Interested in becoming a Board Member?

We welcome inquiries about making a difference to our community by being a member of our Board. Visit our website to explore our mission and accomplishments. Contact office@crowsnestconservation.ca for more information.

Wed., Nov. 30 at 6pm - Annual General Meeting

Country Encounters, 7655 17th Ave., Coleman

Join us for “Wildlife Corridors and Landscape Connectivity in the Crowsnest Pass” with guest speaker, Tim Johnson, from the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. Speaker will follow a light meal and the Conservation Society Annual General Meeting.

2023 Annual Memberships Available

We always welcome new members. The Annual fee is $25 for Individuals, $40 for Families, and $40 for Corporations.

Visit our website at http://www.crowsnestconservation.ca and go the Support page.

Grant Writer(s)

Fall is the time for grant applications. The Board has a 2022 Strategic Plan and has selected priorities that can guide a volunteer in writing an application to a particular funder. We also have lists of funders, calls for grant applications, and access to previous successful applications. Contact office@crowsnestconservation.ca if you are able to help us.

Events by other organizations in the region

Nov. 19 at 5:30pm - 9th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Event by: Wildsight, Invermere, B.C.

For information and tickets, visit https://wildsight.ca/events/2022wsff-invermere/

Dec. 3 - 3rd Annual Trail Supporter Campaign

Great Divide Trail Association

Visit GDTA for ways to support GDTA in your holiday gifts.

Crowsnest Pass News

Provincial News

Can sweetgrass sequester carbon? Piikani Nation plans to find out

Studying the carbon capturing capabilities of sweetgrass is just one part of a larger vision for adapting climate change in southern Alberta.

https://thenarwhal.ca/piikani-nation-sweetgrass/

‘Backed into a corner’: A First Nation sues Alberta for cumulative impacts of industry

A First Nation in northern Alberta is suing the government for infringement of treaty rights, leaning heavily on a B.C. Supreme Court decision last year, which found that province liable for violations based on the cumulative impacts of industry.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/backed-corner-duncan-first-nation-110004131.html

New Alberta premiere will have fight if resource development moves forward without Indigenous consideration

Doubling down on Alberta’s independence from Ottawa when it comes to resource development and export was one of Smith’s campaign pillars, but she has never mentioned the role Indigenous nations played in the issue. That’s a major problem, say Indigenous leaders.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/alberta-premier-fight-development-moves-223527961.html

MINING

Nature has no borders: why Americans are worried about Canadian mines

Concerns are growing about the downstream impacts of Canadian mines. So much so that an American non-profit commissioned planes to give journalists and community leaders a birds-eye view of two sites.

https://thenarwhal.ca/copper-mountain-mine-flyover/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=caadcfaaa2-Oct.+13+2022+—+Newsletter+—+non-members&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-caadcfaaa2-108504207

Doubts downstream

Residents of Libby, Montana, have heard selenium from Canadian coal mines isn’t a threat. But trust in industry is hard to come by after hundred here died from minerals contaminated with asbestos.

https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/doubts-downstream-in-libby-montana?fbclid=IwAR2ZMgb0TOFv8JEysp6_Bjf328FQ7BLAX7qTI5TQdm2uRmKQ9AVRES8KigE

LOGGING & FORESTS

Canadian logging industry emissions on par with oilsands

Using federal data, a study by Nature Canada and the Natural Resource Defense Council shows industry is far from a sustainable, net-zero practice.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/10/18/canada-says-its-logging-industrys-emissions-are-below-zero-a-new-report-says-theyre-actually-on-par-with-the-oilsands.html

When planting a tree can actually fuel global warming

A new study disproves a widely accepted hypothesis about the climate benefits of growing forests in semi-arid places. The problem comes down to the colour green.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/10/planting-a-tree-wont-always-cool-the-planet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planting-a-tree-wont-always-cool-the-planet&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planting-a-tree-wont-always-cool-the-planet

