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Friday, February 19, 2016
VOL. 102 NO. 47
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Need for speed Emma Klapatiuk of the Lighting Ski Club team rips down the mountain at Troll during last Sunday’s ski races. For more photos and results see Wednesday’s Observer. Throughout Time Photography photo
Proposed reduction to resident hunter allocation The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource is proposing a reduction to resident hunter allocation for bull moose to 170 for the 2016 hunting season, more than a 30 per cent decline. The reduction is part of a reconciliation agreement between the TSilhqot’in First Nations and the B.C. government. According to government, the TSilhqot’in have agreed to shift their harvest from cows and calves to bull moose with the difference made up by reducing
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the number that resident hunters may utilize. While shifting the harvest is a part of moose recovery, government has failed to consult the public or provide long-term funding and measurable objectives for moose recovery. The Cariboo region has a long history of similar changes without a strategic approach to wildlife and habitat conservation. “Mule deer, sheep, caribou and moose populations have declined significantly in the Cariboo over the last 30 years,” Resident Priority
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Program Manager Jesse Zeman said. “This downward spiral mirrors the trend in government funding, capacity, and its interest in biodiversity conservation. Resident hunters use to sustainably harvest over 2,000 moose per year in the entire Cariboo – we expect the resident hunter allocation in the entire region to be less than 800 for 2016.” B.C. is one of the most biologically diverse jurisdictions in North America and at the same time one of the most
under-funded. Instead of investing to bringing our natural capital back, government has chosen to monitor a declining population, and attempt to create division between those who care about the resource. Government is acting as an autonomous agent, disregarding the public’s interest in fish, wildlife and habitat. “Cutting the public out of the process is becoming the norm. We have seen this in the Peace with Site C, and with the Peace-Liard moose
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management plan where government has not consulted or engaged the public,” BCWF Wildlife Committee Chair Gerry Paille said. The BCWF Wildlife Committee calls for immediate creation of a moose recovery plan for the Cariboo region. The BCWF sees a moose recovery program containing the following essential components: funding, science, objectives and collaboration. The plan needs to set legislated objectives for
moose populations and look at cumulative effects of resource extraction, access, and predation on moose productivity and survival. The approach needs to include First Nations and non-First Nations interests. The BC Wildlife Federation has a history of working in collaboration with First Nations to sustainably conserve and enhance biodiversity. BCWF will continue to partner with First Nations to drive positive change for biodiversity conservation.
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