CANADIAN NATURE FEDERATION UPDATE

CANADIAN NATURE FEDERATION REPORT by H. Winston Johnston

The annual CNF meeting held last summer in Calgary began a new year of the Federation whereby Provincial Directors are full Board members and as such expected to attend quarterly meetings. As a result I attended the September and November meetings of CNF in Ottawa. I will report briefly on the September meeting and the November at a later date.

At the September meeting I was informed that Rick Pratt had resigned in July to take employment with Environment Canada and has been replaced by Mr. Gregg Sheehy who commenced his position with CNF on 4 October of this year. Gregg holds a Master's degree from the University of Toronto in Forestry and has been working for consulting firms in Ontario.

CNF is concerned with a declining membership (down to 18,207 from 19,618 a year ago) and a number of promotions are underway to help correct this situation. NHS members will note that application forms for CNF membership are present at most meetings and if you are not already a member, please take an application form and consider joining ($15/yr and you get four issues of Nature Canada as well as book- store privileges, etc.). CNF needs your support.

Most business items discussed at the September meetings did not pertain to PEI but if anyone wants to read the minutes or discuss in detail any item please contact me and I can perhaps give you some information. One item discussed was the regional meeting held several weeks ago in Sackville; I want to congratulate the NHS at this time for sending such a strong contingent to that meeting and helping to make it a success. Plans are already underway for the 1983 regional meeting, more on that at a later date.

I want to ask you to support CNF as your National voice. Many of the issues that the NHS has can best be solved by cooperation with other Naturalists groups and CNF provides this forum.

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CNF REGIONAL MEETING

On Oct. 23rd ten members of the P.E.I. Natural History Society attended the second annual Atlantic regional meeting of the Canadian Nature Federation in Sackville, New Brunswick. About forty delegates were present; most were from New Brunswick with small numbers from Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The purpose of the gathering, organized by CNF regional Vice-President Hal Mills, was to improve communications among individual naturalists, groups and CNF and to focus on specific issues of current environmental concern in this region.

The morning's session featured a workshop on Forest Management, including presentations by David Christie, an environmental consultant from N.B.; Dr. Ian Mac Quarrie of the Biology Dept. at U.P.E.I.; and Liz Calder of the Nova Scotia committee opposing herbicide spraying. The lively exchange which followed was an indication of the concern as well as the diversity of views on acceptable uses and management approaches for the woodlands of the region.

Speakers for the afternoon workshop on Offshore Oil and Gas were Phil Tsui, an environmental planner with Mobil Oil; Murray Coolican of the Canadian Arctic Resources Committee (CARC); and Eric Tull, a consultant on northern environmental issues. The session focussed on development proposals for the Venture field off Sable Island and how naturalist groups can most effectively make input to ensure environmental safeguards.

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