UNESCO Warns of Threats to Rocky Mountain Wildlife Connectivity
National Park in lower Flathead would help address World Heritage Committee concerns
Brasilia, Brazil — Work still needs to be done to protect wildlife in the Flathead and surrounding areas, and to ensure that Rocky Mountain wildlife connectivity is not compromised by forestry practices and other development, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said today in a “state of conservation” report.
The state of conservation report recommends "development of a pro-active plan for enhancing connectivity” in the Flathead River Valley and adjoining areas. It also raises concerns about proposed mine expansions in southeastern British Columbia, adjacent to the Flathead, “in a corridor providing vital habitat connectivity to the Rocky Mountains World Heritage property in Alberta” [the Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks].
“Establishing a Wildlife Management Area in the B.C. Flathead and along the spine of B.C.’s southern Rocky Mountains would go a long way towards addressing the committee’s concerns,” said Wildsight spokesperson Ryland Nelson, who is attending the committee meeting in Brazil.
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society are calling for a national park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead, to complete the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, and a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat that would preserve a wildlife corridor between two World Heritage sites (Waterton-Glacier and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.)
At its annual meeting, the committee requested that Canada and the U.S. pay particular attention to the results and recommendations of a World Heritage Centre mission report, released on Monday. The mission was dispatched to the Flathead and adjoining Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site last September, following a petition by Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other conservation groups.
In summarizing the UNESCO mission report, the World Heritage Committee noted “that the entire Flathead basin, in Canada and the United States of America, is important for protecting, maintaining and buffering" the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site. It also reiterated the UNESCO mission recommendation that a “single conservation and wildlife management plan be developed for the transboundary Flathead.”
“The World Heritage Committee has said that more needs to be done, and we have the solution, “ said Sarah Cox of Sierra Club BC. “A national park in the southeastern one-third of the flathead is needed to protect Rocky Mountain wildlife.“
The committee took note “of the ongoing threats” to Waterton-Glacier from outside activities, including in B.C.s Flathead River Valley, and requested that Canada and the U.S. “jointly ensure that connectivity is considered as a key factor” in planning and environmental assessment of any development, including forestry.
Notably, at the June G-20 meeting in Toronto, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed how relevant authorities, including Environment Canada and the U.S. Department of the Interior, could help ensure the sustained protection of the Flathead River Basin.
The World Heritage Committee welcomed the February 2010 ban on Flathead mining and energy development, and also encouraged Canada and the U.S. to share their experiences in the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies with other World Heritage properties.
“Permanently protecting B.C.’s Flathead will give this Noah’s Ark for wildlife a fighting chance to adapt to climate change,” said CPAWS-BC Executive Director Chloe O’Loughlin. “A Flathead national park and Wildlife Management Area will be a priority if B.C. is truly serious about addressing climate change.”
Contact:
Ryland Nelson, Wildsight: (250) 531-0445 cell (if unreachable call Casey Brennan – 250.423.0402)
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS: (604) 685-7445 × 23
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1862 cell
Committee set to make recommendations on Waterton-Glacier
Earlier this week we broke the news on the release of the reactive monitoring mission report which was sent to the Waterton-Glacier and surrounding regions at the urging of environmental groups.
Now the World Heritage committee is set to make a series of recommendations that will guide the future management of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The decision was supposed to be adopted today, but it is now looking like it will be pushed back until tomorrow. Stay tuned to this website as I will post the decision the second it is released.
Sorry for the lack of blog posts.. internet has been hard to get a hold of here in Brasilila!
Boa Noité
Ryland
UNESCO Report Recommends Increased Flathead Protection
World Heritage Committee mission report calls for new measures to protect Flathead wildlife, plants and water
Brasilia, Brazil — A report commissioned by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is calling for a “conservation and wildlife management plan” for the transboundary Flathead and a new management plan for the Flathead River Valley that “gives priority to natural ecological values and wildlife conservation.”
“This report re-affirms what we already knew, that the Flathead’s remarkable diversity of wildlife needs increased protection,” said Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies Program Manager for Wildsight.
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other conservation groups petitioned the World Heritage Committee to draw attention to threats posed to the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site by proposed energy and mining development in the adjacent Flathead.
“We’re delighted with these recommendations,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “Now it’s time for B.C. to agree to a national park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead, so that our share of this magnificent ecosystem has the same level of protection already granted by Alberta and Montana.”
The 50-page report, released today at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, recommends:
a new B.C. Southern Rocky Mountains Management Plan “that gives priority to natural ecological values and wildlife conservation.”
