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>> From: intern@wcwcvictoria.org
>> To: ccron72@hotmail.com
>> Subject: Attention Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society!
>> Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:01:02 -0700
>>
>> Dear Charles Cron,
>>
>> My name is Sonja and I am an intern at Western Canada Wilderness
>> Committee at their Victoria office. We are seeking your help to
>> create a National Park Reserve in the South Okanagen - Similkameen
>> Valleys to protect BC’s grasslands, forests, and Canada’s only pocket
>> desert.
>>
>> This fall the government will decide whether or not the proposed park
>> comes to fruition.. With your help, we could get enough signatures on
>> the petition to help in this regard. Posting the petition on your
>> web-site and circulating it through your e-newsletters are ways in
>> which you can help us get much-needed signatures, as well as simply
>> signing the petition yourself and your staff. You could also write a
>> letter on behalf of your organization to BC’s Premier Gordon Campbell
>> and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
>>
>> Below is an action alert to guide you. Thank you! Your help will be
>> VITAL in ensuring that we don’t miss out on Canada’s greatest
>> conservation opportunity!
>>
>> Sonja Futehally
>> Wilderness Committee Intern
>> -----------------
>> Help Establish a Sizeable Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve!
>>
>>
>> PETITION DRIVE needs YOUR help!! www.okanaganpetition.org
>>
>> Currently, Canadians are being presented with one of the most
>> exceptional conservation opportunities in our history. The BC and
>> federal governments have agreed to undertake Feasibility Study for a
>> potential national park reserve to protect the desert, grasslands,
>> and Ponderosa pine ecosystems of the South Okanagan and Similkameen
>> Valleys in southern British Columbia. The local residents and the
>> millions of Canadians who've visited the area know it is perhaps the
>> most beautiful region of the country. Whether the national park
>> reserve becomes a reality - or a lost opportunity - depends on YOUR
>> input and the input of all Canadians.
>>
>> This region, around the towns of Osoyoos, Oliver, Keremeos and
>> Cawston, has more species at risk than any other region of BC. Canyon
>> wrens, white-headed woodpeckers, badgers, California bighorn sheep,
>> tiger salamanders, spadefoot toads, pallid bats, spotted bats,
>> scorpions, and rattlesnakes all inhabit the area. A national park
>> here would encompass a greater diversity of ecosystems than any
>> national park in Canada - 6 of BC's 14 major ecosystem types
>> ("biogeoclimatic zones") are found in this little region.
>> National parks are very rare - there are only 7 national parks in BC,
>> in contrast to 1000 provincial parks and protected areas here.
>> National parks tend to be much larger than provincial parks and have
>> the highest standards of environmental protection. A national park
>> reserve in the South Okanagan-Similkameen region would be the
>> greatest conservation opportunity for a region that is the greatest
>> conservation priority in Canada right now.
>>
>> Anyone who lives in North America knows that national parks greatly
>> enhance local economies by increasing tourism revenues and providing
>> local jobs, not to mention increasing the environmental quality of
>> life for local people and all Canadians.
>> This proposed park - a once in a lifetime opportunity - will only
>> become a reality if enough Canadians speak up to the political
>> decision-makers!
>>
>> Petition Drive needs YOUR help!
>>
>> Currently, we have about 4000 signatures on our petition to the
>> federal government for the proposed national park reserve. Our goal
>> is 10,000 signatures by Sept.31. YOUR help is vital to make this
>> happen! This fall, the federal government will make a decision on
>> whether or not the park will become a reality.
>>
>> Please sign our online petition and most importantly, download and
>> circulate the petition among neighbors, passersby on the street,
>> friends, family, classmates, coworkers, in your business (if you own
>> one), at your church, etc. and then return the copies to us (return
>> address at the bottom of the petition).
>>
>> Sign online and download hardcopies to circulate, and find out more, at:
>> www.okanaganpetition.org
>>
>>
>> Also, Please Write a Letter!:
>> Please write to the governments of Canada and British Columbia and
>> let them know whether or not you want them to commit to the
>> establishment of a sizeable national park reserve in the South
>> Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys that:
>>
>> Upholds the standard of protection afforded by the National Parks Act
>> that forbids ranching, hunting, logging, and mining on national park
>> reserve lands.
>>
>> Encompasses at least 100 000 hectares of currently unprotected Crown
>> lands as well as existing provincial protected areas in the
>> grasslands and forests of the region.
>>
>> Includes a $50 million parks acquisition fund to purchase private
>> lands from willing sellers, to buy out grazing leases from willing
>> sellers on Crown lands, and to provide conservation financing options
>> for local First Nations.
>>
>>
>> Encompasses the Vaseux Lake / White Lake region which contains the
>> rarest, low elevation habitats in the proposal.
>>
>> Write to:
>>
>> Prime Minister Stephen Harper
>> 80 Wellington St.
>> Ottawa, ONT K1A 0A2
>> Fax: 613-941-6900
>> Pm@pm.gc.ca
>> (No postage needed if mailed in Canada)
>>
>> Premier Gordon Campbell
>> Legislative Buildings
>> Victoria, BC V8V 1X4
>> Fax: 250-387-0087
>> Premier@gov.bc.ca
>> (Postage is required)
>>
>> Be sure to include your mailing address.
>> Thank you for taking a stand for this most exceptional part of
>> Canada's heritage!
>> For further information please contact:
>> Western Canada Wilderness Committee
>> 651 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1M7
>> Phone:(250) 388-9292
>> Fax: (250) 388-9223
>> Email: info@wcwcvictoria.org
>> Website: www.wcwcvictoria.org
>>
>>
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