NEW WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS FOR FRASER VALLEY

CHILLIWACK – The B.C. government has designated 915 hectares of important fish and wildlife habitat located just west of Chilliwack, and a further 71 hectares in south Surrey as wildlife management areas, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced today.

“Today we are ensuring a long-term legacy for wildlife and future generations,” said Penner. “This action by our government will protect prime habitat for many migratory birds, fish and other fauna around McGillivray Slough along the Fraser River. I can’t think of a more appropriate way to honour the memory of the late Bert Brink than by naming this area after him. And, while the Serpentine area near Surrey is a smaller parcel of land, it is also very important for fish and wildlife in the Lower Fraser Valley.”

“This area provides prime habitat for migratory birds, fish and other fauna,” said Penner. “I’m extremely pleased that much of the area around McGillivray Slough will now fall under wildlife management area status and I’m sure that Bert Brink would be tickled if he was here today to witness this area being designated in his honour. The Serpentine area is a smaller parcel of land but nonetheless, very important for the fish and wildlife of the Lower Fraser.”

The designation of the Bert Brink and Serpentine Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) under the Wildlife Act provides the Ministry of Environment with additional legal and regulatory tools to ensure effective management of the two sites.

“This is very good news and fits in so well with the Heart of the Fraser initiative,” said Mark Angelo, spokesperson for the Heart of the Fraser and chair of the Rivers Institute at BCIT. “Designation of this beautiful site as a Wildlife Management Area will better protect the extensive fish and wildlife values found along this part of the Fraser, which is one of the most productive stretches of river on Earth."

The Bert Brink WMA has been recognized as an important area for wildlife since the 1920s, when a game reserve was established on the site to protect a heron colony and other wildlife values. Since then, this area has become increasingly important for conserving wildlife habitat on the Fraser River floodplain. The area provides habitat for provincial red and blue-listed species, including peregrine falcon, bald eagle and marbled murrelet, and rearing areas for white sturgeon, salmon and steelhead. It also includes rare stands of old-growth cottonwood trees. Two adjacent parcels of land (totalling approximately 27 hectares), which are owned by The Nature Trust and leased to the Ministry of Environment for management, will also be included in the WMA.

“We are extremely pleased with this opportunity to recognize Dr. Bert Brink, a long standing director of The Nature Trust and someone who is dearly missed,” said Robin Wilson, chair of The Nature Trust of BC. “Bert was a leading voice in conserving the Fraser River – B.C.’s largest and most ecologically rich. The Bert Brink Wild Management Area located along this river is a fitting tribute to a man who tirelessly reminded us how important nature is to our well-being.”

The Bert Brink WMA is named in memory of Dr. Vernon (Bert) Brink, a prominent UBC agricultural scientist and a life-long conservationist who possessed a vast love and knowledge of the outdoors. He received many awards throughout his distinguished career, including the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia. In 2007, upon receiving the Lieutenant-Governor’s Conservation Award, former Lt.-Gov. Iona Campagnolo described Brink as “B.C.’s icon of conservation and sustainability.”

The Serpentine WMA includes deltaic marsh and agricultural lands that provide habitat and forage for a rich variety of migratory waterfowl and other species. The property has been managed as a wildlife area since 1973 in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada. Approximately 16 hectares are managed under agreement with Ducks Unlimited Canada as forage crops which attract waterfowl and reduce crop damage on adjacent agricultural lands.

“This is a great announcement for the Serpentine River and Nicomeakl River area, said Les Bogdan, Ducks Unlimited Canada’s manager of provincial operations for B.C. “We’ve been working in partnership with the provincial government to manage this particular area for almost 25 years and it’s great to see the area officially designated as a wildlife management area. It’s a wonderful example of conservationists and agricultural interests working together for the good of birds and wildlife.”

Since 2001, the provincial government has established 57 new parks, 143 conservancies, one ecological reserve and eight protected areas, and expanded more than 50 parks and six ecological reserves, protecting more than 1.9 million hectares. Today, 14.26 per cent (or more than 13.5 million hectares) of British Columbia is protected – more than any other province in Canada.

To make the BC Parks system even better, the B.C. government has invested approximately $107 million over the past five years to improve park infrastructure and acquire additional parkland.

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Media contact:	Kate Thompson Manager, Media Relations 250 953-4577

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