WILDLIFE `CRISIS' IN B.C.
Long-term lack of funding blamed
B.C.'s spending on wildlife and habitat protection has declined by 65 per cent over the past 20 years as wild populations of caribou and endangered runs of steelhead and salmon plumb new lows, according to an analysis by the B.C. Wildlife Federation.
Successive NDP and Liberal governments have failed to reverse those trends, despite assurances given in past election campaigns, said spokesman Jesse Zeman.
“We are in a crisis situation in renewable resource management, but we aren't seeing a crisis response,” he said.
The evidence of chronic underfunding was readily apparent after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told British Columbians to get outside and enjoy nature in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parks were overwhelmed, campsites were full to the point that people were camping in sensitive habitat, and staff were unable to keep up with the amount of trash people left behind.
The consequences of underfunding on B.C.'s iconic wildlife species is more troubling yet.
Several populations of the mountain caribou have become functionally extinct in recent years. The annual moose harvest for licensed hunters has declined from more than 13,000 in 1979 to just over 4,000 in recent years, the report notes. Fewer than 40 steelhead returned to their spawning grounds in the Chilko River this past spring.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development confirmed that only 62 steelhead returned to the entire Chilcotin River system, with just 134 in the entire Thompson River system.
Eight of 24 Fraser River sockeye populations are considered endangered.
“B.C. is the most biodiverse jurisdiction in North America and we have the most poorly funded fish and wildlife agency in North America,” said Zeman.
“Funding is a shell game of repurposed money and new announcements of old money, so it's really hard to follow over time.”
Increases to the provincial budget for wildlife and habitat conservation were partly clawed back by budget adjustments that resulted in hiring freezes and incomplete wildlife inventories, he said. Despite significant commitments made by the NDP in 2017 around funding, policy, and a commitment to science in wildlife management, “minimal progress has been made,” the analysis says.
The federation challenged the NDP, Liberal and Green parties to explain how they would act in government.
The NDP didn't respond by deadline, but recently established the Wild Salmon Advisory Council and created a $142-million Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund.
The Greens say they have pressed the NDP government to pursue the aforementioned salmon enhancement programs.
The party also supports an increase in funding for parks, campsites, and the Conservation Officer Service.
The Liberals vow to increase investment in watershed protection and to “enhance fish and wildlife populations,” but declined to provide more detail until their full platform is released.
They instead pointed to the past. “Under the B.C. Liberals, 84 new parks were established as well 156 new conservancies, two new ecological reserves, and 13 new protected areas,” they wrote. “We also expanded more than 75 parks, six ecological reserves, and four protected areas.”