James Snider

@jamessnider.bsky.social

Carbon, climate and biodiversity. Conservation, science, policy & politics. Canadian 🇨🇦. VP - Science, Knowledge & Innovation at WWF-Canada.

Canada is off track to protect 25% of land & water by 2025 AND 30% by 2030. “Protected & conserved areas are a cornerstone of our efforts to stop biodiversity loss & build climate resilience. There's great urgency for CA to recommit & invest further in our lands & waters.” —@jamessnider.bsky.social

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“Following five decades of persistent declines in wildlife populations, now is not the time to walk back protections for wildlife & habitats. Rather, Canada has a growing responsibility to scale up efforts to restore, protect & steward what remains of species’ habitats.” – @jamessnider.bsky.social

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🚨 BREAKING: All major groups of wildlife in Canada are in decline #LPRC2025: Across 910 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles & amphibians, wildlife populations in Canada have declined by 10%, on average, since 1970. BUT not all is lost. Together, we can help nature heal & wildlife recover.

Area burned in Canada for 2025 is now at 5.6 M ha exceeding the total for the entire 2024 fire season. This fire season is not as bad as 2023 that had 9.37 M ha burned by July 12, 2023. However, 2025 is a very active year with 365 fires out of control and 2 months still left in the fire season.

Map of Canada showing locations of fires and their status as of july 12, 2025

The Premiers of Ontario and Alberta are calling for the utter destruction of Canada's existing climate action plan: repeal Impact Assessment (c-69), industrial carbon price (GGPPA), O&G emissions cap, clean electricity regs & parts of Species at Risk Act (plus clean water for FNs legislation).

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What's at stake with Bill 5? 🤔 "Our data shows that without action, Ontario is on the path to losing iconic species such as the Eastern wolf, American badger & barn owl... The hopeful news is that we also know how to reverse the path we’re on." — WWF-Canada's Emily Giles Read the op-ed here. ⬇️

Giles: Ontario must not dismantle protection for endangered wildlife

Bill 5 would scrap the province’s landmark Endangered Species Act — at a time when we are increasingly concerned about our natural world.

ottawacitizen.com

"All attempts to fast-track to the Ring of Fire will fail" "Ontario is trying to legislate us out of the conversation. That won’t work” "If you pass Bill 5, you can say goodbye nature" First Nations demand the Ontario gov't revoke Bill 5. It's the most powerful stand off I've seen at Queens Park

The Narwhal@thenarwhal.ca · last yr.

First Nations promise "a long and very unnecessary fight" over Ontario government's attempt to accelerate Ring of Fire development and limit endangered species protections under Bill 5. VIA @fatimabsyed.bsky.social: thenarwhal.ca/ontario-bill...

With so much talk of speeding up processes and approvals for development, it's pretty timely that this draft environmental assessment came out on a proposed road to the Ring of Fire. There's a reason it took so long to produce: it contains A LOT of critical information: thenarwhal.ca/ontario-ring...

Ring of Fire road report highlights impacts to Ontario First Nation | The Narwhal

Environmental impacts and hundreds of recommendations outlined in report on northern Ontario road project, as Doug Ford government pushes to speed up Ring of Fire mining

thenarwhal.ca

“The headline message is, this is a globally significant area. The amount of carbon here is vast. From a conservation perspective, it reaffirms the importance of special management & stewardship activities." — WWF-Canada's @jamessnider.bsky.social on the importance of the Hudson James Bay Lowlands

James Snider@jamessnider.bsky.social · last yr.

Recent research from a multi-year collaboration between the Mushkegowuk Council, McMaster University and @wwfcanada.org further underlines the globally significant carbon storage in the Hudson James Bay Lowlands: www.timminstoday.com/local-news/n...

🚨 Ontario’s latest attack on environmental safeguards could drive endangered species to extinction. 🚨 Bill 5, which would scrap the Endangered Species Act, sidelines science & oversight to hand power to politicians & developers, putting 270+ endangered species & their habitats at even more risk.

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"This is not streamlining — it’s steamrolling," said Laura Bowman, lawyer at Ecojustice. "Doug Ford and his government are putting profit over people and ecosystems, plain and simple." (From a press release that just landed in my inbox.)

James Snider@jamessnider.bsky.social · last yr.

Just in time for the long weekend: Ontario announces intent to repeal Endangered Species Act and replace it with new Species Conservation Act: ero.ontario.ca/notice/025-0...

If you've ever said "that journalist interviewed me for half an hour and quoted just one sentence," or "that journalist interviewed my academic archnemesis in an article about my work," or "why is the headline of the article about my work so bad," you need to read this. 🧪

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈@whysharksmatter.bsky.social · last yr.

Here's part two of my series with @brettfavaro.bsky.social on tips for speaking to journalists as a scientist, this week focusing on things every scientist should know about how interviews work (and do not work). Please read and share! www.southernfriedscience.com/advice-for-t... 🧪#SciComm

The Trump administration is planning to cancel its lease at a government laboratory in Hawaii, a site where scientists support key observations of surging greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, according to a list obtained by Democratic members of Congress and shared with The Post.

Trump moves to close facility that helps track planet-warming pollution

The lab is connected to the Mauna Loa Observatory, where scientists gather data to produce the Keeling Curve, a chart on the daily status of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

washingtonpost.com

For the first time in human history -- not just in recorded history, but in the 3+ million year existence of modern humans -- carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has just breached 430 parts per million. We are in a climate emergency.

A chart showing average hourly and daily observations of carbon dioxide as measured by NOAA on Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

“This will be the starting point for that big change that we see happening in our communities. To make big changes, we need to make sure that we have sustainable access to lands and waters that are healthy.” — Stephanie Thorassie, executive director of the Seal River Watershed Alliance

Protected Seal River conservation area moves closer to reality

Federal, provincial and Indigenous leaders will pursue formal designation for Canada’s largest Indigenous-led protected area after a year-long assessment found conserving northern Manitoba’s Seal Rive...

winnipegfreepress.com

🌱✨ Big news — we're excited to award 60 #WWFGoWild Grants to schools and campuses across Canada! 🦋🐝 With these grants, students and educators will be rolling up their sleeves to create and restore wildlife habitats — from pollinator gardens to native plant seed orchards! 🌿🏫

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The U.S. has two tsunami warning centers, both operated by NOAA. Employees were terminated from these centers today. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center covers Hawaiʻi, and now it is less safe to be near the beach. www.tsunami.gov