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Environmental issues and concerns in the remote park are not addressed in the talks being held behind closed doors. Cottagers who are promoting the hydro project in Nopiming are restricting access to information about the proposed project and the impacts it will have in the park. The Manitoba government has committed to stop logging in the park, yet 30 acres of trees will have to be removed for the new hydro line.

Manitoba Conservation and Manitoba Hydro are both silent on what criteria are being used to evaluate and approve the significant use of land in a park that includes protected areas for woodland caribou.

Concerned citizens can contact Manitoba Conservation, Minister's Office: (204) 945-4695, or email at Mike.Keenan@leg.gov.mb.ca

Canada is home to about two-thirds of the world's polar bears but scientists warn that dramatic losses of sea ice, over hunting, and industrial activity is threatening their survival. Prentice said the focus now is on short-term goals to address conservation.

The World Wildlife Fund Canada identifies at least four major steps needed to safeguard the polar bear: develop a North American Conservation Action Plan, provide strong leadership to reduce all main threats, including climate change; full protection of all critical habitats for polar bears; and major increases in resources to for scientific research.

Wind Vision 2025 - Powering Canada's Future, released by CANWEA, states there will be close to $1-trillion by 2020 in global investments for new wind energy projects. Canada will need to implement bold measures to accommodate wind project developers.

CanWEA is pushing for government to put a price on carbon emissions that will stimulate a demand for wind energy. CANWEA wants Canada to become a clean energy superpower by building wind-friendly transmission infrastructure, stimulating wind power equipment manufacturing, and streamlining permitting and approval processes for wind projects.

CPAWS suggests the Canadian government invest in green power, pointing towards waste produced by pulp and paper mills as a potential source of biomass. Electricity and heat produced by the biomass could power mills and turn them into net contributors to the grid. Ontario Power Generation is already aiming to convert coal power plants to burn biomass derived from forest waste.

In a growing green market place Canada could give forest companies the opportunity to prove their operations are sustainable. CPAWS clearly cautions against any initiatives to burn Forests for fuel or energy. CPAWS also encourages the government to conserve critical habitats for endangered species like the woodland caribou within forestry tenures.

A joint report, Geared for Change: Energy Efficiency in Canada's Commercial Building Sector, released by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) and Sustainable Development Technology Canada, pushes for energy conservation in more than 440 Canadian office towers and commercial buildings.

The report calls for public scrutiny to curb fuel consumption and carbon emissions. The report was released in advance of Canada's early federal budget.

Similar to PowerSmart, which provides low costs loans for energy efficiency, WaterSmart will also provide low cost loans for water conservation improvements. An agency of government, GreenManitoba, promotes these and other programs for energy and water conservation.

Manitobans use less water, at 219 litres per day, than most Canadians, at 329 litres per day. The rebate is part of an effort to conserve 80 million litres of water annually and save Manitobans $2-million on their collective annual water bill. A federal government rebate of the same amount also exists for efficiency toilets.

"We congratulate our government on steps to use the successful PowerSmart model for water conservation. Steps to make sure all water, drainage, and waste water projects include conservation measures criteria for approval and delivery are no doubt next," said Gaile Whelan Enns of Manitoba Wildlands.

The Manitoba government has ordered an overhaul on Winnipeg's wastewater treatment system to the tune of $1.8 billion. An extra $50 million will be spent on treatment processes to remove nitrogen from wastewater that ends up in Lake Winnipeg.

"We disagree with the government's plans to improve the health of Lake Winnipeg by making minor reductions in inputs of both phosphorus and nitrogen, rather than making much larger reductions in phosphorus alone," the scientists said.

Scientists say the blooms of blue-green algae plaguing Lake Winnipeg are a result of phosphorus and not nitrogen. The letter originated at an October 2008 conference at the University of Winnipeg organized by the Lake Winnipeg Foundation.

The flock of ducks made headlines when they landed on tar-laden ponds last April and drowned. A late winter storm was blamed for the delay in deploying noise guns used to deter birds from the large toxic tailings ponds.

EcoJustice, the Sierra Club and Forest Ethics want Syncrude to be charged under the Migratory Birds Convention Act. The groups say the Alberta and federal governments have failed to enforce their own laws against the oilsands giant and will present their own evidence at a provincial court hearing February 19, 2009 in Edmonton.

The study entitled How We Fish Matters: Addressing the Ecological Impacts of Canadian Fishing Gear, was released by the Living Oceans Society, Ecology Action Centre and Marine Conservation Biology Institute.

"Currently, some types of fishing gear are destroying critical habitats such as coral forests and sponge fields while the use of other gear results in high bycatch and discard levels of non-target species," says Susanna Fuller of the Ecology Action Centre.

Fishery professionals were asked to rank impacts of 13 different gear types used in Canada. They found the bottom trawl causes the greatest impact on habitat and discarded bycatch. The study recommends fisheries managers implement ecologically risk adverse strategies to minimize impacts of fishing gear.

A team of scientists based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, led the first expedition fall 2008 to the unexplored region known as Mount Mabu. Wildlife experts previously overlooked the area because of its difficult landscape and decades of civil war.

The 7,000-hectare forest was filled with hundreds of plant species, three new butterflies, colonies of rare birds, monkeys, a rarely seen orchid and a new species of giant snake - a Gaboon viper. They expect to discover more new species from specimens brought back.

Jonathan Timberlake, expedition leader, said discovering new species is not only important to science but helps to highlight conservation efforts in parts of the world threatened by logging and development.

Goodon argued his Manitoba Métis Federation harvester card granted him rights to hunt. Under the Constitution Métis, have a right to hunt based on proving an ancestral connection to an historic Métis community.

"I have determined the rights-bearing community is an area of southwestern Manitoba that includes the City of Winnipeg south to the U.S. border and west to the Saskatchewan border. This area includes the Turtle Mountains and its environs." Provincial court Judge John Coombs said in a 28-page ruling.

Conservation Minister Stan Struthers said the court ruling will help the province set up a system to allow Métis hunting rights in the area established.

"The implications could be significant," said Karen Busby, a University of Manitoba professor. "This case isn't really just about hunting rights," Busby added. She said that could mean any future hydro dams, hydro transmission lines, oil pipelines or development of Crown leases that could have an impact on hunting rights would require consultation with the Métis community before such a project could proceed.

Nearly $5 billion in US government subsidies has been pumped into ethanol subsidies. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is urging Tom Vilsack, Obama's nomination for US Agriculture Secretary, to stop increasing mandatory fuel consumption levels for biofules and take into account environmental effects when developing ethanol policy.

"As prices for agricultural commodities come down from the record highs set earlier in 2008 this year, Tom Vilsack will come under intense pressure to cushion farmers with various subsidies, including those for biofuels," said Mark Halle, Director of IISD Europe. "However, we urge the new U.S. Agriculture Secretary to resist special interest lobbying, and promote policies based on their economic and environmental merits."

"We hope IISD will share their ethanol analysis with the Manitoba government," said Gaile Whelan Enns of Manitoba Wildlands.