A huge win for migratory bird protection
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
We won! You made this happen!
Hi Paov,
Last year, we were in court fighting to protect the habitat of a small but mighty threatened bird, the marbled murrelet. And guess what — we won!
This court case would not have happened without your action. Thank you!
In the summer of 2021, members of the public told us about marbled murrelets flying overhead in Ada’itsx (Fairy Creek). This prompted us to hire expert Bernard Schroeder to investigate potential nesting sites of these threatened seabirds. He found over 300 detections of the bird atop an old-growth forest at risk of being logged.
We sprung to action!... We gave this information to the federal and B.C. government, calling for a pause on logging until a proper nest survey was conducted. But they ignored our plea and the logging company moved in to log the habitat the following week. This enraged the public and fuelled them to take action, demanding the government halt the logging and do better for species at risk in the area.
The federal government felt the heat and released a statement saying they were only responsible for protecting nests of at-risk migratory birds under the Species at Risk Act. Our lawyers at Ecojustice knew otherwise, so we decided to challenge this statement in court.
Representing us and our friends at Sierra Club BC, they contended the government had unlawfully limited its responsibility to protect at-risk bird habitat by only protecting nests. They argued the law requires the federal environment minister to ensure wider habitat protection that at-risk migratory birds need to survive and recover.
Late last month, the court agreed! The judge ruled the federal environment minister had failed to ensure the protection of critical habitat of at-risk migratory birds across the country, as required by law. Now, the federal environment minister has to redetermine how he will ensure the protection of broader at-risk migratory bird habitat beyond their nests.
This win will not only benefit the marbled murrelet, but every other at-risk migratory bird across Canada!
This huge precedent setting case would not have happened without you. And we will keep fighting for wildlife and their habitat.
Woot woot!
For the wild,
Charlotte Dawe Conservation and Policy Campaigner
Wilderness Committee
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