e-4353 (Environment)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The Marbled Murrelet (Brachyrampus marmoratus) is listed as “threatened” under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) since 2003 and is a migratory bird protected by the Migratory Birds Convention Act;
• The federal recovery strategy notes that the Marbled Murrelet is threatened primarily due to ongoing loss of old-growth forest nesting habitat, largely from industrial forestry operations;
• While all nests are protected under both the federal SARA and Migratory Birds Convention Act, the Marbled Murrelets nests are virtually undetectable, therefore existing protections are insufficient for the protection of this species;
• The forestry industry has consistently failed to uphold their reporting obligations within proposed cut blocks;
• In 2021, biologists observed over 300 verified detections of Marbled Murrelets in cut block 8022, tree farm license (TFL) #46 and observed behaviours of nesting within the forest;
• Existing small Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs) in TFL #46 only contain 26% suitable nesting habitat as per the 2018 suitable habitat maps; and
• Old-growth forests meet the definition of a “wide range of biodiversity values” as per the Convention of Biological Diversity definitions.