Federation

The Canadian Wildlife Federation also provides financial support to charitable organizations, students, researchers and schools undertaking deserving research or habitat projects throughout the year. The following are projects funded by the Federation in the 2009/2010 fiscal year:

Canadian Conservation Research Fellowship
$10,000
The Calgary Zoo’s Canadian Conservation Research Fellowship offers one graduate or undergraduate student the opportunity to participate in a 10-month research fellowship in the field of conservation biology. The fellowship offers recipients the opportunity to receive training in conservation techniques and conservation logistics, as well as giving them field experience.

Black-footed Ferret
$15,000
The Calgary Zoo is also investing its efforts to help regain black-footed ferret populations in Canada. Researchers are studying prairie dog sustainability (the primary prey of the black-footed ferret) in order to find and prioritize prime locations for black-footed ferret releases in Canada.

Effects of Roads on Species at Risk
$8,000
Southern Ontario is home to the greatest biodiversity in Canada as well as the greatest human population and number of roads in Canada. An astounding 46 per cent of species at risk have felt the negative effects of roads. Over the next 20 years, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will be extending expressways. The Toronto Zoo is helping to ensure these extensions will have a minimal impact on wildlife by using a geographic information system to predict which locations would have the highest number of interactions between motorists and wildlife in southern Ontario.

Monarch Butterfly
$10,500
The Fondation Écologique du Grand Montréal works on the restoration of the Marcel Laurin urban forest in Montreal to help reinforce urban populations of small species like the little brown bat and the monarch butterfly. CWF’s funding is dedicated to the restoration of the monarch’s habitat and includes the elimination of invasive species and the plantation of indigenous varieties of trees, bushes and flowering plants, as well as the installation of butterfly boxes. The project will restore original habitats, create a green corridor and help teach the public about the importance of conserving urban habitats for wildlife.

Volunteer Habitat Lands Stewardship
$5,000
The Alberta Fish & Game Association’s Volunteer Habitat Lands Stewardship project works to conserve and manage habitat that will in turn preserve fish and wildlife in the Alberta wild for years to come.

Native Plants
$1,000
CWF is supporting the creation of a native plant program at the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in Whistler, British Columbia.

Innu Communities
$6,000
L’Agence Mamu Innu Kaikusseht (AMIK) is working to acquire more information about the populations of species in their northern distribution. These species include the barrow’s goldeneye, harlequin duck, Atlantic walrus, leatherback seaturtle, American eel, Atlantic cod, North Atlantic right whale and polar bear.

Climate Change Effects on Fish and Wildlife
$3,000
Forrex’s climate change adaptation conference held at the University of Victoria in June of 2009 was organized to discuss the direct and indirect impacts that climate change has on wildlife as well as the options for adaptation.

Footprint Project
$4,800
Each year, CWF leaves a lasting “footprint” in the city of its AGM. This year, CWF funded the creation of a naturalized walking trail alongside the Yukon River, entitled the Canadian Wildlife Federation Loop. This loop will inform the public on beaver, salmon, bald eagle and grayling activities along the Millennium Trail.

Chronic Wasting Disease
$10,000
Poorly understood diseases, such as chronic wasting disease, can persist in the environment, are contagious and are therefore extremely difficult to control. CWD is a disease in the same family as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”), but it affects members of the deer and elk family. The cases of CWD in the wild are most likely the result of spillover from infected game farms. In 2009, CWF funded important research on CWD by the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, a leader in wildlife health science. CWF also funded a socio-economic analysis of the management of CWD to help inform future management decisions.

Migratory Caribou
$40,000
The Quebec Outfitters Federation is working with Laval University to administer a research program that will study the impact of industrial activities and climate change on the population dynamics and use of space by migratory caribou living in the Quebec-Labrador region.