February 2, 2012
CPAWS’ Ron Thiessen was a guest speaker today at the Manitoba Legislative Building at a gathering organized to address a proposed peat mine in Hecla/Grindstone provincial park and to express the importance of peatlands. His key messages were:
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Industrial activity is not appropriate in parks, including peat mining. All industrial activities should be legally banned in parks.
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Big-scale peatland protection is required to save Lake Winnipeg as peatlands purify and regulate the flow of water entering the lake.
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Globally, peatlands store more carbon per acre than any other terrestrial ecosystem and as such need to be conserved to slow the negative affects of climate change.
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Establishing large protected areas needs to be a key objective of the upcoming Manitoba Boreal Peatlands Stewardship Strategy.
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Protecting a high percentage of Manitoba’s peatlands from industrial activities needs to be a primary objective of the upcoming Manitoba Boreal Peatlands Stewardship Strategy.
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It’s important that Manitobans let the Premier of Manitoba know how they feel about industrial activities in parks and protecting peatlands. Please send an email with your message to [email protected].