CNF/SCC/CPAWS Media Release

Ottawa, Ontario – St. John’s, Newfoundland: Today, national conservation groups join 19 Newfoundland organizations in asking that the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, reject Newfoundland’s management plan for the Main River.

The Main River was nominated by Newfoundland as a Canadian Heritage River because of its pristine wilderness and outstanding recreational values. The watershed, next to Gros Morne National Park, contains rare old-growth boreal forest that support endangered Newfoundland marten, woodland caribou and Atlantic salmon. The heritage management plan would only protect a narrow corridor along the river, leaving most of the watershed open for clearcutting.

“The unique values of the Main River – that led the Newfoundland Government to nominate it for special status — would be destroyed under the proposed management plan” says Christie Spence of the Canadian Nature Federation. “We are joining forces with the Main River Coalition of Newfoundland in urging Minister Copps to refuse to designate it as a heritage river until Newfoundland submits a plan that protects the river’s wildlife and wilderness qualities.” “Minister Copps cannot in good conscience rubberstamp this seriously deficient Heritage River proposal,” says Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada. “If she does, the only ‘heritage’ left will be a legacy of clearcuts, logging roads, and destroyed wildlife habitat.”

Laura Jackson of the Protected Areas Association of Newfoundland and Labrador says, “The current plan would mean roads and cutting within a few hundred metres of the river. ‘Modified’ cutting so close to the river is not much better than window-dressing to hide the logging from tourists. The Main River Coalition wants the plan strengthened to protect the entire river and its tributaries from logging.”

Stephen Hazell of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society concurs, “Designating the Main River as a Canadian Heritage River at this point would undermine the whole system. A chewed-up Main River Valley does not deserve to be in the same company as the South Nahanni in the NWT, the French River in Ontario, or the Jacques-Cartier River in Quebec.” For more information contact:

Canadian Nature Federation -- Christie Spence or Lara Ellis – 613-562-3447
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society -- Stephen Hazell – 613-590-7226
Sierra Club of Canada -- Elizabeth May or Martin Von Mirbach – 613-241-4611
Main River Coalition -- Laura Jackson – 709-726-2603 (Protected Areas
Association of Newfoundland and Labrador)

Main River photographs for publication available to download. Follow Main River links from: www.cnf.ca

Key Features of the Main River

Old growth forest. The Main River contains what is likely the only true old growth boreal forest in North America. There have been no known large-scale disturbances in the region, perhaps for as long as thousands of years. Balsam fir trees have been recorded at ages up to 260 years, almost three times their “normal” life span.

Park adjacency. The Main River is one of two watersheds abutting the eastern boundary of Gros Morne National Park. The other watershed, the Upper Humber, was extensively logged in the 1990s, right up to the park boundaries.

Endangered marten. The Main River watershed supports the second-largest population of endangered Newfoundland marten.

Wildlife habitat. The Main River watershed provides valuable pristine old-growth habitat for the woodland caribou as well as for an estimated 90 species of birds. The river and its tributaries produce unusually high runs of salmon and trout.

Canoeing. The river is renowned as one of the best wilderness rivers in all of Canada. The river descends 400 metres over its 57 km length, with areas of great beauty and serenity intermingled with challenging whitewater channels.

Shortcomings of the Heritage River Management Plan