Press Release
Sept 7, 2009
The Lanark County link in the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Connection
You may have heard of the transcontinental Yellowstone to Yukon initiative to conserve Rocky Mountain biodiversity, but did you know that Lanark County is part of another continental conservation connection? It is called Algonquin to Adirondacks, or A2A for short. The A2A area covers the part of the Canadian Shield that stretches for about 300 km from Algonquin Provincial Park, across the St. Lawrence River, to Adirondack State Park in New York. And Lanark County is a vital link in this conservation chain.
The Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists (MVFN) 2009-2010 lecture series, Algonquin to Adirondacks: Big Picture Conservation, will begin September 17 with a presentation by Emily Conger, President of the Algonquin to Adirondacks Conservation Association. Emily will speak about conservation accomplishments and progress under this initiative, highlighting the role Lanark County can play and the benefits this can bring to individual landowners and the public as a whole.
The A2A vision requires us to consider protecting biodiversity and the integrity of ecosystems on a scale broader than we are accustomed to thinking about-planning on a scale bigger than landscape, larger than a national park, and extending beyond the jurisdiction of most land management units. At this scale, conservation issues can be addressed and projects undertaken using initiatives, impractical locally, but which can provide benefits for those who live here (such as the re-introduction of native species or the re-establishment of natural, large-scale ecosystem-creating processes).
In light of climate change, the focus of the A2A initiative-maintaining a natural, north-south connection as a biological highway-is imperative for there to be the ecological resilience needed for species survival. Learn more about A2A and the Lanark link at Ms. Conger’s presentation, Algonquin to Adirondacks: a Continental Conservation Connection, 7:30 pm., Thursday, September 17, Almonte United Church Social Hall, 106 Elgin St. in Almonte. All are welcome ($5 fee for non-members). For further information, please contact MVFN’s Program Chair Cathy Keddy at 613-257-3089 or visit www.mvfn.ca.
