Federal budget 2012: Conservation program will get $50 million over two years
21.05.12
Ian Davidson understands the Greater Sage-Grouse is but a minor concern these days for Canadians.
Whittled down to a tiny population in Alberta and Saskatchewan, as the expanding oil industry invades their natural habitat, the turkey-like birds are on the brink.
But after Thursday’s federal budget announcement, it looks like the birds, which reportedly number fewer than 60 in the two prairie provinces, have a fighting chance.
Under the proposed Economic Action Plan, the federal government will pledge $50 million over two years to buttress the 2003 Species at Risk Act, one of the government’s signature pieces of conservation legislation. The act supports government’s Species at Risk Program, which helps preserve and recover threatened species. Since 2007 it has received $25 million annually.
“It’s very surprising news,” said Davidson, who had expected a proposed decrease in funding for conservation initiatives. “The impact is very positive, in that naturalist organizations (like Ontario Nature) can continue to receive money for species at risk conservation across the country.”
Source: Toronto Star