[NatureNS] Reserve in the S. Okanagan-Similikameen Valleys

Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:58:03 -0300
From: Anne Mills <ocotillo@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: naturens <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
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>
>
>> From: intern@wcwcvictoria.org
>> To: ccron72@hotmail.com
>> Subject: Attention Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society!
>> Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:01:02 -0700
>>
>> Dear Charles Cron,
>>
>> My name is Sonja and I am an intern at Western Canada Wilderness 
>> Committee at their Victoria office. We are seeking your help to 
>> create a National Park Reserve in the South Okanagen - Similkameen 
>> Valleys to protect BC’s grasslands, forests, and Canada’s only pocket 
>> desert.
>>
>> This fall the government will decide whether or not the proposed park 
>> comes to fruition.. With your help, we could get enough signatures on 
>> the petition to help in this regard. Posting the petition on your 
>> web-site and circulating it through your e-newsletters are ways in 
>> which you can help us get much-needed signatures, as well as simply 
>> signing the petition yourself and your staff. You could also write a 
>> letter on behalf of your organization to BC’s Premier Gordon Campbell 
>> and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
>>
>> Below is an action alert to guide you. Thank you! Your help will be 
>> VITAL in ensuring that we don’t miss out on Canada’s greatest 
>> conservation opportunity!
>>
>> Sonja Futehally
>> Wilderness Committee Intern
>> -----------------
>> Help Establish a Sizeable Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve!
>>
>>
>> PETITION DRIVE needs YOUR help!! www.okanaganpetition.org
>>
>> Currently, Canadians are being presented with one of the most 
>> exceptional conservation opportunities in our history. The BC and 
>> federal governments have agreed to undertake Feasibility Study for a 
>> potential national park reserve to protect the desert, grasslands, 
>> and Ponderosa pine ecosystems of the South Okanagan and Similkameen 
>> Valleys in southern British Columbia. The local residents and the 
>> millions of Canadians who've visited the area know it is perhaps the 
>> most beautiful region of the country. Whether the national park 
>> reserve becomes a reality - or a lost opportunity - depends on YOUR 
>> input and the input of all Canadians.
>>
>> This region, around the towns of Osoyoos, Oliver, Keremeos and 
>> Cawston, has more species at risk than any other region of BC. Canyon 
>> wrens, white-headed woodpeckers, badgers, California bighorn sheep, 
>> tiger salamanders, spadefoot toads, pallid bats, spotted bats, 
>> scorpions, and rattlesnakes all inhabit the area. A national park 
>> here would encompass a greater diversity of ecosystems than any 
>> national park in Canada - 6 of BC's 14 major ecosystem types 
>> ("biogeoclimatic zones") are found in this little region.
>> National parks are very rare - there are only 7 national parks in BC, 
>> in contrast to 1000 provincial parks and protected areas here. 
>> National parks tend to be much larger than provincial parks and have 
>> the highest standards of environmental protection. A national park 
>> reserve in the South Okanagan-Similkameen region would be the 
>> greatest conservation opportunity for a region that is the greatest 
>> conservation priority in Canada right now.
>>
>> Anyone who lives in North America knows that national parks greatly 
>> enhance local economies by increasing tourism revenues and providing 
>> local jobs, not to mention increasing the environmental quality of 
>> life for local people and all Canadians.
>> This proposed park - a once in a lifetime opportunity - will only 
>> become a reality if enough Canadians speak up to the political 
>> decision-makers!
>>
>> Petition Drive needs YOUR help!
>>
>> Currently, we have about 4000 signatures on our petition to the 
>> federal government for the proposed national park reserve. Our goal 
>> is 10,000 signatures by Sept.31. YOUR help is vital to make this 
>> happen! This fall, the federal government will make a decision on 
>> whether or not the park will become a reality.
>>
>> Please sign our online petition and most importantly, download and 
>> circulate the petition among neighbors, passersby on the street, 
>> friends, family, classmates, coworkers, in your business (if you own 
>> one), at your church, etc. and then return the copies to us (return 
>> address at the bottom of the petition).
>>
>> Sign online and download hardcopies to circulate, and find out more, at:
>> www.okanaganpetition.org
>>
>>
>> Also, Please Write a Letter!:
>> Please write to the governments of Canada and British Columbia and 
>> let them know whether or not you want them to commit to the 
>> establishment of a sizeable national park reserve in the South 
>> Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys that:
>>
>> Upholds the standard of protection afforded by the National Parks Act 
>> that forbids ranching, hunting, logging, and mining on national park 
>> reserve lands.
>>
>> Encompasses at least 100 000 hectares of currently unprotected Crown 
>> lands as well as existing provincial protected areas in the 
>> grasslands and forests of the region.
>>
>> Includes a $50 million parks acquisition fund to purchase private 
>> lands from willing sellers, to buy out grazing leases from willing 
>> sellers on Crown lands, and to provide conservation financing options 
>> for local First Nations.
>>
>>
>> Encompasses the Vaseux Lake / White Lake region which contains the 
>> rarest, low elevation habitats in the proposal.
>>
>> Write to:
>>
>> Prime Minister Stephen Harper
>> 80 Wellington St.
>> Ottawa, ONT K1A 0A2
>> Fax: 613-941-6900
>> Pm@pm.gc.ca
>> (No postage needed if mailed in Canada)
>>
>> Premier Gordon Campbell
>> Legislative Buildings
>> Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
>> Fax: 250-387-0087
>> Premier@gov.bc.ca
>> (Postage is required)
>>
>> Be sure to include your mailing address.
>> Thank you for taking a stand for this most exceptional part of 
>> Canada's heritage!
>> For further information please contact:
>> Western Canada Wilderness Committee
>> 651 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1M7
>> Phone:(250) 388-9292
>> Fax: (250) 388-9223
>> Email: info@wcwcvictoria.org
>> Website: www.wcwcvictoria.org
>>
>>

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