Taking steps to minimize barriers to wildlife connectivity, including a long-term moratorium on further mining developments in south eastern B.C., including in the Elk Valley, “in the corridor of natural terrain that creates vital habitat connectivity and allows the unimpeded movement of carnivores and ungulates” between Waterton-Glacier and Canada’s Rocky Mountains national parks.
A single conservation and wildlife management plan for the transboundary Flathead.
Inscription of Waterton-Glacier on the list of World Heritage in Danger if development of the proposed Lodgepole coal strip mine had proceeded (the B.C. government banned Flathead mining and energy development in February 2010 after receiving a draft copy of the mission report).
The report recognizes that B.C.’s Flathead “plays a crucial role in maintaining north-south connectivity in the Rockies” It also notes that the “huge area of intact nature” in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, which includes B.C.’s Flathead, offers “the best available environment to allow resilience and adaptation for plants and animals faced with climate-induced challenges to their survival.”
“The Waterton-Glacier World Heritage property forms the core protected area in this regional ecosystem, and its natural integrity is inextricably linked with the neighbouring transboundary Flathead watershed,” says the report.
“B.C.’s Flathead is an exceptional wildlife nursery, and it has the highest density of inland grizzly bears in North America,” said Chloe O’Loughlin, Executive Director of CPAWS-BC. “This special place deserves permanent protection.”
Conservation groups are calling for a National Park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead River Valley, as an expansion of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, and a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat, to ensure wildlife connectivity between Waterton-Glacier and Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks.
Contact:
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS -BC: (604) 685-7445 × 23
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762 cell
Casey Brennan, Wildsight: (250) 423-0402 cell
UNESCO World Heritage Committee to Release Flathead Valley Report
Flathead Still Under Threat from Clear-Cut Logging and Quarrying, Say Conservation Groups
Impending clear-cut logging, mining, expanded road access and trophy hunting all threaten B.C.’s Flathead River Valley and will impact the adjoining Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, conservation groups said today.
“The B.C. government continues to allow the extraction of 20,000 tonnes of Flathead rock a year, without environmental oversight, from a quarry just outside the World Heritage Site,” said Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies Program Manager for Wildsight. “The Flathead River Valley remains under threat and is far from protected.”
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other groups successfully petitioned the World Heritage Committee last year to draw attention to energy and mining threats in the Flathead, leading to the February 2010 ban on mining and energy development. A long-awaited World Heritage Committee mission report on the Flathead will be made public during the committee’s meeting in Brasilia, which starts tomorrow.
NOTE: Ryland Nelson of Wildsight will be attending this years UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Brasilia, Brazil. Checkwww.savewatertonglacier.com for live updates.
“We hope the World Heritage mission will agree that a comprehensive transboundary wildlife management plan is urgently needed for the Flathead and adjoining habitat,” said CPAWS-BC Executive Director Chloe O’Loughlin. “B.C.’s Flathead is an exceptional wildlife nursery, and it has the highest density of inland grizzly bears in North America.”
In a June 2010 letter to the World Heritage Committee, the groups said they “remained concerned” by the lack of a binding Flathead agreement at the federal level, since either B.C. or Montana can at any time revoke commitments made in the February 2010 Memorandum of Understanding. The groups say they are also concerned by “insufficient monitoring and reporting by the state parties” of continuing threats to the World Heritage Site, as requested last year by the World Heritage Committee.
In addition to the on-going mining threat, the Flathead remains under threat from large clear-cut logging operations with extensive road building that are planned in the Flathead starting this summer, and motorized road access in the Flathead that was recently increased next to the World Heritage Site. On-going concerns also remain about the long-term viability of regional grizzly bear populations.
At the regional scale, two new coal strip mines in the adjoining Elk Valley and new coal exploration in the proposed Wildlife Management Area also pose a serious threat to wildlife connectivity.
“We’re alarmed that it’s business as usual in the Flathead, with the exception of some mining and energy development,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “It’s time for B.C. to agree to a National Park in the south eastern one-third of the Flathead.”
Sierra Club BC, Wildsight and CPAWS-BC are calling for the completion of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site with a National Park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead River Valley. The groups also urge establishment of a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the Flathead and adjoining habitat, to preserve a vital wildlife corridor stretching from the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site to Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks.
Contact:
Casey Brennan, Wildsight: (250) 423-0402
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS-BC: (604) 685-7445 x 23
Back at the World Heritage Committee Meetings, this time in Brasilia!
Hello from Brasilia, Brazil.
