05/08/2026
Caribou recovery, recreation access, and wildlife management were again discussed in the Legislature this week during the May 5 Debate on Budget Estimates between Donegal Wilson MLA Boundary-Similkameen and Minister of Water, Lands, and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill.
During the session, government reported:
• $9.3M invested in caribou recovery last year
• $2M invested in spotted owl recovery
• $1.2M invested across other species at risk programs
• $1.497M spent on predator management, including the cull of 266 wolves and 6 cougars
Government also highlighted reported increases in some caribou herds, including the Quintette herd growing from 68 animals in 2017 to 173 today, and the Kennedy Siding herd increasing from 63 to 166.
Discussion also returned to the Province’s changing approach to recreation access management in caribou habitat.
MLA Wilson again raised concerns regarding the move away from adaptive access management — a science and field-data-based system that uses tools such as wildlife collar tracking and real-time monitoring to inform flexible recreation access decisions — toward broader permanent or seasonal closures based on predicted habitat presence.
The BC Snowmobile Federation has worked diligently alongside government, First Nations, scientists, and stakeholders on adaptive management programs across the province. We continue to believe that evidence-based decision making, informed by actual field data, is critical to achieving meaningful conservation outcomes while supporting responsible public access and recreation opportunities.
🎥 The full discussion can be viewed through the BC Legislative Assembly archives (discussion starts around 3:35): https://videoarchive.leg.bc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/0/0/15938?viewMode=2&mediastarttime=20260505133425&mediaendtime=20260505181234
We appreciate both MLA Wilson and Minister Neill for their continued work, discussion, and engagement on these important issues.
