Mission Possible
Acentral part of our mission at the Canadian Wildlife Federation is to “inspire the conservation of Canada’s wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all.” There are many reasons for this, but most important is that our society has taken our natural world for granted and consumes more natural resources than the planet can renew.
While we can aspire to economic growth, good health and many social goals, our society’s progress is underpinned by our natural resources and the quality of our environment. Economic growth and social well-being cannot happen if we destroy the sources of water we drink and food we eat and the areas we inhabit. Globally, the loss of biological diversity has begun to set off alarm bells. In Canada, more than 600 species are listed in some form of “at risk,” and habitat loss and degradation is extreme in many key areas.
Since 1962, CWF’S work has been based on a simple premise: each one of us has the ability to make a difference. Never in our organization’s 57-year history has our mission been more important. We need to redouble our work to communicate and demonstrate the multiple values of nature and the benefits it provides to society. We also need to broaden the impact of our work to conserve and restore species and critical habitat and to ensure government policy helps stop the loss.
Another important task here at CWF is to inspire action. During National Wildlife Week in April, we launched #Domoreforwildlife, engaging Canadians everywhere to tell us what they are doing to conserve Canadian wildlife. Check it out on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and for much more information, I encourage you to visit the CWF website Canadianwildlifefederation.ca. Our inaturalist is a citizen-science app that helps people across the country record observations and identify wildlife, often as part of work to gather information on the range or population of a specific species. Other programs help people take action for monarchs, turtles, bats and many other species.
One example of an issue that nearly 100,000 CWF supporters have taken action on is neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides. These pesticides have toxic effects on a wide
range of insects, in turn affecting other wildlife through the food chain. We are working to educate people about neonics, why they should be replaced and what each of us can do to make that happen. On page 14, CWF senior conservation biologist (and passionate nature-lover) Carolyn Callaghan offers a thorough and sobering account of the work she is doing in this area and why it is so timely and important. After you have taken a look at her article, I invite you to visit our website and learn more about Ban With a Plan, a five-step initiative to remove this immediate threat to the world’s essential pollinators. Carolyn is also the CWF lead on an exciting, complementary pilot project to help recover monarch butterflies. She is collaborating with Ontario Hydro, the National Capital Commission and Lanark County to pilot an innovative test of how to control invasive species without toxic herbicides by creating native meadowlands on roadsides and rights-of-way.
None of this work would be possible without the commitment, energy and financial support of countless volunteers, partners and passionate outdoorspeople across this country. Thank you for your involvement in conservation — together we can accomplish our mission.