http://supporter.naturecanada.ca/site/Ecard?ecard_id=3421

Suffield National Wildlife Area near Medicine Hat, Alberta is home to 16 species of plants and animals at risk of extinction in Canada, including the Burrowing Owl, the Northern Leopard Frog, and the Western Harvest Mouse. 

Don’t let it become home to 1,275 shallow gas wells and 220km of pipeline! Join Our Letter-Writing Campaign to Preserve Suffield National Wildlife Area!

This 458 km2 protected area within the Canadian Forces Base at Suffield, Alberta, contains the last remaining large intact piece of pristine prairie grasslands in Canada. But an approval to expand natural gas drilling operations would put this rare natural treasure under threat, and could set a dangerous precedent that calls into question the validity of the National Wildlife Area system.

If a protected area that conserves 16 of Canada’s most endangered species is not safe from industrial development, then what is?

Please send a letter today to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister Jim Prentice, and protect Suffield’s undisturbed grasslands, sand hills, river breaks and wetlands. Click here to read our sample letter, then send your own.​

http://supporter.naturecanada.ca/site/Ecard?ecard_id=3421

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister's Office
Langevin Block, 80 Wellington St.
Ottawa, Canada   K1A 0A2

Subject: CEAR 05-05-15620 Shallow Gas Proposal in National Wildlife Area - Suffield, AB

Dear Prime Minister:

I am writing to you on behalf of endangered animals like the Burrowing Owl, Ord’s Kangaroo Rat and Loggerhead Shrike, who face grave threats from large-scale development within Suffield National Wildlife Area near Medicine Hat, Alberta.

This federally protected area holds some of Canada’s last remaining intact pieces of prairie grassland, and provides critical habitat for 16 federally listed species at risk, as well as 80 provincially listed species.

Canadian energy company EnCana is seeking a permit to expand its drilling operations inside this tiny wildlife area, a development that would include 1,275 shallow gas wells and 220 km of pipeline. I oppose granting EnCana this permit.
 
I do not feel that Canada can allow expanded drilling operations inside a protected area like Suffield NWA and still meet its international conservation commitments as laid out in agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity.

I do believe that granting such a permit will set a dangerous precedent and risk rendering the very concept of “protected area” meaningless. Indeed, if Canadians cannot expect 16 federally listed species at risk to find safety inside a national wildlife area, where in the world can we expect our endangered species to live and thrive?

For these reasons, I am asking the Government of Canada to protect this nation’s endangered species and reject the destruction of the rare prairie landscapes that make Suffield National Wildlife Area a national treasure. I request that EnCana’s proposal to expand its drilling operations inside Suffield be denied.

Thank you for considering my views.