I have just arrived in Brasilia in preparation for the upcoming UNESCO World Heritage Committee meetings. You might remember me from last years meetings where Will Hammerquist and I represented a coalition of Canadian and US Environmental Organizations that were petitioning the committee to list the site as "in danger" due to mining threats in the Canadian Flathead River Valley. Will Hammerquist was unable to attend this year. He is already missed!
While the committee did not list the property as "in danger" they did send a fact finding mission to the site to review the concerns that we raised. The report from this mission will be released at the meetings next week. Amongst other things it is expected to rule that mining and oil and gas development in the Flathead River Valley would put Waterton-Glacier "in danger". The committee will present this report and make a list of recommendations to ensure the protection of the International Peace Park.
Also at last years meetings the committee requested Canada and the US to submit a "State of Conservation" that included reporting on industrial developments in the greater crown of the continent ecosystem. While this was done the state parties neglected to report on pretty much anything outside of the park boundaries. What do they have to hide from the committee?
Stay tuned for live blog updates from Brazil for instant updates.
If you want to understand what is going on…. Read this!
This is the letter we sent to the World Heritage Committee in June 2010 updating them on what is actually going on around Waterton-Glacier
June 10, 2010TO: Francesco Bandarin Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre 7 Place de Fontenoy 75532 Paris 07 SP FRANCE Email: F.Bandarin@unesco.orgCC: Mr João Luiz Silva Ferreira, Chair, World Heritage Committee; dl.brazil@unesco- delegations.org Ms. Mechtild Rossler, Chief of Section, World Heritage Centre; M.Rossler@unesco.org Mr. Kishore Rao, Deputy Director, World Heritage Centre; K.Rao@unesco.orgMr. Paul Dingwall, Science Advisor, The World Conservation Union; dingwall@paradise.net.nzDear Mr. Bandarin and colleagues:We submit this update on behalf of the international coalition of conservation organizations from the United States and Canada that have petitioned since 2008 to have Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park added to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger due to threats from mining and energy development.We are very pleased that the 2009 mission of the World Heritage Committee’s Advisory Bodies was instrumental in convincing British Columbia and Montana to announce plans to ban mining and energy development in the Transboundary Flathead River watershed earlier this year. This is a tremendous step forward in the ongoing efforts to conserve the Crown of the Continent ecosystem and outstanding universal values (OUVs) of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage site. As a result, at this time, we are no longer petitioning to add Waterton-Glacier to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.However, we remain concerned by the following, continuing threats to the OUVs of the World Heritage site, and have detailed our concerns in the attached addendum. In summary, we remained concerned by:••The permanence of the proposed measures in the Flathead Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between British Columbia and Montana of February 2010. At this time, there is no binding international agreement between the state parties at the federal level; as such, either party may revoke commitments in the BC/MT MOU unilaterally, at any time.Insufficient monitoring and reporting by the states parties of continuing threats to the World Heritage Site, as explicitly requested by the World Heritage Committee Decision 33COM 7B.22 paragraph 12. The decision requests the states parties to report on developments in the broader Crown of the Continent ecosystem. The State of Conservation report submitted by the states parties on April 1, 2010 failed to report on many industrial developments in the ecosystem, including:o Large clearcut logging operations with extensive road building in the British Columbia Flathead River Valley and Alberta’s Castle Wilderness Area, slated to begin this summer.o Specific exemption in the MOU that allows for decorative rock quarrying throughout the Flathead Watershed.o Increased motorized access on roads adjacent to the World Heritage site in the proposed national park expansion area in the southeastern 1/3 of the Canadian Flathead on roads previously closed to protect environmental values.o Threats to ecological connectivity between Waterton-Glacier WHS and the Canadian Rocky Mountain WHS with vast expansions of open-pit coal mining in the Elk Valley; included are a proposal for two new open-pit mines submitted to the BC Environmental Assessment Office in August 2009, and the expansion of an existing mine by 650 hectares that will not be required to undergo an environmental assessment.o Issuing of permits for coalbed methane exploration in March, 2010 to BP for its Mist Mountain project in the Elk Valley.o New and continuing coal exploration programs at Bingay Creek, Maarten-Wheeler Ridge and Coal Creek in the Elk Valley.o Planned expansion of the Spoklie Gravel Pit, half a kilometer from the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. in the United States.o The drilling of eight new oil exploration wells by Newfield Production Company on the Blackfeet Nation Reservation adjacent to Glacier National Park in the United States.o Potential upgrading of road access to the United States portion of the Transboundary Flathead River Valley adjacent to the western boundary of Glacier National Park.o Ongoing concerns with long-term viability of regional grizzly bear populations, as demonstrated by a recent decision by the Province of Alberta to join Montana in listing grizzlies as an endangered species, while BC continues to allow for recreational and commercial bear hunting in the region.In light of the above-mentioned threats, we