Province announces new wildlife management agency

The B.C. government announced Wednesday all hunting licence revenues will soon be reinvested into wildlife management strategies, including the formation of a new conservation agency.

The government said the new agency will launch in the fall of 2017 with an initial investment of $5 million. After that, it will be funded by annual hunting licence revenue totaling $9 to 10 million a year.

Steve Thomson, B.C.'s minister of forests, lands and natural resource operations, calls it a "significant investment and significant initiative on the part of the provincial government."

"This will have great benefit for wildlife populations and wildlife management in British Columbia. It will benefit rural communities throughout the province," said Thomson.

The government has also budgeted $200,000 fora process that will determine what the new agency will look like, along with its investment priorities. Wildlife stakeholder groups, First Nations and the public will be consulted later this spring.

'It's about time,' says NDP MLA

"The B.C. Wildlife Federation commends the province for its commitment to dedicate hunting licence revenues to a stand-alone agency to enhance wildlife management," said Jim Glaicar, president of the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

He said the BCWF has been actively promoting such a funding model for the last two years.

The NDP also responded Wednesday, calling the announcement long overdue.

"I say it's about time," said Katrine Conroy, the NDP MLA for Kootenay West.

"This is a huge win for all groups involved .... in fact, I tabled a bill last spring that called for exactly this."

Last April, Conroy pitched the Sustainable Wildlife Management Act calling for dedicated funding towards wildlife conservation and management.

"Forgive me for being a bit cynical, but we've been asking for this, other groups have been asking for this, and then two months before an election they suddenly are saying, 'Oh I guess we need to do something'."

Currently, the province spends roughly $18 million a year on wildlife management activities.

With files from Bob Keating.