Caribou Recovery Agreement finalized

Feb 21, 2020 | 4:32 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – “The conservation agreements announced today represent bold action to support the survival and recovery of the iconic southern mountain caribou in British Columbia.”

That was from Jonathan Wilkinson, federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change. at the official signing ceremony for a Partnership Agreement between the federal and provincial governments with the West Moberly and Salteau First Nations.

But it is a source of disappointment for many in the region.

“Caribou recovery is at the core of this process,” stated District of Chetwynd Mayor Allen Courtoreille. “Only by working together can we move forward to take meaningful action toward caribou recovery. And yet the Province has excluded local government from the beginning.”

The recovery agreement includes a commitment to protect over 700,000 hectares of important caribou habitat in northeastern B.C., something that is very concerning to the Council of Forest Industries. In a statement, it writes: “We will continue to work to enhance caribou habitat populations and believe the Section 11 Agreement delegation to the Province provides us with a greater range of tools to do this important work. However, we are deeply disappointed that the separate Partnership Agreement signed today permanently removes a significant amount of fibre from the timber harvesting land base and creates additional operational uncertainty.”

Commercial fire

Commercial fire on Hart Highway causes $150k in damages

1h ago

Fatal MVI

RCMP suspect alcohol a factor in fatal MVI near Smithers

3h ago

DRIPA suspension

Private property concerns highlighted as province suspends parts of DRIPA

18h ago

The Partnership Agreement involves three caribou populations in the Northeast. But the rest of the province is covered under a draft Section 11 Agreement, which covers an area from Mackenzie to the US border. There is a lot of concern that a similar tack will be taken by the province and the agreement signed today will serve as a template for the rest of the province.

by Cheryl Jahn

Click here to report an error or typo in this article

Caribou Recovery Agreement finalized

What's Trending