Protecting threatened species in the Northern Green Mountains of southern Quebec

EASTMAN, QC , Sept. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Government of Canada invests in one of the largest relatively undisturbed temperate forests in the world

Canada's wildlife and its habitat are in crisis. Addressing the triple planetary crisis of rapid biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution starts with protecting nature. To protect and restore Canada's natural environments, collaboration between the provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, and other partners is essential.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced an investment of $2.19 million to Appalachian Corridor over the next three years. The funding will help protect and recover species at risk by reducing threats that they face and enhancing their habitats in the Northern Green Mountains region of southern Quebec. This investment is under the Community-Nominated Priority Places program and almost doubles the initial $2.4 million granted between 2019 and 2023 for the first phase of this project.

The project will support infrastructure to reduce conflicts with wildlife (including species at risk) on a major highway crossing and provide opportunities for community members to increase their environmental awareness. The Northern Green Mountains natural area is part of one of the largest tracts of relatively undisturbed temperate forest in the world, and is home to 26 species at risk, including the Bicknell's Thrush, the Wood Turtle, the Spring Salamander, the Monarch Butterfly, and the Butternut.

Community-Nominated Priority Places support areas of high biodiversity across Canada where conservation actions have the potential to benefit a large number of species at risk. Seventeen projects are receiving renewed funding, totalling $19.7 million over the next three years.

The Government of Canada is strongly committed to taking concrete action to protect nature and contribute to the global biodiversity targets set at COP15. With the adoption of the Kunming?Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, our country is working to preserve nature on a global scale, to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, and to put natural environments on a path to recovery by 2050.

"As we face the triple crisis of rapid biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, Canadians are stepping up and working together to ensure that the places they love are protected. Our Government launched the Community-Nominated Priority Places program to support the efforts of communities like this across the country. Partners like Appalachian Corridor are helping protect habitats and species at risk for future generations."
? The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Our intentions on climate change have always been very clear: we need to do more, and we need to act now. That is what our government is doing by investing in the protection of species at risk and their habitats. This collaboration with our local environmental stakeholders is crucial to our efforts to protect our environment. I am proud that a project by Appalachian Corridor, an organization in Brome?Missisquoi, has been selected for this program. Our collaboration over the past few years has resulted in major conservation projects for our community, and I am sure that this is just the beginning."
? The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Member of Parliament for Brome?Missisquoi and Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Managing an initiative such as Community-Nominated Priority Places in the Green Mountains means having the opportunity to combine the strengths of many partners in our region, with complementary angles of intervention and varied expertise to maximize the impacts for nature. This extensive collaboration with nearly 40 partners enables us to take concrete action that makes a real difference for species at risk. Nature is precious, but very fragile. And the threats to it are ever increasing. Now, more than ever, we need major alliances to reverse the loss of biodiversity. We thank Environment and Climate Change Canada for trusting us and being an ally in this initiative." 
? Mélanie Lelièvre, Executive Director, Appalachian Corridor

• The Enhanced Nature Legacy's Community-Nominated Priority Places program supports the advancement of partnerships and initiatives where communities come together to achieve long-lasting and sustainable protection for the recovery of species at risk and their habitats.
• Since 2019 and through 2026, the Government of Canada will invest $40.3 million across 18 Community-Nominated Priority Places. They cover more than 19 million hectares and are expected to benefit over 125 listed species at risk.
• The first round of funding for this initiative was announced in 2019 under the Canada Nature Fund.
• These community-led projects complement ongoing species at risk conservation in 11 priority places previously identified by federal, provincial, and territorial governments under the Pan?Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada.

• Community-Nominated Priority Places Projects

• Appalachian Corridor
• Priority Places for Species at Risk
• Priority Places Designated Under the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada