Keep it Wild education report outlines plan to meet, surpass global protected areas goals

Today the Wilderness Committee released their new education report - Keep it Wild! A Conservation Vision for Manitoba - a path forward to preserve the province’s wilderness and surpass the global goal of protecting 17 per cent of Manitoba lands and waters by 2020.

“Manitobans support protecting our amazing wilderness, and this report is the vision and path on how to do just that,” said Eric Reder, Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee.

The report calls on government to work harder to facilitate protection requests from all indigenous communities across Manitoba.

“The establishment of tribal parks and traditional territories protected from development according to the wishes of indigenous communities is at the forefront of our vision,” said Reder.

Click here to read the report now.

In the northern boreal forest, preservation opportunities are abundant, yet government and industry action on new protected areas has been nonexistent. Woodland caribou, a threatened species both nationally and provincially, have not been taken care of in their northern forest home.

“The public forest controlled by Tolko Industries is an area we need to see the most protected areas gains,” said Reder. “Care of threatened woodland caribou in that region has been abysmal.”

The ecosystem surrounding Hudson Bay is vast and relatively undeveloped, but is also fragile and at risk from a quickly warming climate. Protecting it is an essential piece in meeting Manitoba’s protected area goals.

“Manitoba’s new government has great conservation opportunities, as we’ve outlined in this report,” said Reder. “We hope that they get quickly to work on preserving our wonderful wilderness.