The B.C. Wildlife Federation and the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association are hoping to put wildlife and environment on the forefront of voters' minds leading up to this fall's provincial election.
The groups are hosting a town hall meeting on Aug. 24 for MLAs and candidates to meet with voters and discuss the state of wildlife management in the province. This is one of a series of town halls hosted by BCWF leading up to the election, to "ensure candidates hear the concerns of ordinary British Columbians," a release says.
"Many of British Columbia鈥檚 fish and wildlife populations are in decline. Species such as steelhead and caribou are at risk of extinction. Action is needed to keep species such as moose, mule deer and mountain sheep from the same fate. Key watersheds and habitats are in peril," the release says. "Funding for wildlife has been in decline for decades. As a proportion of the provincial budget, funding for renewable resource management is just a fraction of its historical level, declining by 75 per cent between 1993 and today.鈥� This must change before we have any chance to reverse the damage."
The release continues, saying that the conservation communities are asking for a number of changes to provincial wildlife management, including establishing or using an independent agency for wildlife management, increasing more funding for fish and wildlife, driving that funding through legislation, and ensuring public access to public resources is enshrined by law.
An independent agency would be better equipped to ensure that hunting tag and licence fees are actually used for conservation, BCWF says, using fundraising and donor campaigns they could be "potentially turning every dollar into five."
"Hunters would willingly pay higher fees if the entirety of those fees was dedicated to conservation," the release says. "We need an agency outside of government to manage these funds as way to increase public confidence."
The group is also advocating for genuine public consultation on any changes to the Land Act.
"Public consultation must be genuine, if British Columbians are to embrace substantial changes in the way that public resources are co-managed. It is essential that a true public consultation take place and that the government and British Columbians have time to consider the many implications of changes that will certainly affect access to Crown land," it says. "All British Columbians deserve a say in their shared future. It鈥檚 time to move away from secret negotiations, hijacked process, and agreements which are neither shared with nor debated by British Columbians until it is too late."
The townhall event will be held at the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association, 3780 Colake Road, Comox. The event is on Saturday, August 24, 2024 at noon and will run until 2 p.m.
