Safeguarding BC’s Wildlife
Squandering Our Legacy?
British Columbia is internationally renowned as a place of glorious wilderness. Towering mountains, temperate rainforests, still-wild rivers, alpine meadows and spectacular wildlife are all part of the environmental heritage of this province. Grizzly bears, mountain caribou, spotted owls, killer whales, marbled murrelets and Mariposa lilies are just a handful of the species that make BC so special - unfortunately they are also just a handful of the over 1,300 species at risk in this province.
Although British Columbia has the richest and most abundant wildlife of any province in Canada it is one of the few provinces to have no stand-alone endangered species legislation. Instead BC relies on a patchwork of weak legislation and voluntary measures that are not doing the job. In fact, the BC government is the largest logger of spotted owl habitat through its BC Timber Sales program. Rather than leading with science, we allow our endangered wildlife to take a back seat to the short-term interests of industrial logging and mining operations.
The result is a province that is in danger of losing its rich wildlife heritage and along with it the chance for our grandchildren to see a grizzly bear, spotted owl or mountain caribou in the wild.
“The end result is that threatened species such as the marbled murrelet
are falling through the cracks, with logging continuing in sensitive areas
under plans approved by government agencies”
- BC Forest Practices Board March 3,
2005
The Solution
It’s not too late. The solution is for BC to have strong, effective legislation that actually protects our endangered wildlife. We need science, not politics, to tell us what needs to be done to safeguard species, and we need habitat to be set aside wherever necessary. Additionally, BC Timber Sales needs to immediately defer logging in endangered species habitat.
A strong clear endangered species law would include:
- Science-based listing of species
- Mandatory protection of recovery habitat
- Prohibitions against harming species at risk
- Means for citizens to go to court to ensure the law is upheld
- Multi-species and ecosystem recovery
BC's independent Forest Practices Board has warned that many species are on the brink of extinction in BC unless the government changes its approach. The provincial government needs to do the right thing and enact a strong law to protect BC’s endangered wildlife.
For more information please contact Joe Foy at Western Canada Wilderness Committee at (604) 683-8220, or visit the following Web sites:
- Priorities for Environmental Leadership
- Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter
- ForestEthics
- Sierra Legal Defence Fund
Background reading:
Requirements
of an effective endangered wildlife act
