11'0.1 ¥4-~ 1~71 - Memorial University of …collections.mun.ca/PDFs/osprey/V02-02-1971.pdf9 The...

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'Dr s l)H It '(] stu.L... THE NEWFOUNDLAND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY \)ot,2 11'0.1 Progr emme for 1971- 72 . Inside 11cneous Butterflies Birel He ws Thp Eird Gr oup Ne st Re cord Scheme Text of April Lecture • • • P.'o r ticul t. Soc .; forn CAS Ca t a lo f ue • • • • • • May Meeting Obc;ervatioos in Labrador by B€l'm'!rd Ja ckson F' .1 5 pm Y .'ednesd ay 19 Cover • 9 . 10 .11 . • 12 .1) .14 .19 . 20 Arts r nd Culture Centre Lecture Roor:

Transcript of 11'0.1 ¥4-~ 1~71 - Memorial University of …collections.mun.ca/PDFs/osprey/V02-02-1971.pdf9 The...

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'Drs l)H It '(] stu.L... 1S\iI~ 1j

THE NEWFOUNDLAND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

\)ot,2 11'0.1 ¥4-~ 1~71 Progremme for 1971- 72 . • Inside ~'is('!e 11cneous N~wfoundland Butterflies Birel He ws Thp Eird Group Ne st Re cord Scheme Text of April Lecture • • • P.'o r ticul t . Soc .; Y,~embership forn CAS Ca t a lofue • • • • • •

May Meeting

Obc;ervatioos in Labrador by B€l'm'!rd J ackson

F' .15 pm Y.'ednesday 19 ~'ay

Cover • 9 . 10 . 11

. • 12 .1) .14 .19 . 20

Arts r nd Culture Centre Lecture Roor:

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The Council 1971-7 2

President Phil Patey 722-8441 Vice-presidents John Phipps and Cha rles Davis

Secretary Joan Scott 722- 2964 Trea surer Ca rman Mews 726-7536

Council ~.1embers Rupert Bartlett Rlsie Flachs (Publicity) 726-18 75 Ruth Maunder John Maunder (Field meeting organizer )726-6828 Orville Olsen (Membe r ship secretary) 726-9332

Edi tor of li The Osprey" Howard Clase 726-4813

Pro p-r anmte of Indoor Meetings 1971-72

(At 8 .1? pm in the Lecture Room of the Arts and Culture Centre)

June 16. 1971

Ju l y 21. 1971

August 1971

September 15. 1971

Oc tober 20. 1971

November 17. 1971

December 15, 1971

January 19. 1972

February 16. 1972

March 15. 1972

To be announced.

Nei l F. Payne 10 A Respectable Black. Bear II

Ho liday Month

James G. Inder " The Ruffed Grouse in Newfoundland- An Introduced Species"

Or. Frank S. Tompa " African Wildl ife " and/or II Hungarian Natural History 'I

S. Frank. Manuel " A Car; bou Doe. a lynx. a Bacteri urn and a Hare~ Four Un likel y Associates"

To be announced.

Jerry O. Pratt " The Atlant i c Salmon Spawning Channels in Newfoundland"

Annua l General Meeting Stephen G. Pond " Cleaning up the Exploits River- A Status Report"

Annual Natural History Slide Party ( Plan for this now by detennining to take your best natural history s lides this surrmer. )

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The Osprey

We must apolog ise for the lateness of the March issue t which we s due to delays at the printers tand for the non-appearance of an iseue in April due to pressure of work on the editor and a shortage of contributions . This is bound to happen from time to time, especially while the position of assistant editor is vacant. We should like to make another appeal for someone to learn how the Osprey is put together so tha t issues can still be produced when the editor is busy or out of to\"lll .

T~eeting notification

A grapevine h: s been set up so that members can be informed by phone when thC' Osprey is delayed. If anyone did not re­ceive notification of the April meeting would they please tell the secretary .

Pippy Park Student Summer Project - 1911

In association with the undergraduate student Science Society

of Memorial University the Council of this Society has applied for funds

from the" Opportunities for Youth" program of the Department of the

Secretary of State, Ottawa. The Project Proposal if approved will

employ up to nineteen university students from May to September in a two

phase program in the C. A. Pippy Park. The research phase will. have qualified

students preparing, a collection and check list of the Parle ' s flowering

plants and shrubs, two geological maps , a geological collection, and a

detailed report on the history of man's former use of the Park lands .

