Feds dedicate $27M to protect endangered species
Prince Edward Island’s landscape took a beating from post-tropical storm Fiona in September. Now, new funding has been dedicated to protect habitats and species on the island and across the country.
On Friday, the federal government announced $27 million would be set aside for conservation projects. The funding is slated to benefit 67 projects across the country in 11 priority places for species at risk.
"Prince Edward Island has diverse wildlife and a vibrant natural landscape,” Malpeque MP Heath MacDonald said in a Friday news release. “It is vital that we protect and preserve it for generations to come.”
Recognizing P.E.I.’s forested landscape as an area high in biodiversity and a habitat for species at risk, three projects received a total of up to $2.75 million in funding over four years.
That includes the Island Nature Trust, a not-for-profit P.E.I. land protection group, that will receive $600,000 to protect forested wetlands and coastal forests, an important habitat for at-risk species.
The area is home to at least 13 species at risk, including the little brown and northern myotis bat species and the Canada warbler.
"As we face the twin crises of rapid biodiversity loss and climate change, efforts to conserve and restore nature are incredibly important,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault in the release. “The Priority Places for Species at Risk funding helps enable these efforts in communities across the country."
The P.E.I. Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action and the Abegweit Conservation Society is also set to receive continued support for existing projects in the P.E.I. Forested Landscape Priority Place.
“With the effects of biodiversity loss and climate change now plain for all to see, we are supportive of the Government of Canada's meaningful stance on protecting biodiversity and habitat for species at risk,” said Bianca McGregor, executive director for Island Nature Trust, in the release.
“On P.E.I., this funding will mean that Island Nature Trust can provide resources and support to private landowners looking to protect their own land, while enhancing the Trust's potential to acquire and protect ecologically sensitive land for the benefit of both Islanders and wildlife. "
Other priority places in Atlantic Canada include Kespukwitk in Southwest Nova Scotia, Wolastoq and the Saint John River, and the St. Lawrence Lowlands.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.