Attention all resident hunters

[Scotty76]

Remember that public engagement earlier this year? Well it’s continuing soon, and it looks like resident hunters aren’t getting much of a seat at the table. Check out the invitee list, and also the “public consultation” company.. Alan Dolan, is the one who worked with the NDP last time with the grizzly closure. So yeah, time to again get involved. I hope everyone takes a few minutes and emails the contact at the end.. chris.hamilton@gov.bc.ca .. and ask why no resident hunter voice was an invitee to the table, and ask to be involved.
And just for fun, maybe email george.heyman.MLA@leg.bc.ca and push him more about listening to resident hunters and locals of B.C.

This is the article...




The Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development is engaging with stakeholders, Indigenous communities and the public in an initiative we are calling Improving Wildlife Management and Habitat Conservation. Initial engagement on the initiative took place in 2018 through the Engage BC website and included face-to-face discussions and online discussions. Many of you would have participated in a session facilitated by the Fraser Basin Council in Vancouver in early April and others have provided submissions and letters via the Engage BC website. Others are invited because your organization was identified as having interests, tools and perspectives that could benefit the initiative.

The second phase of the initiative, which is intended to start in December 2018 and last until May 2019, is designed to include more detailed interactive discussions with stakeholders and to collaboratively develop policy options for government to consider. We have contracted Alan Dolan and Associates to facilitate and manage this process on our behalf.

The second phase will include an introductory webinar in December followed by a two-day workshop in January and then a series of topic-specific webinars. We hope that you (or a representative of your organization) will be able to join us for both the webinar and workshop. The Ministry is engaging directly with Indigenous groups through a parallel process. We are open to changes in this process through our discussions

The introductory webinar will take place on:

Wednesday December 12, 2018 10 am to 12 pm (sign-in details to follow)


The webinar will include representatives from a broad range of stakeholder groups including:

Academia and research
Agriculture
Energy and mining
Environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs), Conservation and wildlife
Forestry
Habitat conservation and land trusts
Hunters, trappers, and guides
Tourism and recreation

The purpose of the webinar is to provide background information on the Improving Wildlife Management and Habitat Conservation initiative and to gauge interest in the different policy areas. It will address what was heard during the initial engagement, will provide an overview of how we intend to conduct the second phase of the engagement process, and provide additional detail on the proposed policy areas for discussion.

The initial webinar will be followed by a two-day workshop in the Lower Mainland (tentatively scheduled for January 23-24, 2019). The workshop will involve facilitated, small-group discussions on wildlife and habitat policy issues of most relevance to stakeholders. Following the workshop, smaller working groups will meet via a series of additional webinars to dig deeper into different areas of policy interest. Additional face to face meetings will be added if required.
Additional background policy “primers” and call-in details will be sent out closer to the date of the webinar.

While the Province is engaged in this broad discussion on improving wildlife management and habitat conservation over the long term, the Ministry will continue to implement short-term strategies and continue important operational work on the ground.

If you are available to participate in the webinar and interested in our engagement, please RSVP to Chris Hamilton, Project Director for the Improving Wildlife and Habitat Conservation Initiative, at Chris.Hamilton@gov.bc.ca or at 250.213.9032. He would be pleased to discuss the process with and/or your staff in more detail and your feedback is welcomed at any time.

In the interests of transparency, we are including a list of the invitees below.

Sincerely,


Tom Ethier
Assistant Deputy Minister
Resource Stewardship Division

Academia and Research
• Pacific Wildlife Research Centre
• Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife Studies
• Centre for Wildlife Ecology at SFU
• British Columbia Bat Action Team

Agriculture
• BC Agriculture Council BCAC
• BC Cattlemen’s Association
• BC Fruit Growers Association

Energy and Mining
• Association for Mineral Exploration (AME)
• Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
• Canadian Energy and Pipeline Association (CEPA)
• Clean Energy BC
• Mining Association of BC (MABC)

ENGOs, Conservation and Wildlife
• Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society BC (CPAWS-BC)
• Conservation Northwest
• Organizing for Change – Tides Canada
• Sierra Club of BC
• SPCA BC
• UVic Environmental Law Centre
• West Coast Environmental Law
• Western Canada Wilderness Committee
• Wildsight
• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
• Yellowstone to Yukon
• BC Chapter of Wildlife Society
• Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife Studies

Forestry
• BC Community Forest Association
• Council of Forest Industries (COFI)
• Federation of BC Woodlot Associations (FBCWA)
• Interior Lumber Manufacturers’ Association (ILMA)
• Private Forest Landholders Association (PFLA)
• Ancient Forest Alliance

[HarryToolips]

Am I missing something, it did say that the webinar will include people from a broad range of stakeholder groups including hunters and guides??? Though I wouldn't put it past the NDP government to purposely mettle with the process and exclude us...