Advocates say loggers aren’t doing enough to save old-growth near Revelstoke

The unique ares is home to trees that are hundreds of years old and to threatened mountain caribou.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/old-growth-forest-revelstoke-1.6626256

ENERGY

Environmental groups call on feds to not ‘water down’ oil & gas emissions cap

As environmental groups urge the federal government to move quickly with an aggressive cap on emissions from the country’s oil and gas sector, the industry itself says such a move could actually slow down the sector’s own decarbonization efforts.

https://www.albertaprimetimes.com/calgary-news/environmental-groups-call-on-feds-to-not-water-down-oil-and-gas-emissions-cap-5986366

How oil & gas lobbyists build ‘very close relationships’ with politicians and governments

A few days after announcing his departure from then-premier Kenny’s office, political staffer Brock Harrison announced his new job with TC Energy.

https://thenarwhal.ca/tc-energy-jason-kenney/?utm_source=The+Narwhal&utm_campaign=09b09b8632-Oct.+27+2022+—+Newsletter+—+non-members&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f6a05fddb8-09b09b8632-108504207

PARKS & PROTECTED AREAS

Nature Conservancy announces campaign to save landscape in southern Alberta

NCC announced a $6.9 million campaign to save a 1,650-hectare property, called The Yarrow, located near Twin Butte, near Waterton Lakes National Park.

https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2022/10/26/ncc-project-seeks-to-protect-the-yarrow/

Alberta group worries new cabinet could threaten environmental protection for parks

CPAWS warns last week’s changes to the governing UCP cabinet could threaten protection for Alberta’s parks and wildlands.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9228705/alberta-cabinet-environmental-protection-parks/

Hikers in Rockies led astray by trail apps, Alberta Parks warn

The Province advises trail users against dependence on apps like AllTrails after rescuers respond to many incidents caused by unreliable information.

https://www.albertaprimetimes.com/beyond-local/hikers-in-rockies-led-astray-by-trail-apps-alberta-parks-warns-5983630

CONSERVATION

How tribal co-managing movements are transforming conservation of public lands

Tribes are pushing for their voices, and traditional knowledge, to be part of decisions over their ancestral homelands.

https://www.popsci.com/environment/native-tribes-public-land-management/

How fire is saving Alberta’s threatened grasslands

Prescribed burns are restoring vitality to prairie ecosystems by returning nutrients to the soil and rejuvenating the land.

https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/where-we-work/alberta/stories/through-the-fire-and-flames.html?utm_source=eblast&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Leaflet_1022&utm_content=button

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate changed: First Nations balances Western science with traditional knowledge

Technicians from the Blood Tribe and volunteers from local environmental groups are building five beaver dam analogs, which mimic a natural logjam in hopes of restoring the stream flow as the area experiences a decade-long drought.

https://www.cp24.com/news/climate-changed-first-nation-balances-western-science-with-traditional-knowledge-1.6121252

The world should fast-track green energy, but not because of climate change

A new evidence-based method for calculating the cost of the switch suggests decarbonization is wildly cheaper than the status quo.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/10/the-world-should-fast-track-green-energy-but-not-because-of-climate-change/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-world-should-switch-to-green-energy-as-fast-as-possible-but-not-because-of-climate-change&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-world-should-switch-to-green-energy-as-fast-as-possible-but-not-because-of-climate-change

Melting glaciers, climate change, making mountain tourism more dangerous, says guide

Those who work in Alberta’s mountain tourism industry say climate change isn’t just changing the face of the province’s parks, it’s also impacting how they do their jobs.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-climate-changes-mountains-1.6612107

TECHNOLOGY

House built entirely from recycled plastic water bottles

Just outside Millet, Alberta, there’s a home built from 1.2 million empty water bottles.

https://globalnews.ca/news/9191731/alberta-house-recyled-plastic-water-bottles/

We need a better way to recycle a notorious plastic. This chemical breakthrough could be it.

