“Narwhal are recognized as a #cultural cornerstone by Inuit, the #narwhal holds profound significance,” Jason Akearok, executive director of the #Nunavut #Wildlife Management Board, said on Wednesday.

“In alignment with their cultural relevance, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board commits to a thorough examination of #scientific insights and #Inuit #Qaujimajatuqangit [knowledge] from #COSEWIC, evaluating their assessment of the narwhal as ‘Not at Risk.'”

https://www.rcinet.ca/eye-on-the-arctic/2024/05/15/narwhals-stable-inuit-partnerships-crucial-says-cosewic

Committee on the Status of #Endangered #Wildlife in #Canada - #COSEWIC - updated the status of 12 #Canadian #animals this month, and it included the #GreyHeadedChickadee among the animals newly considered "endangered."

Dr. Louise Blight is the co-chair of the COSEWIC advisory committee on #birds.

She said Grey-headed #Chickadees live at the edge of the treeline in the #PacificNorthwest & were historically common near Old Crow.

https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7208485

#Nature #PNW #birdLovers #Avian

The Committee On the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada #COSEWIC assesses the conservation status of species in #Canada. These assessments are used by the federal government in its decisions about whether or not to legally designate a species as Endangered.

I'm Manitoba's representative on COSEWIC and have spent this past week in Ottawa at the committee's annual fall meeting.

Some observations:

1) The #conservation community in Canada has some great people who are incredibly smart, wise, experienced and dedicated. After several years of virtual meetings it was great to meet all these people in person.

2) The resources needed to adequately assess, monitor, and recover #EndangeredSpecies far exceeds the resources currently available. If anything, the threats facing wildlife in Canada continue to grow and intensify. I live it in Manitoba and now hear about it from all over Canada. It can be overwhelming.

As #AldoLeopold wrote "One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds." #EcologicalGrief

3) #Nature is crazy and complicated. What do I know about whale ecology on the west coast, arboreal lichen biology on the east coast, or threats to native bees in Ontario? Very little, but the bits I learn about them through the work of this committee are fascinating - there's amazing things in this country! This is what keeps me going - these things are worth it.