Ft. McMurray, Alberta – Ground Zero for the tar sands industry (photo: Kris Krug)

The existing Jackpine mine is already one of the largest in the area, producing 200,000 barrels of tar sands crude every day — more than three billion gallons every year — and by expanding the mine Shell hopes to add an extra 100,000 barrels per day to that figure (for a total of 300,000 bpd). By any measure the impacts to the region would be devastating: almost 50 square miles of destroyed or disturbed land in the boreal forest, a 128 billion gallon “tailings pond” for the project’s toxic waste, mining-out of eight miles of the Muskeg River. The mining operation alone would produce more carbon dioxide than half a million cars on the road every day, and that’s before you factor in the pollution created when that oil is burned.

Woodland Caribou (Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service)

Wildlife in peril

In its submission to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA), Shell tried to gloss over the toll that Jackpine would take on wildlife, but its own statistical projections (not to mention common sense) show that animals would be hit hard by the huge operation: Woodland caribou, which are already suffering huge population declines due to industrial development in the boreal forest, would lose about half their habitat in the area (compared to pre-industrial numbers); wood bison would lose almost 40%, and the Canada lynx over 30%. Birds are hit even harder, with the Canada warbler losing over 60% of its habitat, the black-throated green warbler about 44%, and the barred owl 43%. Species like wolverine, moose, beaver, and black bears would find themselves cut off from about a quarter of their land in the mine area.

Canada Lynx (Photo: Juliana Luz)

We know that tar sands mining permanently damages the environment and destroys forests and wetlands with vast infrastructure, open pit mines, and toxic wastewater ponds up to three miles wide. Waterbirds mistake those tailings ponds for natural ponds. They land in the contaminated water and get coated in oil and other toxins. They often drown, die from hypothermia, or suffer from ingestion of toxins.

Tribal groups fight back

The Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, which is already wrestling with Shell over the company’s steamroller approach to development, is challenging the project in court, pointing out the harm that traditional tribal lands will suffer and saying that Shell and the provincial government have ignored their legal obligation to consult with tribes.

“We don’t want to take Shell to court, but we feel our treaty rights need to be addressed,” Eriel Deranger, a communications coordinator for the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, said. “We have repeatedly asked for more meaningful consultation, and don’t believe the government has done its due diligence. We are taking this very seriously.”

For those of us in the US who have seen poorly tar sands pipeline companies treat tribes and other communities, this is a depressingly familiar refrain. But we should also recognize that Shell’s projects are directly linked to our demand for oil, and we can put a stop to mines like Jackpine by shifting to cleaner energy sources and refusing to be the middleman for Canada’s dirty fuel.

Speak up to protect wildlife and our planet’s future! Tell the White House to say NO to tar sands pipelines like Keystone XL.

For a comprehensive breakdown of the Jackpine Mine’s impacts on land, water, air, and wildlife, check out the Pembina Institute’s white paper here, or visit StopShellNow.com to find out more about how you can get involved.

Basically untouched until recent decades, the boreal forest’s great natural riches may also turn out to be its undoing: massive amounts of oil have been found in deposits known as “tar sands,” and the energy industry has kicked off a full-scale war on Mother Nature in their rush to boost their profits. Aided by a government that seems determined to wreck the country’s eco-friendly reputation, Big Oil is transforming huge parts of Alberta, Canada into something out of a nightmare, destroying vital wildlife habitat and putting whole populations at risk.

Read on to learn more about nine remarkable species that are directly threatened by tar sands development, then send a message to the President to help protect them.

Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Woodland caribou are being pushed out by oil development in their habitat (photo: British Columbia Forest Service)

The Canadian federal and provincial governments seem happy to turn a blind eye to the problem, and a stakeholder group that should be leading the charge to protect this iconic species — the Endangered Species Conservation Committee — is stocked with representatives from the energy industry, agriculture and timber companies, who watered down the caribou recovery plan to a toothless piece of paper. And even then, Environment Minister Peter Kent ignored a court order and refused to issue emergency protections for at-risk herds. Scientists fear that industrial development could cause Canada’s woodland caribou to vanish by the end of the century.

