Latest news with #landprotection
CBC
3 hours ago
- General
- CBC
'We're the protectors now,' says Sheshatshiu youth after 130-kilometre walk to Gull Island
A group of young Sheshatshiu residents completed a 130-kilometre journey in protest over a proposed hydroelectric project at Gull Island — and one says it's a sign that youth are ready to take on leadership roles to protect the land. Angel Jourdain, Percey Montague and Patrick Jourdain began the long walk earlier this month from Sheshatshui to Gull Island to to join several people who have been protesting Hydro-Québec's preliminary site survey work. Angel Jourdain said land is a place where Innu have gathered for years and said the walk holds a lot of significance for her. "I hope it shows them that we're peaceful, that we love our land but we won't step down when it comes to it, that we'll be here to protest it, if any bad decisions are made upon the land," Jourdain told CBC. "We're the protectors now. Now that most of the elders are gone, we were ready to step in." She said the group, which included Percey Montague and Patrick Jourdain, began their journey on July 13 and arrived in Gull Island on July 20. Jourdain is pleased they did this and she's feeling well, even though she's tired and sore from the long walk. "Emotionally I'm still strong and I'm ready to do whatever is next," she said, adding Montague and Patrick Jourdain are excited for any future challenges. Throughout the week-long walk, community members dropped off drinks to keep them hydrated as well as equipment like walking sticks and even junk food, to help "keep our spirits up." "We had people stop to give us hugs and to talk to us and tell us we're doing great and just giving us words of encouragement," said Jourdain. Innu Elder Elizabeth Penashue also joined the trio for a 12-kilometre portion of their walk, which Jourdain called a "big motivator to keep going." Jourdain said many elders Penashue's age are dying, so "it's really important to hear her say that, and that she trusts us to protect the land and to appreciate it the way they have done for so many years." When the group arrived at Gull Island, she said they were greeted by a crowd, from community leaders to young children. "It's not just the walk, it's an achievement for the youth of Sheshatshiu. Something like this has never been done, so seeing the support from it will definitely encourage others to do more," she said.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Conservation group has secured an additional 55 acres in this Bucks County township
As more swaths of land across Bucks County are slated for development, Heritage Conservancy just secured protection for a 55-acre property in Springfield Township. Now protected by a conservation easement, the entirely wooded 55-acre Staff property is part of the 175-acre Kirkland Farm, where 120 acres were preserved last year through a Bucks County agricultural easement. "The Staff property and adjacent farm have a big 'footprint' in Springfield Township, and the easement assures that the property and its natural resources remain intact," Heritage Conservancy CEO and President Bill Kunze said in an email. "The land can never be developed." The newly protected land is "located within the ecologically important Cooks Creek Conservation Landscape and Watershed, an area vital for local wildlife habitat," Kunze added. "It has an 'exceptional value stream' that is a tributary to Cooks Creek." A conservation easement is a voluntary, legally binding agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits the use of the land to protect its conservation values such as open space, natural habitats or historical features. To ensure compliance with these conservation easements, Heritage Conservancy staff monitor their protected properties across the region to ensure the land is being preserved appropriately. Over the last 67 years, the organization's members have protected more than 17,000 acres of land across Bucks, Montgomery and Northampton counties. They're on track to preserve an additional 600 acres by the end of the year, Kunze said. "Bucks County is known nationally for its bucolic views, rolling farmland, and forests," he added. "Our work protects the natural beauty that makes this place special. Beyond the preservation of natural beauty, projects like this have a deeper impact on the local environment, protecting and attracting local wildlife, contributing to clean air and water in the community, and helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change." Lacey Latch is the development reporter for the Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer. She can be reached at LLatch@ This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Heritage Conservancy obtains easement near Crooks Creek
CBC
22-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Bill C-5 passes in the House of Commons. Now what?
Chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton speaks with B.C. Premier David Eby about how his province is hoping to work with the federal government. Plus, Grand Chief Trevor Mercredi of the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta talks about concerns the legislation would enable the government to bypass land protections in the name of economic development. And the Sunday Scrum discusses Liberals' unexpected partner in the minority government: the Conservatives.
CNN
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Trump can revoke national monument designations, Justice Department says
President Donald Trump has broad authority to revoke protected land designated as national monuments by past presidents, the Justice Department said in a new legal opinion. The May 27 legal opinion from the Justice Department found that presidents can move broadly to cancel national monuments, challenging a 1938 determination saying monuments created under the Antiquities Act cannot be rescinded and removed from protection. The memo could serve as a legal basis to attempt to withdraw vast amounts of land from protected status. Trump's administration wants to prioritize fossil fuel and energy development, such as drilling for oil and gas and mining for coal and critical minerals, including on federal lands. 'For the Antiquities Act, the power to declare carries with it the power to revoke,' the Justice Department memo states. 'If the President can declare that his predecessor was wrong regarding the value of preserving one such object on a given parcel, there is nothing preventing him from declaring that his predecessor was wrong about all such objects on a given parcel.' The DOJ memo mentioned two California national monuments designated by former President Joe Biden shortly before leaving office. In Trump's first term, the president shrank the size of two national monuments in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante, and reduced the size of a national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. Biden restored the three areas upon taking office and designated or expanded 12 national monuments during his term. Environmental groups blasted the DOJ opinion. 'This opinion flies in the face of a century of interpretation of the Antiquities Act,' Axie Navas, designations director of conservation programs and policy at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. 'Americans overwhelmingly support our public lands and oppose seeing them dismantled or destroyed.'
CNN
11-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Trump can revoke national monument designations, Justice Department says
President Donald Trump has broad authority to revoke protected land designated as national monuments by past presidents, the Justice Department said in a new legal opinion. The May 27 legal opinion from the Justice Department found that presidents can move broadly to cancel national monuments, challenging a 1938 determination saying monuments created under the Antiquities Act cannot be rescinded and removed from protection. The memo could serve as a legal basis to attempt to withdraw vast amounts of land from protected status. Trump's administration wants to prioritize fossil fuel and energy development, such as drilling for oil and gas and mining for coal and critical minerals, including on federal lands. 'For the Antiquities Act, the power to declare carries with it the power to revoke,' the Justice Department memo states. 'If the President can declare that his predecessor was wrong regarding the value of preserving one such object on a given parcel, there is nothing preventing him from declaring that his predecessor was wrong about all such objects on a given parcel.' The DOJ memo mentioned two California national monuments designated by former President Joe Biden shortly before leaving office. In Trump's first term, the president shrank the size of two national monuments in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante, and reduced the size of a national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. Biden restored the three areas upon taking office and designated or expanded 12 national monuments during his term. Environmental groups blasted the DOJ opinion. 'This opinion flies in the face of a century of interpretation of the Antiquities Act,' Axie Navas, designations director of conservation programs and policy at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement. 'Americans overwhelmingly support our public lands and oppose seeing them dismantled or destroyed.'