Chemists found a clever way to turn polyethylene - in milk jugs, shampoo bottles, and produce bags - into building blocks for high value products.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/10/finally-a-way-to-recycle-a-notorious-plastic-into-something-useful/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=finally-a-way-to-recycle-a-notorious-plastic-into-something-useful&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=finally-a-way-to-recycle-a-notorious-plastic-into-something-useful

Engineers have retrofitted a diesel engine to burn clean hydrogen

The converted diesel-hydrogen hybrid engines emit 86% less carbon and could pave the way for zero-emissions trucks, ships, and heavy industrial equipment within a couple years.

https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2022/10/engineers-have-retrofitted-diesel-engines-to-run-mostly-on-hydrogen/

Drought conditions raise concerns for B.C.’s grizzlies

The collapse of the salmon population is raising concerns that B.C.’s grizzly bears may be going hungry just as they need to put on weight for winter hibernation.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/drought-conditions-raise-concerns-for-b-c-s-grizzlies-1.6626008

Bear expert says attack likely a rare case of a bear treating humans as food

An expert in bear behavior says an attack on a family in northeastern B.C. that left two women with critical injuries appears to have been a rare example of a “predaceous” attack by a black bear.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/10/05/bear-expert-says-bc-attack-on-family-was-likely-a-rare-predaceous-incident.html

B.C. has killed 5,632 black bears since 2011: ‘there’s no sign it’s getting better’

Conservation officers kill hundreds of black bears in B.C. each year. Experts say there are simple steps communities can take to reduce human-bear conflict but not enough are taking them.

https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-black-bears-killed-conflict/

Understanding animal behavior is key for biodiversity conservation

By understanding why animals do what they do, we can better protect them while making people care.

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/why-understanding-animal-behaviour-is-key-for-biodiversity-conservation/

Female bighorn sheep with smaller horns are less reproductively fit

A new study from U of A looked at the connection between horn size and reproductive fitness in bighorn sheep, which found that female sheep with smaller horns are less reproductively fit. One theory for shrinking horn size in females is trophy hunting.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/bighorn-sheep-horn-size-1.6600918

Wildlife populations have dropped 69%

The Living Plant Report 2022, released evert two years by World Wildlife Fund, reveals an average 69% drop in world vertebrate species in less than 50 years.

https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-US/

Wildlife crossings seek to reconnect the animal West

The emerging science of road ecology has been tallying the cost of collisions to animal populations and vehicle owners. Now western states are mitigating the danger, a process that new Federal money could accelerate.

https://andthewest.stanford.edu/2022/wildlife-crossings-seek-to-reconnect-the-animal-west/

Arctic Ocean acidifying up to 4X faster than any other sea on Earth

What may be the broadest and longest study to date has found Canada’s Arctic Open is growing more acidic up to four times faster than any other sea on the plant. The acidification, linked to loss of sea ice, will have unknown repercussions for life in those waters.

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2022/09/29/arctic-ocean-acidifying-up-to-four-times-faster-than-any-other-sea-on-earth/

These plants soak up nutrients from manure. They may make feedlot water clean enough to drink

The floating islands project is part of a research project through Olds College, Alberta.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/olds-college-clean-water-manure-cows-1.6596939

Memories of the end of the last ice age, from those who were there

As Earth’s ice melts once more, heed these ancient tales of land lost to the sea.

https://hakaimagazine.com/news/memories-of-the-end-of-the-last-ice-age-from-those-who-were-there/?omhide=true&utm_source=Hakai+Magazine+Weekly&utm_campaign=c03c2813b6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_06_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0fc1967411-c03c2813b6-121734666

Winter can be hard - Project FeederWatch makes it easier

Last fall and winter, more than 25,000 volunteers had fun counting neighborhood birds for science with Project FeederWatch. You’re invited to sign up now - a new season starts November 1st.

https://www.birdscanada.org/winter-can-be-hard-project-feederwatch-makes-it-easier?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=enews+Oct+2022&utm_content=October+2022+enews+14:22:51