[Glockenspiel]

Am I missing something, it did say that the webinar will include people from a broad range of stakeholder groups including hunters and guides??? Though I wouldn't put it past the NDP government to purposely mettle with the process and exclude us...

That is the whole purpose of this useless process: to eliminate hunting (and trapping). Another NDP snow-job. Perhaps Pamela and Miley will get invites to decide our future.

Glockenspiel

[walks with deer]

hmm bcwf/ wild sheep society...perhaps we need a hbc society....hmmm

[sakohunter]

These types of consultation processes are exactly how the hunters of BC are getting told what we can be involved in. The other invitees would prefer if we are not at the table. Makes land and wildlife conservation easier to manage.

[CranePete]

Funny...I don’t see BCWF, RMEF, DU, WSS or GOABC on the list

[boxhitch]

List makes it look like the BC hunters didn't get engaged in the process from the start, RH's or GO's
Hope this is an oversight

[Jelvis]

good luck hunters on your quests :smile: I think the problem with getting a seat or a say isn't the hunting part so much -- some groups don't like guns etc
-- soon as a gun is mentioned or the rep shows aggression people think -- leave the guns out of it -- and this is hard to do for hunters and others
---- because hunters use guns and bows to kill thee animals -- people know that already --

Jel -- hunters need a rep who isn't angry or loses his or her temper -- must be in control of them selves and tell their story with controlled understandable reasoning --

[northernguy]

judging by the list of those invited, I would suggest the outcome has been predetermined and the Government is simply seeking "validation" of their agenda.

[Rackmastr]

judging by the list of those invited, I would suggest the outcome has been predetermined and the Government is simply seeking "validation" of their agenda.

Seems like the SOP for any government consultation process.

[Scotty76]

Apparently this list is incomplete and there has been a few hunting clubs/ Orgs invited. Hope so. I have searched online for more information on this with no luck. Either way, this kind of stuff could actually be very good or very bad, but judging on the government in charge and the “public relations” consulatant, it doesn’t look good. Hope our voice is heard loud and clear.

also if anyone is interested, a summary of the first consultation process has been released. You can read through it as some stuff is good, but you can see in other parts that the NGO “Environentalists” had their say as well...


https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/377/2018/08/Wildlife-Stakeholder-report_16JUL18_FINAL-1.pdf

[IronNoggin]

Apparently this list is incomplete and there has been a few hunting clubs/ Orgs invited. Hope so.

Agreed.
The initial listing indicates three additional sectors that will be at the table, namely Habitat conservation and land trusts, Hunters, trappers, and guides, and Tourism and recreation. It would appear that their "transparent list of attendees" was cut off after Forestry and missed these. If not, we have a serious problem.

And even when we see the additional listings, we still have a problem. The government is quite obviously front-end-loading the attendees that favor an Anti-use position, most likely because they will concur with what the government has already decided THEY want in these matters.


I have searched online for more information on this with no luck.

I too have conducted rather exhaustive searches for anything related, and can find none?

Since you were the Original Poster, I am now asking YOU directly where this came from?
Seems odd you had some, but not all of the information on hand to post here?


Either way, this kind of stuff could actually be very good or very bad, but judging on the government in charge and the “public relations” consultant, it doesn’t look good. Hope our voice is heard loud and clear.

Also agreed.

I do however advise CAUTION in sending any emails taking the consultant or the Ministry to task over our lack of presence until all the details are know! No point in acting The Fool if we have been presented a chair or two at the table...

Looking forward to whatever information you can provide Scotty...

Cheers,
Nog

[boxhitch]

Best I could find is from May 2018 but that closed for input on July 31

https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/.../WL_DiscussionPapers_FINAL_May-22.pdf

Phase Two: Analysis and Collaborative Policy Development – Fall 2018 to Spring 2019
Based on the feedback from Phase One, we will develop policy options and ideas for consideration in collaboration with Indigenous peoples and stakeholders. The collaborative process will be designed based on input received in Phase One.
(https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiIv8WJtfreAhWeGDQIHUHQA7wQFjAAegQIChAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fengage.gov.bc.ca%2Fapp%2Fuploads %2Fsites%2F377%2F2018%2F05%2FWL_DiscussionPapers_F INAL_May-22.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2Babvhn5uTTUxwIc-2mIVH)

[VLD43]

The people posting on this thread have observed that it appears hunters are under represented or just not invited at this point. At present we have no real lobby to present a reasoned argument to these people on behalf of the hunting community. Individuals contacting the panel can be both good and bad. Depends on their ability to calmly present a reasoned argument. Presently there is another thread on this site promoting a "Hunter Heritage Fund", which the Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia will run. There seems to have been very little enthusiasm from members here to contribute to this fund. In my mind an organization Like WSSBC will do the best job of lobbing on our behalf. Maybe the best solution at this point is for most of us to embrace the concept presented and donate to the Hunter Heritage Fund and let the "Pros" present our case.

