IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
Your opportunity to Send The Message!
Background:
British Columbia (BC) is home to more than half of all fish and wildlife species in Canada. We are losing the unique and abundant biodiversity that makes our province special - and the resources available to stem these declines have been shunted to other areas of government spending.
Declining Fish, Wildlife and Habitat
Funding for Fish and Wildlife Management
http://bcwf.net/index.php/2017-political-election-questions/sign-the-petition
Cheers,
Nog
Background:
British Columbia (BC) is home to more than half of all fish and wildlife species in Canada. We are losing the unique and abundant biodiversity that makes our province special - and the resources available to stem these declines have been shunted to other areas of government spending.
Declining Fish, Wildlife and Habitat
- The human population of BC nearly doubled between 1975 and 2015, from 2.5 to 4.7 million people, putting tremendous pressure on fish and wildlife habitat
- The endangered mountain caribou are in decline across most of BC; multiple populations now number less than 50
- Moose, elk, and mule deer are declining across many parts of BC. For example, from 1989 to 2014 resident hunter moose harvest declined from 13,000 to 5,000.
- Over 85% of wetlands in the Lower Mainland and the South Okanagan have been lost, removing critical habitat for amphibians, reptiles, fish, and birds - and altering the role these habitats play in cleaning our drinking water
- Kootenay and Arrow Lake kokanee and rainbow trout are at record lows
- Thompson and Chilko River steelhead have declined from over 6,000 fish in 1985 to 600 today; they are now at a record low, and classified as extreme conservation concern
- In spite of these declines, there are no mandated population objectives or goals for fish and wildlife populations
Funding for Fish and Wildlife Management
- BC has one of the most under-funded and under-staffed fish and wildlife management agencies in North America
- BC is one of the only jurisdictions in North America without a dedicated funding model for wildlife management
- From 1984-2010 the number of full-time equivalents (employees) in the Ministry of Environment went from 2,116 to 1,533
- From 1998-2011 the provincial government's budget doubled while funding for renewable resource ministries was cut by 56%
- Only 18% ($2.6 million) of the $14.5 million collected through hunting licence fees are dedicated to BC's fund for fish and wildlife conservation - the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
- Non-renewable natural resource extraction will have a long-term negative effect on biodiversity and there is no mechanism in place to compensate for these losses
- Activities such as ecotourism, wildlife viewing, mining, heli-skiing, oil and gas, and logging should all contribute to natural resource and biodiversity conservation
http://bcwf.net/index.php/2017-political-election-questions/sign-the-petition
Cheers,
Nog