2 STRATEGY fails to address predator control


range the length of BC from the US border north to the Yukon.


The second document is


between Ottawa, the province and the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations, and applies to the ‘central’ caribou population that range across an area between Mackenzie, Chetwynd and south past Tumbler Ridge through to the Alberta border. The partnership is a model for future management agreements in other areas of the province. While the plans won’t have a direct impact on ranchers,


the BC Cattlemen’s Association is concerned with the approach to protecting the caribou. “The areas we use as range might border a bit on the caribou habitat, but it won’t be a huge issue yet,” says BCCA general manager Kevin Boon. “Where our concern comes now is how they are implementing a strategy for protecting them.” Boon expects that when subsequent plans are developed for the Chilcotin, for example, there will be much more conflict with


Protection & pushback


Plans to boost the population of BC’s endangered southern mountain caribou were drafted under Section 11 of the federal Species at Risk Act. The plans propose extensive measures to support caribou recovery, including: protecting habitat, restoring habitat, limiting public and industrial activity, building more maternity pens to shelter captured pregnant cows until their new calves are strong enough to escape predators, and predator control programs (aimed primarily at addressing wolves).


But the plans do not address the economic concerns of local communities. While the plans promise economic impact studies, residents are worried that measures to protect the caribou will impact forestry, mining and tourism activities, as well as recreational access. Jobs and enjoyment of the wilderness are at stake. The response has been tremendous. Sixteen community meetings scheduled across the province last month attracted huge numbers. A meeting in Chetwynd on April 2 attracted close to 600, and more than 400 people attended a meeting in Williams Lake. The meeting in Revelstoke attracted 800. By mid-April, Premier John Horgan realized had


extended the deadline for feedback from April 30 to May 31. He also appointed former BC Liberal cabinet minister Blair Lekstrom as community liaison.


Tom Walker RBC Dominion Securities Inc.


rangeland. “The proposal that we have


seen for the Peace is to completely close 300,000 hectares of land to all activity, whether it is ranching, forestry, oil and gas, or recreation,” says Boon. “We are okay with that, but only if they are doing something else to actively manage that habitat.” Boon echoes the concerns


of many critics who feel that simply setting aside habitat is not a robust strategy. “Just making more land


available does not mean they will survive better,” he says. What conservation


strategies need to address is what’s killing the caribou in the first place: wolves. While the plans consider


predator control as a strategy, Boon doesn’t think it will happen.


“Even though they have admitted that wolf predation is the biggest cause for the decline in the population, they will not be doing anything to manage predators because it is not socially acceptable,” he says. An increase in the population of moose, deer and elk is one reason given for an increase in wolves. The province says it will manage these animals by managing habitat to make it less desireable for these species. Boon doesn’t believe reducing ungulates will be effective. “They are willing to kill off


the deer, elk and moose in those areas with the expectation that the wolves will leave,” Boon says. “Well, they’re not going to leave; they will just prey more heavily on the caribou that are left.”


MINISTER on defensive


right to have direct access to that body,” de Jong said, calling the bill “fundamentally undemocratic.” De Jong told the


predominantly South Asian audience that the tactic the province is using to strip farmers of direct access to the land commission is the same as governments throughout history have used to oppress select groups. “Through the course of


history, the worst forms of discrimination have occurred this way,” he said, calling the bill “the most insidious piece of legislation” he’s ever seen. The point surfaced in the


legislature the next day, leaving BC Agriculture Minister Lana Popham unsure how to respond. It also figured in an 85-minute speech de Jong delivered when the bill


came forward for second reading on April 10. “The government wants to


protect farmland. I’ve just said it’s a laudable objective that I think the majority of British Columbians actually do share,” he said. “But stripping away absolutely the rights of a landowner to apply for consideration by deeming them a non-person is indefensible.” The two-hour debate ended with the bill’s consideration deferred until the legislature resumed sitting April 29.


House size


Anger with the bill has been fuelled by the government’s sudden introduction February 22 of regulations governing house size. While residences are


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COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • MAY 2019 nfrom page 1


This mirrors all wildlife management in the province, Boon maintains. “They are willing to do very little to manage predators and as a result we are never going to see the rest of the wildlife become a healthy population,” he says. “If you don’t manage [the wolves], the others have no chance.” Boon says that research in other jurisdictions shows that a combination of predator control and support for endangered populations delivers the best chance of survival. “It doesn’t mean they wipe out [the predators]; it means they manage them,” he says. “But until they are willing to manage all of the species as one big picture, they are not going to be successful in managing any of them.”


nfrom page 1


grandfathered “if substantial construction is underway by November 5, 2019,” the sudden implementation of the regulation saw many municipalities send landowners back to the drawing board. Property owners in the


Interior have also seen soils up-classed, making it harder for them to undertake projects on their properties. The up-classing was based on allegations that previous land commissioners had made mistakes. “This is chaos, ladies and gentlemen, chaos!” Richmond- Queensborough MLA Jas Johal told the meeting in Surrey. “Under this government, what we’re seeing is a full-on war on farmers.”


De Jong picked up the strain in the legislature on April 10. “The government’s deliberate and calculated attack on farm families must end,” he said. “You cannot say that you support agriculture when you refuse to support and set out to attack and diminish the people who own and work on their farms. Farmers are people.” De Jong rejected the BC


Agriculture Council’s endorsement of the bill. While the council has concerns, president Stan Vander Waal struck a positive note in a government press release announcing the legislation. “Overall, the update is a


positive step forward,” he said. Vander Waal was


unavailable for comment on the bill’s progress, or subsequent criticisms of its impact on farmers, despite repeated requests. BC Liberal leader Andrew


Wilkinson has pledged to repeal NDP changes to the ALC if elected.


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