The other evening I attended a public meeting hosted by the BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF), one of several town hall-style meetings held recently throughout the province, intended to spark discussion about declining fish and wildlife populations, strains on natural resources and a lack of provincial funding for fish and wildlife management.
The meeting was well attended, but what I thought more significant was the overall makeup of the audience – everyone from environmentalists, birdwatchers, hunters and anglers, to individuals simply interested in and concerned about nature and natural habitat.
According to the BCWF website, the organization was incorporated under the BC Societies Act in 1951 to ensure the sound, long-term management of BC’s fish, wildlife, park and outdoor recreational resources in the best interests of all British Columbians. Worthy ideals and objectives to say the least, and ones that many of us who attended the meeting share.
At the meeting, BCWF resident priority program manager Jesse Zeman presented a number of charts and graphs, as well as facts and figures, that showed how, in the past 20 years or so, many of B.C.’s fish and wildlife populations have declined, with a commensurate reduction in provincial funding for the management of fish and wildlife resources.
As disheartening as Mr. Zeman’s presentation seemed, there was also hope. He pointed out that some provincial politicians are at least willing to listen, and where there is a political will, there is a way.
“All it takes is concerned people, acting as individuals, contacting their provincial political representatives to get the ball rolling,” said Zeman. “When enough voters speak up, politicians tend to listen and change can be brought about. The future of our fish and wildlife resources are dependent on people, individuals, speaking up now and not later… Later will be too late for some species and some populations.”
I agree with Zeman when he says the time for action is now, and that the actions of individuals can influence the overall scheme of things. However, I also think the time has come for one voice to represent the many – one voice that can speak loud enough for all to hear, including the politicians.
What we need now is for the many and varied vested interest groups throughout the province that are concerned about the future of our fish and wildlife resources to get together to express both their concerns and ideas, and, in so doing, create a long-term vision and formulate realistic goals.
Whether this vision and/or voice comes from the creation of an umbrella organization, or as the result of some sort of conference where concerned parties gather to select a spokesperson, the need is there. The BCWF certainly has experience when it comes to navigating the political waters, so perhaps the individuals and various vested interest groups that showed up at last week’s meeting might want to look to them to advocate for the many.
There are a lot of groups and organizations within B.C. that have concerns about the future of fish and wildlife in the province, groups that accomplish a lot with limited resources.
Recent successive provincial governments have been all too eager to pass responsibility for the management of our fish and wildlife off onto such groups.
Just imagine if we as individuals, and all the groups and organizations that share concerns about the future of fish and wildlife in our province, were to join the BCWF in expressing those concerns to the B.C. government. It would indeed be a voice loud enough that it could not be ignored.