We are proud of the strides we have made to protect forestlands and wildlife and forge partnerships in the communities around us.  

Conservation Highlights
We have a long history of working with environmental and conservation organizations to identify, understand and protect special places, and to continually improve our practices. For example, Bowater has developed several Pocket Wilderness areas in Tennessee and Nova Scotia, beginning in the 1970s. Because of their unique qualities, these lands have been set aside for protection and public recreational use.

Our cooperative approach is further demonstrated by these examples of land conservation initiatives, as well as donations to advance conservation efforts.

• Minister David Ramsay (left) and Dave Paterson (right) celebrate the Urban Forest

  In September 2007, Bowater CEO Dave Paterson joined employees and announced the company’s plan for the development of a new urban forest. As part of the celebration to commemorate Bowater’s 400 millionth seedling planted in the region, Bowater, in cooperation with the city of Thunder Bay, is establishing an urban forest surrounding the new Broadway Avenue. When complete, the urban forest will encompass 10 hectares of predominantly native species and will include walking and educational trails in the future for use by the community. 
  
  Of the Urban Forest, Mr. Paterson said, “We are regenerating this property and developing an urban forest as a testament to the employees and contractors and the work they do each and every day to sustain the forests in Northwestern Ontario and other areas where we operate.” Bowater was commended for their efforts by Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay, the City of Thunder Bay Mayor Lynn Peterson, and SFI President and CEO Kathy Abusow.
  
  

  Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen (left) and Dave Paterson (right) celebrate the transfer of forest land

• In July 2007, Bowater officially donated approximately 3,000 acres of forest land in East Tennessee to the state as part of an ongoing conservation partnership. The action marked the culmination of a beneficial conservation partnership with the State of Tennessee that has lasted nearly five years. The program has permanently preserved nearly 24,000 acres of pristine forests on the Cumberland Plateau, and studied the ecological and archaeological value of hundreds of acres of the company’s coves and gulfs.
  
  

• In July 2007, Bowater donated 184 hectares of mature forests and wetlands on Kettle Island in Gatineau. Bowater Canadian Forest Products Inc. worked with the Nature Conservancy to ensure the protection of this exceptional area. The natural environment that Kettle Island represents is composed of a stand of Silver Maples, a community of American Basswood as well as an exceptional forest ecosystem composed of American Hackberry. Eight species that are rare or threatened with extinction are protected thanks to this donation.
  
  

• In 2005, through contracts with the University of Tennessee, Bowater initiated new studies of certain forests of exceptional conservation value on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.  These studies are designed to reveal the existence of rare, threatened or endangered plants as well as evidence of cultural and historical significance.
  

• In 2005, Bowater signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Dogwood Alliance.  The MOU specifies commitments by all three organizations to advance conservation and sustainable forestry practices in regions of the U.S. in which Bowater operates. For further information regarding this MOU, please see the following news release.
  
  
• In 2005, through contracts with the University of Tennessee, Bowater initiated new studies of certain forests of exceptional conservation value on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.  These studies are designed to reveal the existence of rare, threatened or endangered plants as well as evidence of cultural and historical significance.
  
  
• In 2004, Bowater partnered with the National Forest Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service and the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism on a project to enhance a previously untraversable section of South Carolina’s Palmetto Trail. 
  
  
• Also in 2004, the National Park Service awarded a Certificate of Recognition to Bowater for its work in protecting the threatened Camden Battlefield National Historic Landmark in Kershaw County, South Carolina.  Bowater’s contribution spurred the creation of a multi-agency coalition working to develop the Camden site into a historic battlefield park.
  
  
• Under the United Nations’ International Biological program, Bowater has set aside significant examples of old Acadian forests in western Nova Scotia, the protection of which began over 30 years ago.
  
  
• In the past two decades, Bowater has worked with the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust to contribute lands of special ecological significance to Nova Scotia’s protected areas network.
  
  
• Our Gatineau mill has partnered with local environmental groups and the Quebec government to create a wildlife preserve on Kettle Island as part of the Ottawa River Wetlands Conservation.  The Island is located near the mill and is home to several threatened species.
  
  
• Bowater has supported the conservation of the Rocky Shoals Spider Lily for many years with monetary support for Landsford Canal, located downriver from our Catawba, South Carolina mill.

Wildlife Protection
Eastern Bluebird
Since 1976, Bowater’s Catawba mill has distributed more than 7,000 Eastern Bluebird nesting boxes throughout the Southeast.  Once imperiled due to a lack of naturally occurring nesting conditions, the Eastern Bluebird population has enjoyed a resurgence in the past several decades.  In addition to the distribution of the nesting boxes, Bowater tracks the number birds fledged in Bowater nesting boxes each year.  To date over 105,000 fledglings have been documented.

Blandings Turtle
In December 2002, 102 hectares of Bowater-owned land in Nova Scotia were set aside for protection under our Unique Areas Program.  This area is home to the second-largest known population of the Blandings Turtle in Nova Scotia.  The species is considered a threatened species in Canada and is at risk of extinction in Nova Scotia.  We will continue to partner with the Blanding’s Turtle Recovery Team, Acadia University and the Province of Nova Scotia to promote the Blandings Turtle population increase.

Community Partnerships
In addition to the partnerships involved in our forestland and wildlife protection activities, we are developing relationships that foster continued operating success.

• As part of our commitment to increase the recovery of old newspapers and magazines, Bowater has made a substantial financial contribution to help open a recycling education center in Nashville, TN.  We recognize the importance of education in the continued effort to improve successful fiber recovery.
  
  

  Chief Harry Pelletier, Fort William First Nations (right) and Dave Paterson (left) celebrate the Urban Forest

• Bowater values and respects the knowledge and experience of First Nations peoples, and we work with them to provide economic  opportunities and to support training programs that enable those communities to participate in the harvesting and sustainable management of the local forest. Bowater values and encourages relationships with the First Nations peoples living near our operations in the boreal forest and elsewhere. Bowater has partnerships and collaborations with First Nations in all of the provinces in which it operates.