(February 13, 2024) In a steep gully at the head of a fiord on Ellesmere Island grows a moss that forms small brilliant green colonies that have a distinctive “sparkly” appearance. It’s called Porsild's Bryum (Haplodontium macrocarpum or ijju nunami/ᐃᔾᔪ ᓄᓇᒥ in Inuktitut). This moss is designated as "threatened" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).    Photo: Porsild’s Bryum, by René Belland The few locations whe...

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(January 12, 2024) Discovery of second-known North American bat species to sing A conservation tool for identifying bats in the wild that are coming into increasing conflict with wind power development Demonstrates another fascinating ability for often underappreciated bats A new paper, published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, documents only the second known instance of a North American bat singing. Based on recordings made outside two old mine sites used by silver-haired bats in British Columbia and a...

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(January 05, 2024) Despite centuries of agriculture and urban development, two natural areas in southern Ontario have gained national recognition for their importance to nature: the Nith River south of Kitchener, and Wainfleet Bog near Niagara Falls. A cooperation between Six Nations Wildlife and Stewardship Office and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada led to the recent acceptance of these sites as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs): places that play an outsized role in maintaining globally and nationally...

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(November 27, 2023)   -   A new guide to bat houses says bats need a variety of housing approaches to meet their needs.

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(March 21, 2023) Almost one-quarter of tree species now at risk   Photo: Swamp cottonwood by Matt Reala (iNaturalist). Almost one in four Canadian tree species is now at risk in Canada according to a new assessment by the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada as part of its ongoing SHAPE of Nature initiative to track the health of Canada’s wildlife and wild places.   “For a country so closely identified with forests, this is alarming news,” says Dan Kraus who led...

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(January 30, 2023) In Banff National Park, Castleguard Cave becomes one of the first sites in Alberta to be recognized as a globally significant Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).    Researchers exploring the cave. Image: Colin Magee (Banff, January 30, 2023) — Deep in a remote cave system in Banff National Park is a tiny, largely transparent creature that looks something like a miniscule shrimp. Despite its tiny size, this freshwater amphipod crustacean, known as the Castleguard Cave Amphip...

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(December 22, 2022) The closing plenary of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, CoP15, in Montreal, December 2022. Photo: UN Biodiversity Convention on Biological Diversity negotiations produce a solid deal that lays the groundwork for more ambitious efforts to address the biodiversity crisis in Canada and around the world. By Justina Ray, WCS Canada President and Senior Scientist Negotiations on a new global deal to save nature reached their tipping point at just about the same time that Lionel...

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(December 15, 2022)   Northern Ontario is one of the last strongholds for a species now considered endangered worldwide  15 December 2022, Montreal — As CoP15 negotiations continue in Montreal around actions to address the global biodiversity crisis, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has issued some bad news on one particular species. In a recent update, the IUCN has announced a change to the global Red List status of lake sturgeon, from “least concern&rd...

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(December 13, 2022) This panel event brought together leaders and partners of the KBA Canada initiative to demonstrate how this collaborative project is assembling biodiversity data and knowledge to identify all Key Biodiversity Areas in Canada, and presented the progress made to date. Panelists described the organization of KBA Canada, collaborations with Indigenous partners across the country, how the project is catalyzing the assemblage and organization of biodiversity data in Canada, Canadian leadership in iden...

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(December 11, 2022)   The 90 minute panel brought together Indigenous leaders, scientists and conservation experts from Canada’s Hudson Bay Lowland and surrounding sea. Panelists spoke to their homelands, irrecoverable carbon stores of the Hudson Bay Lowland, the looming  threat of Ring of Fire mining, global stopovers for North America’s birds, tales of living with polar bears and Indigenous-led conservation in the sea. Dr. Lorna Harris, Forests, Peatlands, and Climat...

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