The second phase will be a clean-up program to collect litter from its

streams , roadways, fields and trails.

We are grateful for the offer of materials, tools and equipment

made to us by the C.A . Pippy Park Commission. I as well as for the provision

of suitable office working space.

While offering summer employment to students this Project will

increase our knowledge of the Park's natural history and provide a

better understanding of its recreational potentials and of some of the

ways they might be made available and accessible to the people of e St . John's and nearby communities .

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A Check List of Newfoundland Butterflies

Papilionidae

~Pap1110 brevicauda Saunde r s P. elaucus canadensis R. &J.

Fieridae

+001188 eurytheme Baisd .

+0. ~hilodice Godart C. lnterior l aurentina Scudder C. peiidne Ia6rFldorensis Scudder

+liE'r18 repae t. 11 . napl triSida SCl'.dder

B. charie1ea boisduvalii Dup . 1"'eiitsea barris11 Scudder

I Phyc iodes theros arctica doePaesoe +NYtn1ba il.s entiaps L.

+:: iiiiig~rliB~~~l: ~~~ ' PaBso8 ;Vanessa atlanta t. V. cardu! L.

'POiygOD1B faunus Edw. P. ee tyrus marsyae Edw. P. progne Cram

t Liilienl tis erthemie Drury

LyceenidEle

+Inc1eal1a a. aU8Uet1nuB Wes t wood). 1. augustlnus hilenae dOs Paeso sJ Lvcfl.ena dorcas Kirby

+t1caena epl.xanthe lhaedra Hall P e bel.us aguilo BO sduval Glaucops:vche l YSdamuB couperi Grt

+tycaenopsl.s useudargiolus lucia Kirby

+Lvcae1des e rgyroenomon aster Edw.

The Swallowtail.

The Short Tailed Swallo\vta il The Tiger S""llowtail

The Pierids

The Eurytheme Sulphur (Alfa-alfa Butterfly)

The Common Sulphur The Pink-edged SUlphur The Labrador Sulphur The Cabbage Butterfly The Nfld. White

The Four-footed Butterflies

The Atlantis Fritillary Silver Bordered hi tillary Freija Fritillary Arctic Fritillary Harris t Checkerspot Pearl Crescent Mourning Cloak Compton TortOise Shell Milbert I s TortOise Shell Red Admiral Painted Lady Green Comma (Fawn Cormna) Satyr Angle Wing Gray Conuna Whi te Admiral (Banded Purple)

The Gossamer-winged Bu1te:rf'lies

Bnown Elfin

Dorcas Copper Bog Copper Arctic Blue Silvery Blue Spring Azure (Common Blue)

Northern Blue

Setyridae The Satyrs &: Wood Nymphs +coenonympha tullia meiaaaei Mc Isaac I s Ringlet

+Oeneie Jutta terrae!~~a!a~~~~BBoe Jutta Arctic C. tiollxenes Fabr . Polixenes Arctic Cl C ryXUS calais Sc-udder Chrysu9 Arctic

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Danaidne

+Danaus plexippus L.

11

Hesperiidae

carterocethalue palaemon Pall. Hesper~a arenite Lindsey pyre'lls centaureEle Ramb Poli tee peckius Kirby

+ In local collection

The Monarche

The Monarch (Milkweed Butter­fly)

The Skippers

Arctic Skippe r Labrador Skipper Grizzled Skipper Peck's Skipper

Ray F . Morris Research Station Dec . 1970

Recomroended butterfly book : A Field Guide to the Butterflies by A.B.Klots (Houp-hton Ififlin , 1951) S 6 .95 .

Bird News - rAarch and April

The last two rronths have been very dull due to the absence of ma ny winter vist tors and the lete arrival of the early spring migrants. The most unusual sighting was that of a female Rinp--necked Duck at Kent 's Pond (27-28 Mar , BSJ , JEl.!, RM). 'l'his bird is norma lly with us only during the swnmer months . A qreat Blue Heron was shot at Trepassy on 4 Apr (via LMT) .