urge the 34th Session of the World Heritage Committee to request that the states parties take the following actions to ensure the long-term protection of the site’s OUVs and ecological connectivity:••Implement a formal, binding international agreement at the federal level that permanently protects the Transboundary Flathead River Valley from mining and oil and gas extraction and provides the framework for the development of a joint watershed conservation plan for the region, as recommended by the International Joint Commission in 1988 under the bilateral Boundary Waters Treaty.In conjunction with the second periodic review of North American World Heritage sites, submit revised statements of Outstanding Universal Values that:o Adhere to WHC Operational Guideline Para. 155 and specifically identify the requirements for protection and management in force.o Include all substantive management recommendations and findings from the 2009 WHC monitoring mission conducted under WHC Operational Guideline Para. 172 and requested by WHC Decision 33 COM 7B.22.o Provide management and protection requirements and specific long-term expectations for maintaining OUVs in the context of sustaining habitat and wildlife migration connectivity between Waterton-Glacier and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WHS and throughout the greater Crown of the Continent ecosystem.o Require enhanced reporting on activities/threats in the greater Crown of the Continent Ecosystem that includes a mechanism for ongoing assessments of accuracy by the WHC.Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments.June 10, 2010
TO: Francesco Bandarin Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre 7 Place de Fontenoy 75532 Paris 07 SP FRANCE Email: F.Bandarin@unesco.org
CC: Mr João Luiz Silva Ferreira, Chair, World Heritage Committee; dl.brazil@unesco- delegations.org Ms. Mechtild Rossler, Chief of Section, World Heritage Centre; M.Rossler@unesco.org Mr. Kishore Rao, Deputy Director, World Heritage Centre; K.Rao@unesco.org
Mr. Paul Dingwall, Science Advisor, The World Conservation Union; dingwall@paradise.net.nz
Dear Mr. Bandarin and colleagues:
We submit this update on behalf of the international coalition of conservation organizations from the United States and Canada that have petitioned since 2008 to have Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park added to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger due to threats from mining and energy development.
We are very pleased that the 2009 mission of the World Heritage Committee’s Advisory Bodies was instrumental in convincing British Columbia and Montana to announce plans to ban mining and energy development in the Transboundary Flathead River watershed earlier this year. This is a tremendous step forward in the ongoing efforts to conserve the Crown of the Continent ecosystem and outstanding universal values (OUVs) of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage site. As a result, at this time, we are no longer petitioning to add Waterton-Glacier to the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger.
However, we remain concerned by the following, continuing threats to the OUVs of the World Heritage site, and have detailed our concerns in the attached addendum. In summary, we remained concerned by:
The permanence of the proposed measures in the Flathead Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between British Columbia and Montana of February 2010. At this time, there is no binding international agreement between the state parties at the federal level; as such, either party may revoke commitments in the BC/MT MOU unilaterally, at any time.
Insufficient monitoring and reporting by the states parties of continuing threats to the World Heritage Site, as explicitly requested by the World Heritage Committee Decision 33COM 7B.22 paragraph 12. The decision requests the states parties to report on developments in the broader Crown of the Continent ecosystem. The State of Conservation report submitted by the states parties on April 1, 2010 failed to report on many industrial developments in the ecosystem, including:
o Large clearcut logging operations with extensive road building in the British Columbia Flathead River Valley and Alberta’s Castle Wilderness Area, slated to begin this summer.
o Specific exemption in the MOU that allows for decorative rock quarrying throughout the Flathead Watershed.
o Increased motorized access on roads adjacent to the World Heritage site in the proposed national park expansion area in the southeastern 1/3 of the Canadian Flathead on roads previously closed to protect environmental values.
o Threats to ecological connectivity between Waterton-Glacier WHS and the Canadian Rocky Mountain WHS with vast expansions of open-pit coal mining in the Elk Valley; included are a proposal for two new open-pit mines submitted to the BC Environmental Assessment Office in August 2009, and the expansion of an existing mine by 650 hectares that will not be required to undergo an environmental assessment.
o Issuing of permits for coalbed methane exploration in March, 2010 to BP for its Mist Mountain project in the Elk Valley.
o New and continuing coal exploration programs at Bingay Creek, Maarten-Wheeler Ridge and Coal Creek in the Elk Valley.
o Planned expansion of the Spoklie Gravel Pit, half a kilometer from the southern boundary of Glacier National Park. in the United States.
o The drilling of eight new oil exploration wells by Newfield Production Company on the Blackfeet Nation Reservation adjacent to Glacier National Park in the United States.
o Potential upgrading of road access to the United States portion of the Transboundary Flathead River Valley adjacent to the western boundary of Glacier National Park.
o Ongoing concerns with long-term viability of regional grizzly bear populations, as demonstrated by a recent decision by the Province of Alberta to join Montana in listing grizzlies as an endangered species, while BC continues to allow for recreational and commercial bear hunting in the region.
