The BCWF Wildlife and Allocations Committee reports progress on the wildlife-related resolutions passed at the 2021 B.C. Wildlife Federation Annual General Meeting:
- The Wildlife and Allocations Committee worked with Region 5 (Cariboo/Chilcotin) on a resolution related to Limited Entry Hunting (LEH), checking for consistency with B.C. Wildlife Federation policy and B.C.’s Harvest Allocation Policy. Authorizations for B.C. residents are often spread out in multiple periods over the longer season while guides can use their quotas over the entire season, which can result in hunting access inequalities. For example, about 50% of the moose harvest by guided hunters in Region 5 occurs from Oct 1 to 15 (during the rut), while resident authorizations are proportionally decreased during the same period presumably to protect bulls when they are more vulnerable.
- UNBC Glyphosate Project: The University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) is proposing research to determine where glyphosate residues exist over the boreal and sub-boreal landscape, and to assess how glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) treatments used in land management influence organisms on the landscape. The Wildlife and Allocations Committee is in discussions with Dr. Lisa Wood from UNBC on how BCWF members (as consumptive users of fish, wildlife and plants) might participate in this project. The BCWF could be involved in this research by contributing to the methods and sample acquisition for the investigation of larger vertebrates and provide a critical link to volunteers throughout the region for the collection of vertebrate tissue samples.
- Caribou Recovery: Herd plans are evolving at a snail’s pace. The provincial government has been doing a public engagement on continuing with predator removal for the most imperiled caribou herds for another 5 years. The Wildlife and Allocations submitted the BCWF response supporting continuation of predator removal and maternal penning along with other long-term initiatives such as habitat enhancement, rehabilitation, and protection. The committee also called on members to complete the public survey on predator removal. Many thanks to members who took the time to complete the public engagement survey!
- Provincial Hunting and Trapping Advisory Team (PHTAT): PHTAT meeting was held October 19-20, 2021. The BCWF Wildlife and Allocations Chair and Region 7B (Peace) President, and BCWF Indigenous Relations Chair attended on behalf of the BCWF. Topics included Online Data Collection, Together For Wildlife, Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council, Hunting Practices Sub-Committee, Hunting Regulations, Access Management (partially due to the BCWF AGM 2021 resolution) and Resource Road Management. Read more here and at the First Nations BC Wildlife and Habitat Conservation Forum here.
- Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD): Collection of heads has started once again focusing on the East Kootenays (mandatory for deer in some Wildlife Management Units) and the Peace region. The rate of submissions of heads in the East Kootenays is down compared to last year at this point.
- Together for Wildlife (T4W): The BCWF continues to push for spending T4W funding on meaningful on the ground actions. The next priority is to establish regional T4W groups and regional action plans. The BCWF will be participating in the Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council Wildlife Dialogues with Stakeholders on December 1st. Read more here.