Wildlife in crisis
From the Mainland Moose to the American Marten, Nova Scotia’s endangered species need our help.
But we can’t protect these species if we don’t protect their habitats.
- WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report details an average 73% decline in wildlife populations since 1970
- 9 billion birds have been lost in North America since the 1970s
- One in five wild species is in some danger of disappearing from Canada
- From the largest whale to the smallest rodent, wild mammals now only make up 5% of the world’s mammal biomass.
- Globally, species are going extinct 1,000 times faster than in-pre human times
At home and abroad, habitat loss is the leading threat to biodiversity.
- Less than 1% of forests in Nova Scotia are old growth
- Over 95% of floodplain forests in Nova Scotia have been destroyed
- An estimated 50% of freshwater wetlands and salt marshes have been lost in Nova Scotia since European settlement
But conservation measures can make a big difference. Legally protecting the remaining large, rich, connected ecosystems can support biodiversity within and between protected areas. This is a necessary measure to stem the tide of biodiversity loss here at home.
As you can see on the interactive map, many of the community-proposed protected areas would adjoin or connect existing protected areas. Landscape-level connectivity is critically important for the genetic health of wildlife species, especially species that are already endangered.
On the chopping block: community-proposed protected areas at risk
A number of community-proposed protected areas are seemingly being targeted (especially in southwest Nova Scotia) for industrial forestry, including High-Production Forestry. Many communities are concerned that this appears to be a deliberate tactic to extract resources from the sites before they can be adequately studied and legally protected.
The Houston government has been advancing forestry in proposed community-protected areas like Beals Brook (Annapolis County), Chain Lakes Wilderness Area (Kings County), Goldsmith Lake Wilderness Area (Annapolis County), Ingram River Wilderness Area (Halifax and Hants Counties), and the Tidney River Wilderness Area Addition (Queens County).
This isn’t just a problem; it’s a pattern. The government should not be prioritizing resource extraction over conservation in community-proposed protected areas.
On the edge of extinction
The Nova Scotia government also approved the Caribou Lake Quarry Project in Lunenburg County, even though the watershed provides Bridgewater’s drinking water and a critically important habitat for the last wild population of the endangered Atlantic Whitefish on Earth.
The Bridgewater Watershed Protection Alliance’s application to protect the proposed Minamkeak Lake/Petite Riviere Wilderness Area predated the quarry application, yet the quarry is moving ahead, and conservation isn’t.
If the Nova Scotia government can’t protect the last wild population of a species on the planet, then how can we trust them to advance nature conservation?