October 7, 2013
Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreements Signed
in Frenchman’s Cove and Garnish
Today, the towns of Frenchman’s Cove and Garnish demonstrated their commitment to protecting valuable wetland and coastal habitat by officially signing new Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreements.
The Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Environment and Conservation, was joined by the Honourable Darin King, Minister of Justice and MHA for Grand Bank, and Mayors Donna Cluett of Frenchman’s Cove, and Reuben Noseworthy of Garnish at a ceremony in Frenchman’s Cove.
“I am so encouraged by the initiative these towns are demonstrating to conserve valuable wildlife habitat found right on their doorsteps,” said Minister Hedderson. “The attitudes and actions of these community leaders set an example for the residents about the vital role of sustaining and conserving our waterfowl and other wildlife.”
Minister King congratulated the towns of Frenchman’s Cove and Garnish for their commitment to the environment.
“The true strength of a stewardship agreement lies in the empowerment of local residents to conserve and enhance local wildlife habitats and to act as responsible stewards of the environment,” said Minister King. “I applaud these towns for their commitment to their surroundings.”
The two agreements signed today bring the total number of Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreements to 32 throughout the province.
“We are so pleased to join with the ministers today to sign such an important document for our town,” said Mayor Cluett. “We accept our role as environmental stewards and take it very seriously.”
The Municipal Stewardship Program is unique to Newfoundland and Labrador. The program was developed to encourage municipalities to recognize the value of wildlife habitat found in and near their municipal planning boundaries by accepting a stewardship role in maintaining their integrity.
“Being a part of this process is very important for the residents of
Garnish,” said Mayor Noseworthy. “I applaud the Provincial Government for
their commitment to seeing these agreements through for our towns.”
Further information regarding the signing of the Municipal Habitat
Stewardship Agreement can be found in the backgrounder below.
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Media contacts:
| Deborah Thomas Director of Communications Department of Environment and Conservation 709-729-2575, 728-8092 DeborahThomas@gov.nl.ca |
Corey Parsons Constituency Assistant to the Honourable Darin King MHA for Grand Bank 709-832-2531 coreyparsons@gov.nl.ca |
| Donna Cluett Mayor Frenchman’s Cove 709-826-2703 donna.cluett@hotmail.com |
Reuben Noseworthy Mayor Garnish 709-277-4548 Reuben.noseworthy@invmed.com |
BACKGROUNDER
History of the Municipal Stewardship Program
The Municipal Stewardship Program serves as an important mechanism for protecting wildlife habitat located within municipal jurisdictions. In addition to Frenchman’s Cove and Garnish, 30 other municipalities have signed stewardship agreements: Bay Roberts, Burgeo, Bonavista, Carmanville, Cartwright, Channel-Port aux Basques, Come by Chance, Deer Lake, Flatrock, Flower’s Cove, Gambo, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Hawke’s Bay, Labrador City, Mary’s Harbour, Port aux Choix, Red Bay, Spaniard’s Bay, Springdale, St Anthony, St. John’s, St. Lewis, Steady Brook, Stephenville Crossing, Torbay, Wabush, Whitbourne, and Winterland.
In 1986, in light of drastic declines in North American waterfowl populations and in an effort to effectively reverse the trend, the governments of Canada and the United States signed the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) with a goal to return waterfowl populations to levels of the 1970’s by actively conserving wetland and upland habitat. In 1994, Mexico also signed on to the NAWMP, making it a truly continental initiative.
To implement and forward the goals of NAWMP, joint ventures were established across North America. The Eastern Habitat Joint Venture (EHJV) was established in 1989. Partners include the six eastern Canadian provinces, Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador’s program is administered by the Wildlife Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation.
2013 10 07 3:40 p.m.