Winter Birds

Common Eiders and Old Squaws seem to be still present on the spe at the end of April ,but winter gulls seem to be scarce . There hElve been no reports of Iceland or Glaucous Gulls since 10 Feb (HJC ) and the 3 or 4 Black-headed Gulls had left by the end of ~~arch - although by this time at least ODe had attained full spring plumage (WT) - a dark chocolate - brown hood , which looks black from a distance. A Northern Shrike was seen again on 2 Mar , this time in Pennywell Rd. (JV) .

Residents Black-capped Chickadees seem to be rather Bcarce although

thE' Boreal have been seen often enough. Other less common permanent residents which have been reported during the period are: Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch. A few individuals of some of our summer vistors often succeed in ovepwintering here. The following observations a re

§~o ~~~~~ a d~; ~~r t~~;) , r~::~i!~~, e~~i!o~~~~V~;:: ~o A~~bt; L Horned Larka at Ca:pe St Mary I B on 18 Apr could aleo have over­wintered (PL,JW ,SW) .

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Spring Migrants

Ave~~: r~~:) :~O~~e;f w!r!O~o~~a~~~:t~:l~n sin!~r R~~~~B F~~re e present all wintgr and no great influx occurred it is di!fi·· cult to give a date to the first arrival. Mrs U.Beardely re­ports from Deer Lake that both these species arrived there at about the usual time. The first Ring-billed Gulls vlere a pair at Long Pond on 12 Apr (HJC) and by the end of the month there were 30-40 nmongst the resting gulls a t Quidi Vidi Lake. They will Boon leAve for their nesting colonies on remote ponds and will probably not be seen again in any numbers in St John le until next spring . An early Canada Goose was eeen near the Sulmonier Liee on 3 \pr (PL) . Purple Finches usually decorate ou'y" fE'eders in winter, but this year they B8em to be spring rei ':rr nts. The first n:port I have i8 from OM on 10 Apr and there heve been several others since. They could be he ard sin{"inp at Oxen Pond on 2 May (HJC). Last year's influx of T'ligr8nte at the end of April was not repe ated, probably due to the poor \','eather . r~ost birds like t o have pood visibili ty for mip:r~tion, 60 it is significant that several "firsts" for 1971 occurred during the fine .... !eather of the first three days of r,~ay . The rest of the arrivals so fer FIre summarised ae follows: 23 Apr I Common Snipe, Salmonier Line (JW); 25 Apr; Vlhite-throated Sparro\'; Salmonier Line (SW); 1 "'ay, Greater Yellowle/ts end Rusty Blackbird, Salmonier Liee (SW); 2 U,y, Spnrrowhawk , Cape Speer (JW) and. Savannah Sparrow , St John's

(PI'fit. bird group will be having field trips !'lost Sunday morn- • inlls for the next few weeks. These are arranred by phone on the Saturday evening. If you want to be edded to the list phone 726-4813.

Notes for inclUsion in this column should be sent or phoned to the editor at the end of each month .

HJC

The Bird Group

The following list will identify the members of the group whooe persistent reports of str ange birds have made the "Bird News" column a going conce rn during the past year, and , \'Ie hope the coming yepr , t oo:

CB Charles Barton, DB Don Barton, HJC Howard Claee t JAC Andrew Clase , ERC Roger Clark t CG Carl George t GG and PG Greeme and Pat Greenlee, BSJ (BJ) and OJ Bernard end Olive Jeckson, PL Paul Lieegar, VIDM (WI') Bill Machin, JEM (JM) John Jyfeunder, RM Ruth I1aunder, RCM and OM Carman and Oliva Vews, 1r'fJN J.1ike Newlands, ARS Alan Stein, GRS Robin South , lINHS NewfoundlF!nd Natural Hi story Society (en masse), U~T Les Tuck, I'IT Bill Threlfall, JV Jimmy Vivian, JW John Wells, SW Stuart Wells.

Flowers and Butterflies Early observations include Colt~foot in flower in St John ' s e

\'lest on 31 March (JW) , and on 25 Apr a l'ourning Cloak at \'ledge -wood Park (BSJ) and no less than 3 Red Admirals elong Marine ",,-ive (JF1") .

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Newfoundland Nest Record Scheme

Dr Le s l i e Tu ck of the Can a dian Wildlife Service , Sir . Humphrey Gi l ber t Bui ld ing , would be p l ease d t o eend cerde to anyone int erested . So litt l e ie knovm about the nesting of Ne\.tfound l end birds thf'~t a ny informa tion i s v a luable . It is not neces;.ar y t o compl e t e every section on the ca rd . A card shoul d be sent in f or every nes t found , even if a second viei t i s not poss i ble .