In light of the above-mentioned threats, we urge the 34th Session of the World Heritage Committee to request that the states parties take the following actions to ensure the long-term protection of the site’s OUVs and ecological connectivity:
Implement a formal, binding international agreement at the federal level that permanently protects the Transboundary Flathead River Valley from mining and oil and gas extraction and provides the framework for the development of a joint watershed conservation plan for the region, as recommended by the International Joint Commission in 1988 under the bilateral Boundary Waters Treaty.
In conjunction with the second periodic review of North American World Heritage sites, submit revised statements of Outstanding Universal Values that:
o Adhere to WHC Operational Guideline Para. 155 and specifically identify the requirements for protection and management in force.
o Include all substantive management recommendations and findings from the 2009 WHC monitoring mission conducted under WHC Operational Guideline Para. 172 and requested by WHC Decision 33 COM 7B.22.
o Provide management and protection requirements and specific long-term expectations for maintaining OUVs in the context of sustaining habitat and wildlife migration connectivity between Waterton-Glacier and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WHS and throughout the greater Crown of the Continent ecosystem.
o Require enhanced reporting on activities/threats in the greater Crown of the Continent Ecosystem that includes a mechanism for ongoing assessments of accuracy by the WHC.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments.
Waterton-Glacier as the Climate Changes
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the greater Crown of the Continent Ecosystem will become an "ark" as the climate warms and plants and animals species are forced to move farther north and to higher elevations.
This post is part of the global blog action day for Climate Change - www.blogactionday.org
World Heritage Meetings Overview
Media Stories on the UNESCO Decision-
Some news clips from across North America on the UNESCO decision:
In Canada, Kelly Cryderman at the Calgary Herarld has a smart piece on the role science will play in the UNESCO mission. Colleen Kimmett at the BC-based online news source thetyree.ca has a nice piece with quotes from Ryland and Chloe Loughlin at the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. Larry Pynn of the Vancouver Sun has a short piece here.
In Montana, Dan Testa at the Flathead Beacon got ahold of me on Friday via Skype. We had a good chat and the Beacon may have been the first media to break the story in either country. I also chatted with Missoulian city editor Gwen Florio (covering for Michael Jamison who along with Mark Hume at the Globe & Mail is one the reporters of record on this issue). Gwen's story is here.
The Associated and Canadian Press both ran a very similar story across the wire in both the United States and Canada. It is concise piece that provides an accurate summary the UN action.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – 1 day ago
HELENA, Mont. — UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has voted to send representatives to Canada to investigate threats to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park posed by energy and mining proposals in southeastern British Columbia.
The 21-member committee, meeting in Seville, Spain, unanimously adopted a resolution Friday expressing concern about potential coal and coal-bed methane extraction the headwaters of the Flathead and asking the governments of the United States and Canada to work together to prepare a report on the development threats by Feb. 1, 2010.
"This is an important step forward," said Will Hammerquist of the National Parks Conservation Association, who attended the meeting. "Today the United Nations recognized that both Canada and the United States have a global responsibility to protect Waterton-Glacier, the world's first international peace park."
The committee's decision was in response to a petition written by Earthjustice on behalf of 11 environmental groups in the U.S. and Canada, asking that the peace park be declared a World Heritage site in Danger.
The UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Waterton-Glacier a World Heritage site in 1995, a designation bestowed on 878 places worldwide that recognizes extraordinary cultural or natural resources. An endangered designation can heighten sensitivity about a locale and raise its profile. About 30 sites have been so recognized.
An unsuccessful petition for endangered status a few years ago presented concern about climate change and its effects on the parks, which feature stunning alpine scenery and extraordinary wildlife habitat. The new petition is tied to potential coal and coal-bed methane extraction.
The NPCA and Wildsight, one of the 11 petitioning groups, say water pollution in Waterton-Glacier is among the risks from potential coal mining and coal-bed methane work in southeastern British Columbia. The Flathead River system spans the international border and the North Fork of the Flathead forms Glacier's western boundary.
"There are world class national parks on both sides of the border that would be polluted by industrial development in the Canadian Flathead," said Jessica Lawrence of Earthjustice.
Officials in the provincial government have said no projects will be permitted without meeting rigorous environmental requirements.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.