VICTORIA, B.C. – Today, the B.C. Greens tabled legislation to protect bear dens in British Columbia as the province lacks comprehensive protection.
“I was happy to stand today and introduce our first Private Member’s Bill of the fall sitting of the Legislature,” said Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands and member of Tsartlip First Nation. “The amendments proposed today, if passed, would create essential comprehensive protection for bear dens across the province.
“As it stands, the only legal protections for bear dens exist in the Great Bear Rainforest and on Haida Gwaii. That means that everywhere else in BC, bear dens are left up to the individual policies of forest companies and often destroyed by logging operations.
“Just this past May, several stakeholders - including the Sierra Club BC, Artemis Wildlife Consultants, Giǥa̱me' Walas Namugwis Kwagu'ł First Nation, Na̱mǥis First Nation, Commercial Bear Viewing Association, Echo Conservation, and the UVic Environmental Law Centre - wrote to BC cabinet ministers highlighting this issue and calling for legal protection for bear dens.
“It is an honour to carry forward their important work, and I urge my colleagues from both parties to consider the importance of this legislation and call it forward for second reading.”
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Media contact
JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | [email protected]