EcoNews – Tracking forest loss & the Monarch butterflies

This edition of EcoNews reports on a study that validates satellite imagery of forest loss in our backyard, gives you a taste of what’s found in a new report on what climate change could mean for the St. John River as well as includes our Fundy Baykeeper’s calls for the National Energy Board panel to hit reset on the Energy East pipeline. Also, shared here is a new map of migrating Monarch butterflies that’s signalling the need for cross-continental conservation efforts. Finally, be sure to check out the events happening this week!

Satellite data on Miramichi watershed forest loss validated
Forest loss in the headwaters of Miramichi’s watershed is happening and warrants our attention, according to a study released in January 2017 in the highest-ranking scientific journal on remote sensing. The study by Julia Linke et al. finds the annual forest loss data from global satellite imagery across public lands in the Miramichi River basin from the year 2000 to 2012 to be quite reliable. Read more here.

Climate change a pressing reality for the St. John River – here’s how!
A new report warns increased ice-jam flooding, contaminated well fields and sewage overflows are possibilities arising from climate change on the St. John River. Senior freshwater specialist Simon Mitchell from the World Wildlife Fund has been working with communities along the Upper St. John River Valley including Woodstock, Hartland and Florenceville-Bristol, identifying key risks and potential impacts from climate change.

Fundy Baykeeper Matt Abbott: back to the drawing board for NEB
The Conservation Council’s Fundy Baykeeper Matt Abbott says the Energy East pipeline review process should go back to square one after the naming of the NEB’s new three-member review panel for the project. Abbott told 97.3 The Wave Fredericton that decisions made prior to the replacement of board members are now void in light of concerns over biases with the previous review panel. “There’s a new panel, they were involved in any of the decisions the last panel made. We need to certainly go back to before they behaved in the inappropriate manner,” said Abbott. “And for the process to be credible, it really needs to restart.”

Map of migrating monarch butterflies signals need for cross-continental conservation efforts
A new report by University of Guelph researchers shows that the monarch butterflies seen in New Brunswick in late summer become part of the famed Monarchs migration from North America to their overwintering sites in Mexico. Nadine Ives, the Conservation Council’s Learning Outside Coordinator and host of our seasonal workshop, “Planting Milkweed for Monarch Butterflies,” says, “the more widespread distribution of sites of origin underlines the importance of Monarch conservation programs across the continent, including here in New Brunswick.”