Town halls to put spotlight on wildlife policy

Apr 24, 2024 | 5:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE — With the next provincial election scheduled for October 19, 2024, the B.C. Wildlife Federation is co-hosting a series of town hall meetings.

They will be held in Prince George, Smithers, Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Cranbrook and Lone Butte. More meetings are also in the works for other areas in B.C.

MLAs and candidates for office are invited to meet with the people of B.C. to discuss the state of wildlife management in British Columbia. The BCWF will ensure candidates hear the concerns of voters.

The BC Wildlife Federation says that many of British Columbia’s fish and wildlife populations are in decline. Species such as steelhead and caribou are at risk of extinction. With this in mind, they say action is needed to keep species such as moose, mule deer and mountain sheep from the same fate. They add that key watersheds and habitats are in peril.

The Federation also notes that 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. 