NEWFOUNDLAND NEST RECORD CARD

Species: l ocality:

Dale Eggs Young Nest habitat:

Description c;f nest:

Name end address of observer: First egg leid

l est egg leld

Fi rst egg hetched

Comments: l est egg he~hed

Fi",1 young left nest

l ast young left n~t

Full dutch

Number hatched

Number fledged

CWS 8-80 (3-70)

Year 19

Return to: Canadian Wildlife Service, Room 6 11, Si r Humphrey Gilbert Building , St. John's.

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Remarks ~t. Nj~hri~~1~~1ra~1~i9~ietory Society •

.,. ... r. Chairman, Lad 1e B end Gentlemen: Last Friday, April 16, wae the second anniversary of my

last - indeed. it was my first - appearance before your member­ship from this eame platform.

You may ~ecal1 that the issue waB the GroB Morne National Pp-rk Bnd I think I am not overstating the C8se if I Bay there existed at that time a climate of les8 than complete confidence in the Government' e eineeri ty in that regard.

I trust that with the passage of time, our position has come to merit Bome l'"lrger degree of understanding .

The GroB }/lorne compact of last October 31, which ensures t,,"' development of +;hE' largest National Park in Canada in more then forty years - and quite likely the largest there ever will be f)~ain, find the most exciting - is just one of many fldvAnces in the total area of environment since I last spoke to you .

I E'm especially pleased th".t GraB rtorne will include the fi ret underwa ter National Park areA in Cenada t a highly appropriate fenture in a Irovince such as ours.

Natural history is defined 88 "the study of things in nAturE!'.

That is a very broad definition, and I thoul'ht it might be

~~e;u;e~~ ~~~~~t B~~l~~ua~p~n G~e:r:;~~~B t~e p~~~:c~e:~d m~!:rve e the natural environment of Newfoundlrnd end labrador .

When I lest spoke +0 you, I observed that our environment is chanpi~, Bnd eo the meaning nnd the philosophy of con­servation must change. I went on to say that conservation today must involve the rational use of the environment to achieve tt,e hil'hest ouality of living for mankind, with everything t"et that implies .

You may recall that I expressed the view that man does not live by parks elone - but that he will not live 8 full life t or P very sr tisfpctory one, without the kind of refuge that Ne+ionAl Pp.rke end Frovincial Parks r nd other wilderness aress Af'ford him from the mad rush of a ml"' d world.

To support that rhilosophy, I am able to report that we hnve made plans for the development of eighteen new Provincial Perks to Add to the thirty- six we now have t making a total of fifty-four 1n the system.

The result will be thr-t this Frovince will achieve unrivalled If't'l.dership in pE'rk development in Canada, in quantity Be well DB in (1uality .

In the last session of the House of Assembly, I introduced P rether innocf'nt-sounding emendment to the Crown Lands Act which established a general definition of a beach for the first ti!<1e, and which dec] "'red that this Province' B shoreline areas

bel~~:t t~e~h~h;r~;~;Bsary first step towards p new program • for the establishlrent and development of public beaches as

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recreational fl re>8S , and we prop ose to begin by setting up thirty beeches , being those with the highest recreation capa bi11 ty rating . as areas protected for public enjoyment .

The edministrat ion of Provincial Parke end Beaches, since April 1, has pone over to my Colleague, the lIiinieter of Fconomic Development, who has the general reaponsibili ty for public recreation under the heading of tourism, but I take satisfac tion from having bad a hand in planning this new progr am .

The Government wish to undertake this year the establish­ment of the Province I s first Wildlife Park, end I hope shortly to be able to announce definite plans in this connection .

I \'/Quld like to say, however, that we intend to proceed only r~ quickly 00 good planning and careful implementation will permit . \'le weont to mFl....ke our firs t Wildlife Perlt 8 model , not only for others that we shall build in this Province, but e model flle o for other jurisdictions .

Thi s will be (> public Wildlife Park, not run on co basis of crass commerciality that demands that the public get their money I s worth - even if it means peering through a wire fence to ~et an unexciting glimpse of a tired and bored bull moose in unnA tursl surround ings .

