Successes

The following wild places gained significant protection or took leaps forward in recent years thanks to the work and contribution of CPAWS-BC supporters.

2011

  • Flathead Watershed Area Conservation Act received royal assent in the B.C. Legislative Assembly to ensure that no mining and energy development
  • Federal and provincial governments committed to the establishment of a National Marine Conservation Area(NMCA) in the Southern Strait of Georgia
  • Shanker’s Dam, the controversial Washington State dam proposal that would have flooded part of the Similkameen Valley, will not go ahead
  • Get Outside BC, a project aimed at strengthening youth attachment to British Columbia’s wilderness, completed its successful pilot year
  • SeaChoice Canada celebrated its fifth anniversary, marking 5 years of helping Canadian consumers and businesses make responsible seafood choices
  • Atlin-Taku land use plan released: Taku River Tlingit and the B.C. government signed a land-use plan that allows for 13 new protected areas totaling over 500,000 hectares (1.3 million acres).
  • CPAWS brought together 14 leading marine scientists to author and release Science-based Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas in Canada

2010

  • "Dare to be Deep" tour: historic seven-city tour ushering in a new era of conservation in Canada - the protection of marine riches with CPAWS and the Haida Nation
  • Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve (NMCA) and Haida Heritage Site were approved by the House of Commons and Senate Committees
  • Twenty-one member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and nine leading environmental groups, including CPAWS, unveiled an unprecedented agreement that applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC members
  • B.C.’s Glass Sponge Reefs were declared an “Area of Interest” for a future Marine Protected Area by the federal government
  • Kaska Nation and the B.C. government drafted a plan to protect over 200,000 hectares on and around the Ne’ah’/Horseranch Range as part of a larger land use planning initiative in the Dease-Liard region of north-central B.C
  • In February, just in time for the Olympics in Vancouver, the B.C. government and Montana government signed a memorandum of understanding to ban mining in the Flathead Valley
  • In June, President Obama and Prime Minister Harper noted the signing of the memorandum of understanding at the G20 Summit, and discussed how both federal governments, the B.C. government and the Montana government could work together to help ensure the long-term protection of the Flathead River Basin.