Ambitious plan to rescue Canadian wetlands taking flight

CALGARY – The ‘Rescue our Wetlands’ campaign is setting out to raise 2 billion dollars across North America, including 500 million in Canada.

A Ducks Unlimited kickoff event was held at Bow Habitat Station in Calgary Saturday afternoon.

The money will be used to fund habitat conservation and restoration, educational programs and wetland research.

Ducks Unlimited says wetlands are shrinking in Canada, noting that some areas have lost up to 70 % of the wetlands once there.

The group says wetlands help clean water and mitigate climate change, provide flood and drought protection and serve as natural spaces for wildlife and recreation. They are working with the Alberta Government currently to restore wetland areas that may have helped mitigate the 2013 flood.

“Soft infrastructure is what we call it. It’s putting wetlands back where they were at one point in time to help store water in those big rain or snow events,” says Greg Siekaniec, Ducks Unlimited CEO.

“This campaign should change the face of conservation in North America.”

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Each day in Canada more than 80 acres of wetlands are drained and filled in to make way for agriculture, urban sprawl and industrial development.

Organizers suggest this is the largest conservation campaign ever initiated in North America.