Sme ller eniml'lls , it appears, will have to be enclosed . But penerally speaking , we hope to devise a Wildlife Park

thAt will be sufficiently spAcious and sufficiently v a ried to enf'ble its inheb i tFlnts to be seen in as normal and natural environment as possible.

PJ'ore than two yeflrf:: ago , the Government became aware of the setting aside of ""-he Oxen Pond area as a biologica l reserve for indi,..enous flora end fauna. Certain difficulties erose lote l est ypsr, and for a time this interesting, useful and eVE'n important undertaking appea red in jeopardy.

However , I novl understand that the project is to be revived, thouRh on somewhat different basis of a pproach, and we have ever;v ~ispo s ition to co - operate in its development.

In thp meantime, the Quest ion has been r aised of the pre ­servation of the JJong Pond marsh for essentially the same purposes BS those which underlay the concept of the Oxen Pond reserve.

It seems " 0 me that , on the one hand , we must proceed with the development of wha t is known as the Memoria l University "north campus" with due regard for the need for space for buildings , for perkinF areas,and above e ll for flood control -e. serious difficulty thfl t the r ains of the past number of days hEls underscored .

On the other hf'nd , there is the eminently sensible alter­native in environf'lentElI end bioloFical terms of the Oxen Pond reserve which, it seems, will more than compensate in its pre­servation F'nd develo!lment for what may be lost in filling in thE' mersh.

You may - I em sure that you will - be interested to lmow thet nuiet pf f ortr: have been going on through the C. A. Pippy

- I

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Park Commission , as an arm of the Government , to clean u p problems at Oxen Pond, Long Pond and Kent ' s Pond , and that wi th these waterbodies cleaned up, and sewage eliminated from storm drains the re s t oration of Rennies River and Quid1 Vidi Lake is not far off . . I should like to refer briefl y to a brief that has reached

,my desk in very recent days , name l y , the proposal of the Newfoundlrnd Panel of the International Biological Progr am.

I This proposal , which hae n ot yet been assessed prepar atory to consideration by the Gover nment, calls for the setting as i de of more than forty unique or i nteresting areas in the Province _ sreElS of rare timbeT' or flo r al growth , bird sanctuaries , end bt'!T'ren wilrlerness, none very large, but ell appl"lrently import­rmt - as heior representative of the large variety of nat ure thl1t has been companion to man ' s evolution in Newfoundland ('nd labrador .

I can rnd do Assure that the proposal will receive the moet serious nnd sympathetic attention .

Indeed, sane of-he a r eas included in thfl proposal a r e in 0"'8 w~y or anotner ~JrelO!d:r protected, either BS parts of National or Provinrial Pprks I or otherwise ; others have been under coneiderntion within our own establishment BS requiring epecial protection.

'i'he VAlue of the I . B. P . proposal is that it provides a r"""p of rE"ference in which to estflblieh a perspective that

n~rh""'Df' \'Tf>r f"bsent from our own considerationA . If'I M"Y revl"rt ~pFin to my rem"rke to you of t.wo yeflTs

1'1('"0, I E"x'T'reseed ""':h('n the conviction - which I now repeat _ t· ... t we ml}st set F'~i.oe l~rfe ereps of our 'Public lends for

1 ('ir r-eR hetic, ('c!'lop-ical, and recrerttionr>l value .•• but thflt in a Province that depends GO heavily upon natural rt'>"'OUT'ces FB tht'> b"('is for its economy, we aleo must pre­serve ~ rersonabl" ehare of thoEie reoources for exploitation "IE: the underpinning for t hat economy.

This 1s the difficult flre8 of judgement in which holders of' public office , 9_S trustees of public resources, must operate .

I \'Iell understpnd the apprehensions that citizens may feel in lilZ'ht of what they read , hear and view of si tUAt10ns they mElY never h~ve seen or experienced personally in terms of ex­trr-ctive m1ninf( or lUPlbering operations, or the flooding neeeesi toted by v/f'tE'r impoundments for the purpose of hydro­electric development.

