JANUARY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


Save the birds but share the cost Vancouver Island farmers put their concerns on the table with conservation groups


Stories by TAMARA LEIGH


DUNCAN – Migratory birds can be the bane of farmers in coastal British Columbia, but as conservationists come to realize the value of farms for the survival of the birds they seek to protect, they are pushing for more support for farmers.


In November, the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society and the Trumpeter Swan Society joined forces to host Waterfowl and Agriculture, Working Together, a public forum and panel discussion


focused on the importance of


agriculture to wildlife habitat conservation and the impact it has on producers.


“There’s some major threats to trumpeter swans and one of those is habitat loss. We’ve lost a lot of wetlands to drainage and development; we have issues with global warming which is threatening some key coastal wetland habitats. Another big threat to habitat loss is loss of waterfowl-compatible agriculture,” says Dr. Gary Ivey, an Oregon-based wildlife biologist and past president of the Trumpeter Swan Society. “Another endangered species is the dairy industry. Ninety percent of the dairies in western Washington are gone already,” he adds. “These


swans depend on dairies and if we don’t save the dairies, we’re probably going to lose a lot of the swans.”


The majority of the Pacific Coast population of trumpeter swans has become dependent on private farmland where swan-compatible agriculture – primarily corn and forage


“Another endangered species is the dairy industry.”


production – is rapidly declining. At the


same time, more and more


waterfowl, including swans, are grazing in farm fields, causing damage to forage


fields and potentially


contaminating feed sources. Working together


The panel brought together farmers, conservationists and representatives of the BC Ministry of Agriculture to discuss how the issues can be addressed by working together.


Cowichan Valley dairy farmer Oliver Balme kicked off the panel with a farm-level reality check.


“If you have 100 geese, 100 swans, 100 wigeons come into your field, it’s not going to do a lot of damage; it’s when you get 1,000 of each it’s really bad,” Balme explains, noting that he faces pressure from deer, elk and bear, and


Conservationists want to work with farmers to save trumpeter swan habitat on Vancouver Island. BARRY HETSCHKO PHOTO


resident geese, as well as migratory birds.


“We’ve been told we should put up a fence. Well, they are very expensive and they only keep the elk and deer out. The bear tend to find a hole somewhere in the fence and get through, and the birds fly over fences and graze happily in your field,” he adds.


Co-operation


On Vancouver Island, an innovative partnership program has brought the management of 110


conservation areas on the island, the central coast and Haida Gwaii under one umbrella. The Vancouver Island Conservation Land Management Program


(VICLMP) includes coastal wetlands, estuaries and neighbouring agricultural lands owned by the Nature


See SAVE THE BIRDS page 32 o


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31


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SIMMENTAL ASSOCIATION OF BC For more info, contact secretary Reanne Sanford 250.249.5332 reanne@krssimmentals.ca


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