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Cargill Supports Ecosystem Preserve
May 19, 2004
Cargill Limited has teamed up with parent company, Cargill,
Incorporated in support of the Nature Conservancy of Canada
(NCC) Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. Through this unique partnership,
Cargill will donate $100,000 towards the preservation of one
of the most threatened ecosystems in North America making
Cargill a major partner in the largest Campaign for Conservation
in Canadian history with a national goal of $100 million and
a Manitoba target of $5 million.
“This initiative is focused on helping to revive an
extremely fragile ecosystem that our community has unfortunately
forgotten,” said Kerry Hawkins, president of Cargill,
Limited. “North America’s natural heritage is
disappearing at an alarming rate and we cannot allow our defining
landscapes, native plants, and animals to face extinction.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the Tall
Grass Prairie Preserve is successful over the long-term.”
Thought to have disappeared, the last significant remnants
of the Tall Grass Prairie were discovered by amateur naturalists
in the southeast corner of Manitoba in the late 1980's. Less
than one half of 1 per cent of the Tall Grass Prairie remains
intact.
Since 1989, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has worked with
a number of partners to establish the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve.
With more than 500 species of plants, animals and insects,
it is home to the endangered Small White Lady's Slipper and
Great Plains Ladies Tresses orchids, the Powesheik Skipperling
butterfly, Grey Wolf, Black Bear, Yellow Rail and is the only
Canadian location of the globally imperiled Western Prairie
Fringed Orchid.
To date, NCC has protected over 12,000 acres of this precious
habitat and is now working with the business community and
public to include additional lands in this natural corridor
that will span from southeastern Manitoba into Minnesota and
further south.
“As a global corporate citizen, we pay close attention
to our total impact on society and, particularly, the environment,”
said Ron Christenson, corporate vice president and chief technology
officer for Cargill. “The Nature Conservancy has been
a terrific partner in helping to identify and protect endangered
landscapes like the Tall Grass Prairie that impact our communities.”
Through an international agreement between The Nature Conservancy
and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, two independent conservation
organizations, the Canada/U.S. Partnership was founded in
1998. Its initial focus is to work together to protect threatened
natural landscapes which span North America’s international
border. These landscapes represent some of the more biologically
diverse ecosystems in North America. Cargill’s gift,
which has helped the Manitoba Region reach 72 per cent of
its $5 million goal to date, recognizes that the preservation
of the unique Tall Grass Prairie habitat is a cross-border
issue.
James Richardson, Chair of the Manitoba Region of NCC observes,
“We are grateful to Cargill for recognizing the importance
of preserving these complex ecological systems. Cargill and
NCC make a powerful partnership. Together, we will give the
natural legacies of our past a future.”
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is a non-profit, science-based
organization that takes a business-like approach to land conservation
and the preservation of biological diversity. Since 1962,
NCC has worked with partners to protect over 1.8 million acres
of Canada’s biologically rich landscapes. NCC’s
approach to this challenge is to take immediate and direct
action to secure ecologically important land through purchase,
donation and conservation agreements. NCC’s plan of
action involves entering into creative conservation solutions
with individuals, corporations, community groups, conservation
organizations or government bodies that share the same vision.
Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural
and risk management products and services. With 101,000 employees
in 60 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge
and experience to collaborate with customers to help them
succeed. Headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Cargill Limited
employs 5,600 people across the country and has business interests
in meat, egg and oilseed processing, animal feed, salt, fertilizer
manufacturing, chocolate, natural gas, as well as grain handling
and merchandising.
Interested media are invited to attend an 11:30 a.m. luncheon
conference on May 18th, 2004, to announce the Tall Grass Prairie
Preserve initiative. Cargill’s senior leadership, including
Kerry Hawkins, as well as senior representatives from the
Nature Conservancy of Canada will be available to discuss
this unique and historic conservation initiative.
As part of the short conference, NCC staff will present a
brief video of the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve illustrating
the various habitats within this storied ecosystem.
Robert Meijer
Director, Public Affairs
Cargill Limited
Telephone: (204) 947-6370
robert_meijer@cargill.com
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