Monthly Archives: December 2017

EDMONTON — Alberta’s draft plan to help threatened woodland caribou recover in 15 different ranges prompted immediate criticism from environmental groups. The plan is in response to a federal deadline under the Species at Risk Act that passed in October. …“Today’s release of incomplete range plans for woodland caribou is Alberta’s second missed deadline to meet a legal requirement to protect caribou habitat,” said Simon Dyer, regional director for Alberta at the Pembina Institute. He said the province has had five years to finalize specific plans, yet the document doesn’t demonstrate how caribou habitat will be protected. “Given Alberta’s deficient plan, we call on the federal government to step in and recommend protection of critical habitat for caribou in Alberta,” said Dyer.

Shannon Phillips

Alberta on Tuesday released another draft of its overdue and federally mandated plan to protect threatened woodland caribou in the province. The 212-page document includes a timeline for public engagement, as well as proposed strategies to restore herds and habitat. The provincial government has committed to spending more than $85 million over five years to protect the species. There are 15 caribou herds in Alberta. All but four of the herds are dwindling in numbers, according to research from the province. …”We will go back and forth several times with the federal government,” Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips told CBC News Tuesday. “It is up to them, at the end of the day, to determine adequacy because the whole reason we have to file these plans is to fulfil obligations around the Species at Risk Act.”

George Heyman

The hunting of grizzly bears for trophies and food is banned effective immediately across B.C., the NDP government announced Monday in a major policy shift. “Protecting this iconic species is simply the right thing to do,” Minister of Environment George Heyman told a news conference in Vancouver. …Environmentalists still reeling from the government’s decision last week to proceed with the Site C hydroelectric dam … are understandably ecstatic to see the grizzly hunt end. “I think it’s tremendous news,” said Joe Foy of the Wilderness Committee. “I’m over the moon. It’s a pretty great Christmas present. It’s been a long time coming. People in B.C. do not want the grizzly bear hunt.”  …Doug Donaldson [forests minister] emphasized the government remains committed to upholding B.C.’s hunting tradition despite taking the grizzly bear off the list of species one can hunt.

The spruce beetle, a forest pest that is native to spruce forests and attacks the inner bark of these trees, continues to be a growing concern in B.C. According to the province’s latest areal overview survey, the total infested area in B.C. has nearly doubled this year – from 283,083 hectares in 2016 to 501,873 hectares in 2017. Over 8100 hectares of forests have been damaged by spruce beetle in the Lakes timber supply area (TSA) – a significant increase from 2016, when 1200 hectares had been damaged, and from the 58 hectares damaged in 2014. While the situation has gotten worse in the Lakes TSA, the Morice TSA has remained fairly stable. Over 2900 hectares were affected in 2017 – similar to 2014. The situation is much more severe in the Prince George TSA, where 275,108 hectares were affected in 2017 – almost double than the 142,837 hectares affected in 2016.

BC Forests Minister Doug Donaldson has confirmed the NDP government has ended the trophy hunting of grizzly bears. The fall grizzly hunting season ended Nov. 30, with new rules taking effect that allow hunters to take bear meat but not the head, paws or hide of bears that are prized as trophies. Donald said Monday the scheduled spring 2018 hunt for grizzly bears is cancelled. Donaldson said all grizzly hunting has ended, except for Indigenous hunting for food, social and ceremonial purposes. …An October 2017 report on the hunt by B.C. Auditor General Carole Bellringer found that hunting is not the biggest threat to bears. The greatest risk to B.C.’s grizzly bear population is not hunting but degradation of habitat from forestry, oil and gas development and human settlement, Bellringer concluded. The audit also found that from 2006 to 2015, there were 389 bears killed as a result of human-bear conflicts.

Two B.C. cabinet ministers have more to say about the controversial hunting of grizzly bears in the province. On Monday morning, Natural Resources Minister Doug Donaldson and Environment Minister George Heyman will make an announcement from Vancouver regarding grizzlies. On Dec. 8 Donaldson said a consultation process was completed to help craft regulations around the future of the grizzly bear hunt in the province. …Under the new rules, it’s illegal to hunt grizzlies for sport, when an animal is killed for its parts — the head, paws or hide — and not its meat. …About 250 grizzlies are killed annually by hunters in B.C., a number Donaldson said is “sustainable” for the population estimated at 15,000 bears, but he said public opinion on the practice has turned.