdoor Bill of Rights, be so construed and applied as not to abrogate, abridge or infringe or to authorize the abrogation, abridgement or infringement of any of the rights or freedoms herein recognized and declared, and in particular, no law of Newfoundland and Labrador shall be construed or applied so as to…..

Cont’d

• www.nlwf.ca

Outdoor Bill of Rights

• No sustainability act should be incorporated without the inclusion of an Outdoor Bill of rights.

• This was promised by Premier Williams during last election –it is in the Blue Book.

Discussion of Specific Resources

• Although I would like to discuss specific resources, we must first focus on the concept of ecological integrity and that all species are interconnected and interrelated.

• The management of one species in isolation can have significant negative impacts on other species within ecosystem.

Salmon

• Newfoundland must acquire management of our Atlantic salmon

• We have 92 % of all the Atlantic Salmon Rivers in eastern North America.

• The Canadian Government closed down offshore ocean fishery and displaced a user group.

Cont’d

• This closure was supposed to increase Salmon stocks- it didn’t happen.

• 2006 –we are currently at biomass levels of the 1980’s, when the salmon fishery was opened.Why?

• Foreign overfishing: for example: St.Pierre

Cont’d

• Hook and Release: Two licenses hook and release and hook and retain as in Quebec

• DFO admits to a 12-25 % mortality of salmon from Hook and Release

• River Alta study– Norway

• Resolution with CWF

• Not enforceable

Cont’d

• Poaching

• Aquaculture- farmed fish in our systems

• Rainbow trout: predators of salmon eggs.

• Aquaculture tag

• Farmed Salmon study- Proposed to DFO

• Produce One pound of Salmon-two pounds of wild fish

Cont’d

• ASF(Atlantic salmon Federation)

• Community watershed Management

• Six Million dollars to Greenland Fisherman to stop commercial salmon fishery.

Caribou/ Coyote

• Unnatural predator- hybrid (Eastern coyote and Brown Wolf)

• NLWF,SHAN, NOA- Coyote license after 18 years.-not working at all.

• Caribou on brink of extinction-still very little in respect to reduction of licenses.

• Needs immediate attention

Cont’d

• NLWF requested a seat on Multi-stakeholders committee.

• Request denied by Ministers. Why?

• Status of that committee

• Less study more action

• Look to Yukon and Nova Scotia.

Forest Management

• Our priority has been management for fiber

• There is a very limited approach to Integrated forest Management.

• Creating Protected Areas Builds walls around our forest

• NLWF has a draft Forest Management Plan

Cont’d

• We are replanting with all spruce because of Moose predation and industry demands for fiber

• Very Little will live in a totally spruce forest

• We will have changed the ecosystem in 70 years

Cont’d

• No pesticide spraying

• BTK ( trade secret of the mixture)

• Very cautious with the introduction of new species

• Renewable resource( habitat destruction for Moose)

Near shore Fishery

• Newfoundland must have more decision making ability in the near shore fishery

• Government should support our appeal court case: Re: Three mile Limit

• A phase out of otter trawling in the near shore for ground fish

• A return to hook and line fishery and the cod trap

Cont’d

• A closer monitoring system and a clear scientific approach to our capelin fishery

• A extensive research approach on the development of finfish aquaculture- it is not the panacea

How to Build Cultural Integrity

• Promote and maintain that our resources are public resources

• No large corporations can own resources• Communities(Regions) should be allocated

quotas using the adjacency principle• Create a public awareness campaign• Build in an education component –Get

Outdoors Program

Cont’d

• Introduce a youth quota system in our fishery- Norway has this now

• Who will be fishing in 10 years. All of our youths are leaving…..

• This approach must be consensus building• Top down approach will not work• Consistent consultation with groups like

NLWF

Cont’d

• Other provinces with a “sustainability act” effectively cooperate with wildlife federations and other groups in their provinces before any legislation is enacted.

• ….Food fishery in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec

Conclusion

• This sustainability act must be inclusive and not exclusive

• It must have an education component that promotes our outdoors

• It must include a Bill of Rights-that builds on cultural integrity.

• This Act must be consensus driven and not top down

Cont’d

• It must incorporate Ecological Integrity with Cultural Integrity.

• It must be flexible to incorporate changes in our ecology that need addressing on a timely basis