'But if it is possibl e to cu t throuP'h the hysteriana , E!nd or-tain f' belanc<:d view , it becomes pretty obvious that the lifeblood of this Province is electricity - ,·!hen it 1s r equir ed , pnd pven lonp before it actually is required; and if electricity if': the lifeblood, minerals and timber ore the muscles snd sinews of our economy ; end if it were not for the mines and thp pul p F'nd paper mills find the electricity to run them, and t o run the v~rious other productive activities we h~ve in this Province t not to mention the social aspect at all, there wou l d be virtually nothinl" to keep our people here.

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Let me say too t tha t I have found that there 1 s a good deal more corpora te good 01 tizenship , or 1s it good corporate citizenship, than is very often credited .

And where it is lacking, perhaps not even intentionally lacking, the Government shall not hesitate to require it.

On that, I should like t o single out - dangerous as it may be, because it is possible to overlook others - to singl e ou t the Churchil l F::,lls Power Corpora t ion .

The development of Churchill Falls power has required a ml" massive impoudment of waters in Labrador , to form a lake mor e then one third +he size of Lake Ontario . It also wi l l requir e the shutting off, literally, of Churchill Falls itself .

About a yea r r"go , , lfemorial University approached me to ex­press concern thnt no studies had been done of the spray area near the Falls to detennine the nature of that partlhcular environment before the flow of water is shut off .

Not only that , the Biology Department had little in the way of funds t o mount a study project .

I discussed the prohlem with the head of the Company , Mr. William J(oulholland , apd received his immed i ate and unst i nting agreement to provide acc ommodation and faci l i tiee to the University's researchers for the pur poses of the etudy .

~,Tore than that, thE.t same Company has established its ovm Fnvironmental Committee, a nd has engage d ' as its advisor Dr. West of Queen's University, to ensure that the bill ion- doll a r Churchill development, l'/hile it must, of course, disturb and chanre the environment over a large area, nonetheless conforms as well as it ca n with the best ecological principles .

I suggest that Churchill Falls Corporation has set a patter n that could Vlell be f oD owed, that should be followed , by every rna jor industry in the Province noVl and in the future .

Incidentally , it hRS be en contended by some, that the i.m­pcundment of waters on the Island of Newfoundland for the purpose of the J;ay d ' 'Rspoir hydro- electric project would be destructive of nur Newfoundland caribou . \'/e have just compl eted on intensive caribou census ''lhich shows that VIe now have the hiphest caribou population on record - a tribute to our Wild ­life officials and the ir caribou management program.

We are continuing to study the Newfoundland pine mar ten, truly a wilderness a nima l, which has shared the fate of our flhi te Pine forests r>nd disappeared f rom most of the island . Wildlife Service staff carried out a study program in v,est coast lOCAtions lRst YE'::Ir £md although the species is still listed f'S encangered , f number of enima ls were found to be present . Furthf'r studies are planned for this summer.

The Arctic hrre, pnothe r protected species, has been in­troduced to Brunette I sland , and vre are hoping that a large enouph populetion will establish i teelf there eventually to be studif'd thorough ly so that more can be learned about this animal. It appears thpt t.his native anima l still exists a lthough i n undetermined nUJTl.bers, in much of the Long Range Mountains rellion. About 40 s l$t1.ngS have been reported in the past year mostly in the southern portionp of the Long Range Mountains, !:md interestin{:,l:' enough these indicate that the Arctic hare

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population is n ot confined to the Northern Peninsula as some sources have stated .

As to what the Government have been dOing, I should like to rec i te some of the advance s we have made in the past year or two. in terms of legislation and otherwise:

I already have mentioned the Gros Marne National Park , and perhaps should add that the agreement incItudes the development of two National Historic Parks at Port aux Choix and Lanse aux 1~eadows. I am told that it is entirely unique in Canada t o have en agreement providing at once for the development of three Federal p~ rks .

I heve referred !'l lso to our Provincial Parke expansion prop;ram, flnd our program for publiC beach development, BS well :'IS to the deve l opment of our first Wildlife Park .

We hA-vr received And adopted the Report end Recommendations of the Royal Commiss ion on Forest ry, which among other things recoJlUT'ends reorgenizn tion of the Forest Service with emphasis on research and planning .

We h ave joined Vii th the Go· ... ernment of Canada for the es­t:Flbliehment of a Federel- Tr::Jvincial TE ok l'orce under the Canada Water Act, and have selected the ExplOits River Basin as the first ~nd most critical of our water\"18ys requiring attention . This mfly well lead to the first formal agreement under the Cf" npd e '7e t er Act in f' 11 Cp-nada t on river system management .

