‘Super-Natural BC’ – it’s how the province is marketed to the world.
But the Spruce City Wildlife Association says without a well thought-out plan to deal with wildlife and habitat, that ‘branding’ will no longer ring true.
President, Jim Glaicer, says there are self-reliance models in place to deal with resource industries like logging.
“But wildlife, and the habitat of wildlife, really doesn’t factor into those equations when they are making those plans. With mining or any other resource extraction, wildlife is at the bottom.”
Glaicer says our economy depends on natural resource development, but that development can’t be at the expense of what’s on top of the landscape.
“What’s failing in the mixture is any well thought out plan to deal with fish wildlife and habitat. In the midst of all our other activities on the landscape; mining, forestry.”
He says freshwater fisheries has a system where revenue created through licensing is pumped back into fisheries.
“When it comes to wildlife, the money generated from people that recreate in the outdoors, that money goes into general revenue and some of it comes back to wildlife. We are advocating that all that money should go back into wildlife.”
Glaicer is hoping a symposium at UNBC will press the government to move forward with the plan. Liberal MLA Mike Morris has yet to accept his invitation to be part of the panel discussion, MLAs for both the NDP and Green Party will be there. Former BC Conservative leader Dan Brooks will also attend.
Saturday’s forum is free and runs from 2 until 4pm in the Canfor Lecture Theatre.
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