[Tuffcity]

This is, I believe, an older article but gives some insight into who's "driving change" in BC... and it isn't BC residents. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/tides-have-turned-a-left-wing-u-s-charitys-plan-for-change-in-b-c

[Bugle M In]

We definitely have some problems going on in this province at the moment, and all of it is a big negative for RH.

[dakoda62]

See a lot of anti hunters represented.

[J_T]

I received this invite directly from Chris.... and Scotty, I think you left off page two of the invite list. Nice escalation everyone.

Every hunting organization you can think of is on the invite list. And it isn't just on this list. I've listened to Chris twice now and I have a lot of confidence in him as a person. His objective (my words) find a way to shift the Governance model to a focus on wildlife and find a method to ensure substantial annual budgets to support wildlife and habitat management. Or is that not what we've all been bitching about for so long? Are we changing our tune?

The reason the initial engagement process which was held in Vancouver was to lay out to industry, what needs to happen to change to support wildlife.

Hunters are not going into this unprepared. There was a meeting in Victoria in October where some aspects of this were discussed and it was only hunters and bio-academia at the table. Most hunting organizations are preparing and emailing, communicating every day.

There is a lot of change occurring during this time. Change for the better I believe. You don't get to choose the outcome of a process before the process begins. So of course there is risk to any discussion. I want more wildlife. Isn't that what each of you wants? And, we can probably find out that many non hunting organizations can support that too. I want a huntable population. That's a bit different. Right now, we need to do something about our wildlife.

For once, I'd like people to assume the best in a process and not shit all over something before they have any facts at all.

[Bugle M In]

I received this invite directly from Chris.... and Scotty, I think you left off page two of the invite list. Nice escalation everyone.

Every hunting organization you can think of is on the invite list. And it isn't just on this list. I've listened to Chris twice now and I have a lot of confidence in him as a person. His objective (my words) find a way to shift the Governance model to a focus on wildlife and find a method to ensure substantial annual budgets to support wildlife and habitat management. Or is that not what we've all been bitching about for so long? Are we changing our tune?

The reason the initial engagement process which was held in Vancouver was to lay out to industry, what needs to happen to change to support wildlife.

Hunters are not going into this unprepared. There was a meeting in Victoria in October where some aspects of this were discussed and it was only hunters and bio-academia at the table. Most hunting organizations are preparing and emailing, communicating every day.

There is a lot of change occurring during this time. Change for the better I believe. You don't get to choose the outcome of a process before the process begins. So of course there is risk to any discussion. I want more wildlife. Isn't that what each of you wants? And, we can probably find out that many non hunting organizations can support that too. I want a huntable population. That's a bit different. Right now, we need to do something about our wildlife.

For once, I'd like people to assume the best in a process and not shit all over something before they have any facts at all.

Thank You for the informative information.
Much appreciated and especially the time and effort you put in.
Thanks BMI

[Onesock]

Thanks Jim.

[Scotty76]

I received this invite directly from Chris.... and Scotty, I think you left off page two of the invite list. Nice escalation everyone.

Every hunting organization you can think of is on the invite list. And it isn't just on this list. I've listened to Chris twice now and I have a lot of confidence in him as a person. His objective (my words) find a way to shift the Governance model to a focus on wildlife and find a method to ensure substantial annual budgets to support wildlife and habitat management. Or is that not what we've all been bitching about for so long? Are we changing our tune?

The reason the initial engagement process which was held in Vancouver was to lay out to industry, what needs to happen to change to support wildlife.

Hunters are not going into this unprepared. There was a meeting in Victoria in October where some aspects of this were discussed and it was only hunters and bio-academia at the table. Most hunting organizations are preparing and emailing, communicating every day.

There is a lot of change occurring during this time. Change for the better I believe. You don't get to choose the outcome of a process before the process begins. So of course there is risk to any discussion. I want more wildlife. Isn't that what each of you wants? And, we can probably find out that many non hunting organizations can support that too. I want a huntable population. That's a bit different. Right now, we need to do something about our wildlife.

