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VICTORIA – The designation of nearly two million hectares of land for habitat protection will benefit wildlife and species at risk, Water, Land and Air Protection Minister Bill Barisoff announced today.
The provincial government, working with industry under the Forest and Range Practices Act, has created 130 wildlife habitat areas (WHAs) to protect such species as the mountain caribou and marbled murrelet, and established new areas to protect the winter ranges of several elk and deer species.
“The establishment of these areas for wildlife habitat is just one part of this government’s ongoing effort to manage wildlife and species at risk,” said Barisoff “We have increased species protection by setting clear objectives for industry and high standards for conservation.”
The new wildlife habitat areas, covering 605,300 hectares, will significantly increase protection for the marbled murrelet, northern and mountain caribou and other significant species. With these new additions, B.C. now has 290 provincially designated wildlife habitat areas, comprising 654,037 hectares.
The Province has also recently established 1,339,279 hectares of wilderness as ungulate winter ranges to protect valuable winter habitat for the Roosevelt elk, the mountain goat, the mule deer and the black-tailed deer. Ungulate winter ranges provide shelter from heavy winter snow and predators, and accessibility to a year-round source of food. B.C. now has a total of 2,265,471 hectares established to protect ungulate winter ranges.
WHAs are areas within which foresters and ranchers are required to use specific management practices to avoid harming wildlife and plant habitat. The designation of these areas is part of the conservation and recovery planning efforts for various species. Forty-one of the new wildlife habitat areas were initiated by industry.
“Working in partnership with the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection, we were able to proactively develop operationally and biologically effective Wildlife Habitat Areas and Ungulate Winter Ranges for Canfor’s Coastal Operations in an effective and timely manner,” said John Deal, Canfor’s wildlife and biodiversity manager. “One of the main benefits to Canfor from this partnership is providing certainty in our harvest planning.”
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View maps of wildlife habitat areas and ungulate winter ranges in B.C. at: http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/pac/wildlifehabitat.htm online.
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Communications Director Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection 250 387-9973 |
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Visit the Province's website at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and services. |
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