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Our understanding of gray wolves has come a long way since the days of Little Red Riding Hood. They are impressively smart, social animals that spend as much time playing as hunting, and live together in close-knit packs of 4 to 7 animals.

Gray wolves are a keystone species in the northern ecosystem (photo: flickr/YankeeNovember3)

But in the eyes of the Canadian government this makes them a threat, and an easy scapegoat for the recent rapid declines of the caribou herds. So the government has embarked upon a plan to “cull” wolf populations using poison-laced bait and aerial hunts from helicopters. The poison, strychnine, is known for an excruciating death that progresses painfully from muscle spasms to convulsions to suffocation, over a period of hours. As if that weren’t awful enough, other animals like eagles and even domesticated dogs have been unintended casualties of the baiting campaign.

Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Black bears like this cub like to eat the garbage from dumps around tar sands mines, much to their misfortune. (photo: Noah Katz)

It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now that tar sands development has directly encroached on bear habitat, leading to more interactions between humans and this species. Unfortunately, the government’s approach has been similar to their wolf plan: shoot ‘em and keep digging for oil.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Canada Lynx near Whitehorse, Yukon (photo: Keith Williams)

Unlike bears, lynx shy away from contact with humans. Development in the eastern part of Canada has already forced out the big cats, and pressure from tar sands exploitation in Alberta is causing concerns there as well. And there’s a critical connection between gray wolves and lynx: wolves kill coyotes, which directly compete with lynx for snowshoe hare and other prey. So fewer wolves means more coyotes, which means fewer lynx. For a population that’s already threatened, that’s bad news. On the other hand, protecting wolves means lynx may rebound as well.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill cranes face a double-whammy in Alberta and Nebraska (photo: flickr.com/nigel)

The big birds migrate thousands of miles each year from their breeding grounds in western Canada to as far south as Mexico, fattening up for a month in Nebraska’s Platte River valley. But this exposes them to a double-whammy from tar sands, with Alberta’s energy development destroying prime nesting habitat, and the danger of a spill in the Nebraska Sandhills region (from which they take their name) that could take away a crucial feeding ground. As it happens, their migratory pathway overlaps the route of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline almost mile-for-mile, meaning that a spill at any point will put this iconic species in harm’s way.

Walleye (Sander vitreus)

An angler in Ontario holds her latest catch (photo: flickr.com/Rowdy Rider)

But walleye and several other native species of fish might soon become a scarce commodity if Big Oil gets its way. Residents of Fort Chipeweyan, Alberta (most of whose residents are First Nations members) have reported a pretty scary development in the last few years: lots and lots of deformed fish downstream of the tar sands developments. In 2010, commercial fishing ground to a halt due to concerns about heavy metals like mercury and cadmium…as if anyone would want to eat a filet with a golf-ball sized tumor. The Canadian government, not surprisingly, contests these claims, but independent data shows that contamination has reached 30 times the federally-accepted levels.

In addition to all that, tar sands extraction requires a lot of water — up to three barrels of water for every barrel of oil — and this has disrupted the normal cycles of of the Athabasca river and surrounding watersheds.

Moose (Alces alces)

It's hard to play hide-and-seek when you weigh more than a ton (photo: flicker/Benjamin 1970)

This species has been a major part of native culture and their diet for millennia, but with numbers near Fort McKay, Alberta declining 60% in recent years, First Nations elders now have to travel up to 200 kilometers to find moose during their traditional hunt. Moose meat has also tested high in arsenic and carcinogens created by tar sands mining, endangering the health of the region’s indigenous communities.

