Funded Management for Our Future

[Ourea]

Nothing happens until dedicated funding is secured.

These conversations are like asking what you want off the menu.....
Then ask who is going to pay for dinner.

Crickets

[2chodi]

Has anyone read the following? After spending quite a few hours with him at meetings this fall and having the opportunity to talk about wolves, I put it on my reading list.

[HappyJack]

Good thread bownut & Ourea! Here are 5:

1. A campaign (primarily via social media) to educate the public (& politicians) about the necessity of an autonomous SCIENCE-BASED wildlife management system. This system must be guaranteed to run in perpetuity without interference from political whims.
2. A science-based predator management program. This is the elephant in the room that must be addressed. If there are no animals left, what is the point of wildlife habitat? (See *** below)
3. Habitat conservation programs to protect wintering grounds, migration corridors, etc. (ie: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's Conservation Program)
4. Habitat enhancement programs. Prescribed by wildlife biologists & implemented by grass roots volunteer groups (ie: WKBGTA (haha)
5. A private fundraising platform to self-fund these programs. (Sounds alot like BCWF... ; )

*** “Determining Factors Affecting Moose Population Change in British Columbia: Testing the Landscape Change Hypothesis.” READ FULL REPORT HERE

BCWF Summary HERE

Research to date recovered 49 of the collars from moose that had died & determined that predators killed 21 or 45%:
• cougars killed 2 and a bear killed 1
• wolves killed 18 or 86%

>>> I'd like to see these same stats for deer in this region!

Funny thing with this pie chart is there is no mention of train kills?? Everyone knows the trains slaughter the moose every winter. I wonder why that is missing?

[Ohwildwon]

No trains in the study area's?

[steepNdeep]

The 2017 update of this report was put up on the govt website in early Dec. Numbers have not changed much. Predation is still near 50% of the annual mortality of collared cows/calves. Wolves kill substantially more moose than bears and cougars combined according to the data.
It is a report worth reading.

Thanks Brno22F. Good info!

1. The numbers in the past were not natural. What hunters grew to expect is not natural. There is a long history of predator control in BC.
2. What we have now without control is not natural either.
3. Were not going back to where nature handles it in the foreseeable future.
4. Hands on management and intervention, mitigation of resource development with results based science.

Well said!

A government funded... through an outdoor tax, independant entity steering the ship, not sure who would make up this "entity" but anyone who is paid by donation and political influence shouldn't be. It wont matter which political party gains power, honestly I dont know why wildlife is being used as a political pawn in this province to begin with. The people managing this entity should be well paid.

Through a tax of this nature everyone would be contributing, anti's, hunters, etc.

An outdoor tax of some kind makes sense. Wildlife management has to be SCIENCE-based & immune to politics.

Habitat eh? Hmmm, I've heard that drum beat and beat and beat. Meanwhile, I'm out daily in some of the best habitat this province could ever produce and what do I see. Nothing! Why? Hmmm, good question. Maybe the fact that the managers collared wolves to study them instead of killing them 10 years ago might be a big answer. Easy to sit on the Habitat fence with your eyes closed to what has gone on in this province. But, what you will find, if you don't get on the Predators, you can have all the habitat in the world but still have sweet F all for critters.

Agreed. If we don't find a way to gain government support for a real predator management program, we are going to have empty habitat...

You guys talk of selling the predator hunting to gov and media, how about engaging hunters to reinforce the need for predator management. Encourage all hunters to got to 'their spots' and take out a predator over the winter. I know many would not be able to access their spots but those than can should. I'm going to try this winter to get out and help.

YES.

To be successful we have to create a non political model that everyone has a seat at the table..There has to be a Robertson Pitman act created to fund this..Taking money from our budget won't fly with our current govt or our past govt..Nobody has any interest..Talk about infighting this forum has really got going with a few diehards that haven't seen the complex issue that it is ..MONEY...And where is it coming from?

Good point.

The 14 million we pay for licensing goes back to wildlife. Small tax is imposed on all goods and services that generate income from use in the outdoors.

With an NDP Gov we start out of the gate with we gotta kill more wolves while the majority of their voting base wants all predator hunting banned. Not the best foot forward.

Funding would help build political will and allow education of the general public. Get those two rolling it won't be as much of an uphill fight.

Yes. Ultimately we, (hunters) who care the most will have to pay for protecting our resource. We will have to fight to gain control of the money that we already pay for hunting through license fees, conservation surcharges, etc. & ensure that it goes back into the resource. Along with an Outdoor Tax of some kind makes sense. In addition, building a private funding platform.

Educating the public about wildlife management & that it must be based on SCIENCE is KEY to gaining any traction on predator managment. If we don't get predators under control soon, hunting is over as we know it...

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Pretty sure that we are going to have to wait until a new govt is formed to get the decision making for wildlife out of hands of govt.

SSS

[boxhitch]

Regulated hunting has little impact, a key word you keep forgetting to add in your statements. Regulated hunting targets the portion of the populations that are surplus to meeting the breeding requirements for the available females. Loosing the breeding stock? There are other reasons

And having more regulated hunters is what the BCWF message is about. The licensed BC hunter is not the enemy.

Will road deactivation have an impact on non-regulated wildlife kills?

[Ride Red]

Regulated hunting has little impact, a key word you keep forgetting to add in your statements. Regulated hunting targets the portion of the populations that are surplus to meeting the breeding requirements for the available females. Loosing the breeding stock? There are other reasons

And having more regulated hunters is what the BCWF message is about. The licensed BC hunter is not the enemy.

Will road deactivation have an impact on non-regulated wildlife kills?

I think we all know the answer to this one, but yes. Limiting access back to pre-pine beetle status will give all animals a wider berth around roads. We were up out of Merritt when they first started stripping the Gordon Creek plateau off and the night sky had more lights flying around than a Las Vegas show. This is only one of the issues that we’re facing right now, but still an important one to keep on the long list back to recovery.

[338win mag]

Will road deactivation have an impact on non-regulated wildlife kills?

Maybe,,,,not everyone is capable of navigating de-activated roads, I have seen roads that are impassible by any means, and it is one more piece of the puzzle that needs to be addressed.

Why dont vehicular restrictions apply to all, its not infringing a section 35 right to hunt, thats all BS by this and any other government that says it is.

Even if hunting isn't/cant be regulated by government, individual FN can absolutely regulate their own hunters.

This is the elephant in the room that they dont want to talk about, FN regulating their own hunting activities.

[Ohwildwon]

I read on FB there were about 100 fN in around Cherryville for a month..

Apparently little deer left..