Pursuant to lep i s l fl tion adopted at the l e st session of the House of Aoeembly, vIe hav E" established the Cleen Air, Water Dnd Soil Authority - r. cumbersome title, perhft ps, but it certr inly spe ll!'! it out - to have ch~ rge of environmental nrotection , r nd i t "'rHI with plea sure and pride that I tabled in the Lerisla ture the other day the report of the Authority's first few months of oneration . It is dOing , end will do a fine job for the p f" ople of this Province .

Not only has t he .Au.thoT'ity established wa ter quality criteria :" nn objf'c t ives for the PrOVince - wate r beinp:, we believe, the mo s t cri ticE' 1 and t:t; pref'ore the most urgent resource a reA. to be tnf' kled they e ) s o have been laying down requirements for innustriAI developers and others, all of whom must produce plpnB conforming to these s ? me criterifr and objectives . J.'fore th" n thr> t, severa l dozen investigations have been undertaken "' nd remedies re (l uired where indicated .

One of the Authority's programs th:is summer is to be the cOJ':1 pilation of e "pollution inventory" of the entire Province s o t hat for the first time there will be a precise identi­fi cation of the problems we heve, end those we must gua rd eg-inet.

At the l est Resaion, the Iiegislation also approved Bills dea linl" wi t h chemical pesticides, all-t errain vehicles, waste 7"\sterials dispo sal, end amendments to the Wildlife Act de­oi ".ned to nake it more effective vehicle for t:he protection < nd m" n~Bement of our wildlife resources.

Finfllly , orders VIere ma de protective of "endangered species" of wildlife , specificplly the polar bear, and birds of prey, pprticulnrly the percrrine falcon of which, to everyone' e

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19

surprise and ple fl sure f our Regional Biologiet in Labrador dis­covered R number of nesting pairs years after everyone had come to believe them extinct , in Eastern North America, thanks to the effect of pesticide residues .

I could i!0 on to discuss in detail our plans and/or propoeals in many areas of concern in this Province t but I shall limit myself to this: that legislation 1s only BS effective as the willingness of people to obey it; that it is not desirable , even if it were possible t to put a policeman on the trail of every c1 tizen; tha t a good deal of responsibility for his sur­roundings rests with the individual person in our society .

The industrial poll uter is easily identified, and easily brou{!ht under the force of legisla tion F.lnd public opinion . It is the nameless, faceless individual citizen - the tax-payer who really does not ref'lize fully the increasing share of his society t s affluence (loes to clean up his ovm effluence - it is he who is d ifficul t to persuade end control. Every dollar of his taxes f'pe nt on restoring the environment he defiles , is f) c1 0llar no longe r a v e... 'lable for necessary public programs .

A mnj or educ~tion eifort is recplire d by societies such as your own t o put this ui...ssage across .

r·#r . Cheirmrn , I want to say that I appreciate the oppor­tunity of relr tine: to "rou what \'19' have been doing , what we have been trying to E'chieve I since I last spoke to you . I also enpreciate thp f El ct tha t it was neceSSAry to juggle the date for this meeting d.n order to accommodate me .

r,~ay I I in closing , say that I welcome your Society's advice, and that I do not disdain controversy. A good , new idea most often requires e negative flnd F1 positive cha rge to produce it . The final decision mpy not please everybody - it may not even pleDse anybody - but it should be influenced and shaped by the widest variety of advice and counsel. I am always in the marleet for ~ood , new ide8s.

Thank you very much. ( Delivered to tLe Society's April meeting by The Hon .

i'I .R.Callahan , r~inister of Mines , Agriculture and Resources .)

Newfoundland Horticultura l Society

TuesdAy R June Arts a nd Culture Centre Dungeon

1 . Floral Arrangements with Fresh Flowers 2 . Sui teble ~lantB for New Ga rdens

SUKCRIPTIO~ TO THY NEWFOUlIDLAND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY 1- . 0 . Box 1013 , St John's

Fami ly merrbership Juni or membership (Ifi years and under) Student membership Corres1)onding membership (resident

NA~'r : • ADDF.l'SS : •

over 50 miles f rom St John I s) TFIEPHONE NID'llER : .

$ 5.00 $1.00 $ 2 .00 $ 2 . 00

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