Wildlife Protection

Grasslands are being replaced by pavement, buildings and sterile urban landscaping.  The remaining wildlife habitat is smaller, degraded and more fragmented, making survival of certain wildlife species very difficult as they try to reach breeding ponds, hibernation sites, feeding locations, or to establish viable nesting areas.  BC has only about a third of its original grassland ecosystem remaining in a relatively intact condition, but much of this remnant acreage has been degraded to some degree. 

Species at Risk Act

The Species at Risk Act aims to protect wildlife at risk from becoming extinct or lost from the wildlife, with the ultimate objective of helping their numbers to recover to the point where they are no longer at risk.  The Act covers all wildlife species listed as being at-risk nationally.  SARA is the cornerstone for species protection and recover, and emphasizes a co-operative approach through conservation actions, incentives and stewardship.

SARA builds upon existing laws and agreements, and complements the efforts of provincial and territorial governments under the Accord for the Protection of Species at risk in Canada.  SARA prohibits the killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking of species officially listed as threatened, endangered or extirpated, and it prohibits the destruction of the residences of those species.  Recovery strategies or action plans are required to identify the critical habitat of threatened or endangered species needing protection.  Once identified, critical habitat will be protected by conservation agreements with landowners, provincial or territorial legislation or other processes, or federal prohibitions.   SARA promotes funding for stewardship activities and conservation agreements by individuals, organizations, communities, business, or governments to protect species and habitats.

From the ranchers’ perspective, the principles and basic approach of SARA are supported; however, a number of concerns arise.  SARA places a great deal of emphasis on individual species recover y plans and seeks landowner involvement.  As grasslands are home to many of the potential threatened species, the potential exists for an individual landowner to be besieged with multiple recovery teams.  The capacity of a rancher to host multiple recover plans and sort out the potential conflicting objectives of each of the species is limited.  It is difficult for BC ranchers to manage their land for individual species and prefer species recovery teams to work with the ranching industry on a co-coordinated effort rather than trying to implement individual species plans.

For more information about Species at Risk in grasslands, click here.

Also, to view the SARA website, click here.

Further resources on protecting wildlife:

Snakes In and Around Our City [pdf]
How to Build Fences with Wildlife in Mind [link]

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To read about other aspects of land use in BC, click on the links below.