Like woodland caribou, moose are prey for gray wolves, and toxins in moose meat spells trouble for their predators.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Scaup, also known as "bluebills," call the Athabasca River delta home (photo: Carol Foil)

Scaup (pronounced “skawp”) are a favorite of hunters but, like so many other creatures, tar sands operations are taking a toll. In addition to direct habitat loss, Big Oil has created a particularly gruesome way for these birds to die. One of the dirtiest parts of oil mining is so-called “tailings ponds,” gigantic open pits where the industry dumps its liquid waste. There are lots of these contaminated tailings ponds in the delta region, filled with toxic chemicals and oil, but which appear to flying birds like just another good spot to land. And when they do, it’s not hard to imagine what happens: slow, painful death. The industry’s solutions have ranged from the simple (and ineffective), like scarecrows, to the absurd — supersonic “cannons” that boom loud enough to disturb animals for miles around, and scare off any birds from landing in the sludge.

You and Me (Homo sapiens)

Climate change threatens our oceans, shorelines, and every other ecosystem on earth (photo: Barry Keleher)

And perhaps the biggest threat of all is the danger posed by global warming, which has already reached a tipping point and could be pushed over the edge by burning Canada’s tar sands oil. Rising sea levels, extreme droughts, flooding — it might sound like the Apocalypse but in fact it’s already happening.

Speak up now! Tell President Obama to stand up for wildlife in the tar sands region, and stand strong against Big Oil’s plans to destroy the boreal forest.

National Wildlife Federation is helping to lead the charge against tar sands and Big Oil’s dirty projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which would help trigger even more development in the boreal forest. We need your help to make sure that this pristine ecosystem and its magnificent animals don’t vanish forever.

To donate directly to our tar sands campaign, please go to NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” website, or visit NWF.org/tarsands to learn more and find out how you can make a difference.

Milo, picking up trash

This Labor Day weekend, a friend and I (and Milo the dog, pictured above for no good reason, except he is my dog) were about 15 minutes out of town on a dirt road on the way to a quick morning hike when we saw a lynx by the side of the road.  That’s rare and very exciting.

The legendary Loch Ness Lynx, as seen through my iPhone camera

They are listed as a threatened species in the lower 48, but in Alaska, a place where we have a chance to do it right, there is a healthy population.  Despite that, I’ve only seen three lynx in my 17 years here.

But after five minutes, we began to seriously worry that it was a stuffed lynx set out as a practical joke.  Then it stirred itself and strolled across the road and into the woods.  It was tall and lean with a short black tail.

We guessed it weighed about 40 pounds (although males average 22 pounds, so the excitement may have made us over-estimate), with feet like small frisbees for running on the snow.

A Better Photo of a Lynx Taken by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Lynx tend to avoid people so I’ve included the picture I took with my  iPhone (above left).  It clearly proves that we saw a lynx, or possibly a tree stump, an extremely large marmot, or the Loch Ness Monster.

NWF naturalist David Mizejewski will be making a live appearance on the Today Show tomorrow morning (June 23rd) to promote the Great American Backyard Campout, happening in backyards across the country this weekend, June 27th.

Dave will be interviewed by Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kopt between 10:30-11 a.m. ET for a segment about the animals you might see–or hear–during your backyard campout.

Expected On-Air Animal Talent:

• Great horned owl
• Bullfrog
• Big brown bat
• Baby opossum
• Groundhog
• Snapping turtle
• Lynx (to represent rarer animals you might see if camping in real wilderness)

Campout Links:

• Register your backyard today for the Great American Backyard Campout June 27, 2009.
• Visit Ranger Rick’s CampZone

Dave will be corralling some cute animals onstage, including a burrowing owl, Arctic fox, Canada lynx and a two-month-old baby spider monkey.

Burrowing Owls live in North, Central and South America. They can be found in the desert southwest and western grasslands in the U.S. northward into Canada, as well as a population in Florida. Ground-dwelling owls that use burrows for safety and to lay their eggs.

They live in open country with sparse vegetation that allows good view of landscape. The owls are only about 10″ tall and only weigh 6 or 7 ounces. They eat large insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, as well as small mammals (mice, rats, gophers, ground squirrels, young rabbits, bats). Other prey includes reptiles and amphibians, scorpions, and smaller birds.

