National Wildlife Week Plants a Message about Habitat Loss

The Canadian Wildlife Federation is showcasing the value of native plants as part of this year’s National Wildlife Week celebrations April 5th to 11th. The campaign encourages Canadians to conserve and protect  “Our Home and Native Plants” because habitat loss is putting many species at risk.

“Critical habitat has to be protected,” said Wade Luzny, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. “Many creatures depend on the presence of native vegetation for their survival, including rare and endangered species. Many butterflies, songbirds, shorebirds, amphibians, waterfowl and mammals are at risk because of disappearing habitat.” For example:

• Disappearing native prairie has put the swift fox on the endangered list as the fox’s habitat has vastly diminished.
• The least bittern, the smallest of the North American herons, is threatened in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick since invasive plant species have been introduced and humans have started draining wetlands and tampering with shorelines.
• Manitoba prairie skinks, small, slender lizards, are endangered due to agriculture, urbanization and road construction that have reduced the mixed grass prairies and sandy soil they survive on.
• The Eastern prickly pear cactus of southwestern Ontario has been listed as endangered partly due to people collecting the plant for horticultural uses.
• Destroying grassy meadows has put the golden paintbrush, a perennial herb of southeastern Vancouver Island and two and adjacent Gulf Islands, on the endangered list.
• Since goldenseal has been harvested for medicinal purposes, its numbers have dwindled and this beautiful plant is now threatened. Moreover, the southern Ontario perennial herb is losing habitat partly due to development.

“Native plants have the advantage of thousands of years of adaptation to Canadian conditions. Through natural selection, they have co-evolved with local wildlife and have developed defense mechanisms to survive among Canadian herbivores and insects without the need for harmful pesticides and fertilizers,” said Luzny. “Canada has thousands of identified native plant species but more than a quarter of them could be lost forever if we don’t take action. Meanwhile foreign species can invade Canada’s wilderness, damaging vital natural ecosystems. We can all be part of the solution by helping to conserve and protect native plants.”

National Wildlife Week is celebrated each year during the week surrounding April 10th in honour of the late Jack Miner, who was instrumental in founding Canada’s conservation movement and is credited with saving Canada Geese from extinction. For more information about native plants and what CWF is doing to protect habitat visit nationalwildlifeweek.ca.

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About the Canadian Wildlife Federation

The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering awareness and appreciation of our natural world. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on the environment, sponsoring research, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources, recommending policy changes and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature.

Contact

Heather Robison
Media Relations Officer
(306) 550-4155
heatherr@cwf-fcf.org