For once, I'd like people to assume the best in a process and not shit all over something before they have any facts at all.


thank you. Yes I got this information second hand, and seems it was missing some information. Shouldn’t have jumped the gun, but recently I have been having little faith in how our government had been managing things. Glad the ones who knew about it are positive about it. Keep up the good work. Will the webinar meetings / discussions be available to the public? Very interested in how this plays out.

And Nog, yes got this second hand, not like me to quickly jump to conclusions. Oh well, now more people know about it. Wish there was some sort of announcement for the ones who can’t be directly involved with clubs/ orgs.

anyways. Apologies for the “Fake news” lol

[J_T]

^^ Thanks. Great attitude. Well, I can't disagree with being concerned about our Provincial Government. Or wait, should we have a proportional representative discussion and consensus on that?

Regarding the ability to listen in on this. I tried to send the invite from one email of mine to another so I could put it in a different calendar and it would not let me send it. I did RSVP that I was interested in participating and then they sent me the initial webinar information, but as of yet, there has been no actual log in details. I have phoned a few of the other hunting orgs to confirm that they will be listening and I know of one that is hopefully going to be able to broadcast to any members interested.

I suspect it's a "they show", and everyone listens type of event, right. I'm hoping to hear positive things. As I said, I have fairly good confidence in Chris.

I have to admit though, I struggle with finding a way (not necessarily from me) to keep more/everyone informed. A lot of the time, I'm in meetings and the information is really not mine to distribute. You'd think a newsletter or a web site would work. On social media, I do get frustrated with mis information. It takes time to settle everyone down and discern truth. I don't like being a guy that says, shit is getting done, but I can't talk about it. That just seems to alienate everyone. I'd prefer to be inclusive.

I have talked to the Director of Wildlife and Habitat and I've proposed they set up an information portal and that Government, become the authoritative source for information. But, a site like that might lack credibility for many people. So I'm not sure what the solution is to keeping more people informed.

[Arctic Lake]

The people posting on this thread have observed that it appears hunters are under represented or just not invited at this point. At present we have no real lobby to present a reasoned argument to these people on behalf of the hunting community. Individuals contacting the panel can be both good and bad. Depends on their ability to calmly present a reasoned argument. Presently there is another thread on this site promoting a "Hunter Heritage Fund", which the Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia will run. There seems to have been very little enthusiasm from members here to contribute to this fund. In my mind an organization Like WSSBC will do the best job of lobbing on our behalf. Maybe the best solution at this point is for most of us to embrace the concept presented and donate to the Hunter Heritage Fund and let the "Pros" present our case.

Very good points you make !! Not trying to stir the pot here but I wonder how many of us Resident hunters and firearm owners here complain about not being represented ,that we have no voice etc..... So all of us should if you can afford it donate to the Heritage Fund ! You don't have to give $100.00 anything will help . Maybe forgo a few beverages for a week and put the money to the cause .
Just my thoughts ! I'm going to reach out to some hunters I know who have no idea about the Heritage fund get them on board let's everyone try and do this . Hell some of them don't even know about HBC .
Arctic Lake

[boxhitch]

........Not trying to stir the pot here but I wonder how many of us Resident hunters and firearm owners here complain about not being represented ,that we have no voice etc...........1,100 comments on the engagement process from earlier this year

[Arctic Lake]

I received this invite directly from Chris.... and Scotty, I think you left off page two of the invite list. Nice escalation everyone.

Every hunting organization you can think of is on the invite list. And it isn't just on this list. I've listened to Chris twice now and I have a lot of confidence in him as a person. His objective (my words) find a way to shift the Governance model to a focus on wildlife and find a method to ensure substantial annual budgets to support wildlife and habitat management. Or is that not what we've all been bitching about for so long? Are we changing our tune?

The reason the initial engagement process which was held in Vancouver was to lay out to industry, what needs to happen to change to support wildlife.

Hunters are not going into this unprepared. There was a meeting in Victoria in October where some aspects of this were discussed and it was only hunters and bio-academia at the table. Most hunting organizations are preparing and emailing, communicating every day.

There is a lot of change occurring during this time. Change for the better I believe. You don't get to choose the outcome of a process before the process begins. So of course there is risk to any discussion. I want more wildlife. Isn't that what each of you wants? And, we can probably find out that many non hunting organizations can support that too. I want a huntable population. That's a bit different. Right now, we need to do something about our wildlife.

For once, I'd like people to assume the best in a process and not shit all over something before they have any facts at all.

Thank you for posting this !
Arctic Lake