Arctic Foxes live in the Arctic tundra. They have a white coat in winter which is shed in spring to a gray-black-brown coat in summer, keeping them camouflaged in all seasons. Their winter coat is extremely insulating and keeps fox warm. They also have tiny ears, a short muzzle and limbs that help them live in the Arctic (less surface area for heat to escape), as well as hairy foot pads for insulation and grip on snow and ice.

Foxes only weigh about 10 lbs. (about the weight of house cat).

They are monogamous–a fox pair digs a den where the female has 4-10 kits each year. Some dens have been used for hundreds generations over the centuries. They live usually only 4 years, but in captivity live longer (10-12 years).

Canada Lynx are found in the boreal forest in Canada and the northern U.S. (upper New England, upstate NY, upper Great Lakes region, Northern Rockies/Yellowstone, Northern Cascades and Alaska). They weigh between 20-30 lbs.

They are similar to the more widespread bobcat, but are taller, have larger feet, grayer fur and tufts of fur on its ears. The other way to tell them apart is that bobcats have striped tails but lynx just have a black tip.

These cats are adapted for living in snow. They have large feet act as snowshoes and pads are covered in fur for insulation.

Their primary prey is the snowshoe hare, but they also feed on other small mammals like red squirrels and birds such as grouse and even sometimes deer.

They are a threatened species in the U.S. due to habitat loss and fragmentation (logging of boreal forest), hunting and trapping and getting hit by cars.

Black-Handed Spider Monkeys live in tropical forests from southern Mexico and throughout Central America. They are highly arboreal and spend most of their time high up in tree canopy, rarely coming to the ground. Spider monkeys move through the trees by jumping and swinging from braches using their long arms and prehensile tails (which act as a fifth limb and for balance). Their fingers are almost like hooks to catch the branches.

They live in loose social groups of 20-30 individuals, but forage in smaller groups groups of 5-6 individuals. The groups are led by dominant females who decide where to forage. They eat primarily fruits, but will also eat nuts, young leaves, bark, honey, insects and bird eggs if fruit isn’t available.

These monkeys “bark” when threatened and often throw branches, jump up and down and shake tree limbs when approached by humans.

Spider monkeys are endangered species, threatened by the destruction of tropical forests and hunting.

Find out what you can do to celebrate getting outside with your family and enjoying nature and wildlife. National Wildlife Week is your chance to Be Out There™!

Christmas Bird Count

National Wildlife Federation supports citizen science, and one of the oldest such efforts is the Christmas Bird Count sponsored by our friends at Audubon. Here’s how it works: regular folks record bird sightings and scientists then use the data to study bird populations. It’s a great way to get outside during the holiday season with the entire family and do something good for wildlife. Participate in the Christmas Bird Count >>

Northeast

Recent snows make it harder for a lot wildlife species to survive, but not the lynx. These  beautiful, wild cats can still be found in small populations in the Northeast and are often confused with the similar bobcat. Lynx are more adapted to snowy environments and you can distinguish them from bobcats by their tufted ears, silvery coat and huge, snowshoe-like feet that allow them to move about with ease in deep snow.

Midwest

Dark-eyed juncos have arrived in their wintering grounds across the Midwest. These smoky-colored sparrows breed in Canada and head south for the winter, giving them their common nickname “snowbird.” Keep a feeder filled this winter and you’ll be guaranteed to see these cute little birds in your yard.

West

From Oregon to Colorado and down into Mexico, mountain bluebirds have returned for the winter. Be on the lookout for these beautiful birds feeding on berries and foraging for insects. To tell them apart from Western bluebirds check out their breast feathers. Mountain bluebirds have bluish-gray breasts while Western bluebirds’ are reddish-brown.

South

Witchhazel, a native shrub, is in bloom across its range. Its spider-like yellow blooms are a great way to brighten the winter landscape in a season when other flowers have long since faded and the trees have lost their fall foliage. It’s also a preferred nesting shrub for birds come spring.