Additional measures being developed to protect B.C.’s environment from spills
Tuesday, January 30, 2018 – The provincial government is proposing a second phase of regulations to improve preparedness, response and recovery from potential spills. The first phase of the regulations, approved in October 2017, established a standard of preparedness, response and recovery necessary to protect B.C.’s environment. With some exceptions for B.C. oil and gas […]
Proposed BC-Canada Agreement to Protect Mountain Caribou Is Toothless
January 10, 2018 – If a draft agreement between the BC government and Environment Canada on the endangered mountain caribou is approved, it will make a laughing stock of both governments and the Species at Risk Act”, says the Valhalla Wilderness Society (VWS). The agreement is for the Central Mountain Caribou, which are centered in BC’s South Peace region. The BC government’s commitment under […]
Government announces a full and total ban on the grizzly bear trophy hunt
Monday, December 18, 2017 — Government announces a full and total ban on the grizzly bear trophy hunt, the hunting for meat loophole is closed. For over two decades, Pacific Wild and countless others have worked to stop the grizzly bear trophy hunt in British Columbia. “This is a major victory for B.C. grizzly bears. […]
Post-Shoot Reflections
Post-Shoot Reflections By Deirdre Leowinata On May 17th, 2016, I was sitting in the sunny green backyard of my lower floor apartment near Toronto’s High Park, staring at my phone while anxiously awaiting a call from Pacific Wild. The words I will never forget: “So we’re kind of working on this IMAX movie.” Eight days […]
Calling for an end to bear hunting in British Columbia
Until Nov. 2, the public could provide input into two Fish and Wildlife Branch policy documents outlining the proposed regulation changes required to implement the ban. However, the province has framed the public consultation process in terms of how to manage the meat hunt, not if there should even be a meat hunt. One of Pacific Wild’s […]
I Call The Great Bear My Home
The salt is in my blood, it courses through my veins; it is in my DNA, it is embedded in my brain. I travel the same waterways and walk through the same ancient forests as my people have done for over 14,000 years. Operating in the home of the Heiltsuk people, Pacific Wild has shown […]
Sea Otter Awareness Week
The final week in September is “Sea Otter Awareness Week” – an annual recognition of the vital role that sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem. When people think about sea otters the first thing that often comes to mind is their endearing cuteness, but they are much more important than that. Sea otters are considered […]
Government of British Columbia to end grizzly bear trophy hunting — after the 2017 fall hunt
(Monday, August 14, 2017) – With less than 24 hours before the fall bear hunt opens in parts of British Columbia, the NDP government has announced a ban on the grizzly bear trophy hunt province-wide and to stop all hunting of grizzlies in the Great Bear Rainforest, effective Nov. 30, 2017. “Today’s announcement by the NDP […]
Rockfish Need Marine Protected Areas
Rockfish in the coastal waters of British Columbia are characterized by their amazing variety of shapes, sizes and colours. From black to green and even crimson and vibrant orange, rockfish camo resembles the seafloor and rock faces where they live, usually settling in one place for most of their lives. With over 100 species of […]
A Quiet Ocean
Today, February 18th 2017, is World Whale Day. We invite you to join us in raising awareness and inspiring action to protect humpback whales and their ocean habitat. A Quiet Ocean | Great Bear Wild | Ian McAllister I slip into the ocean. My dry suit and body vibrate with the otherworldly sound of humpback […]
Protect habitat, don’t kill wolves: government scientists admit wolf cull is inhumane, yet propose expansion
Two science advisors for the B.C. government have recommended that Premier Christy Clark’s administration expand its program to kill wolves, mountain lions, moose and deer in an experimental attempt to conserve and recover threatened southern mountain caribou. Written in October 2016 by two members of the Provincial Mountain Caribou Recovery Science Team, “Next Steps for […]
Why were two young cougars killed in Ocean Falls this winter?
Why were two young cougars killed in Ocean Falls this winter? The recent killing (November 25th) of two young cougars by a Conservation Officer in Ocean Falls, B.C., has highlighted the complicated relationship between wild carnivores and humans. This particular wild carnivore, the cougar, Puma concolor, is extremely rare to encounter despite its relatively widespread […]
The 40-Year-Old Federal Salmon Study That Should Have Killed Pacific Northwest LNG
The report is dated July 17, 1973, and stamped by the Department of the Environment. Scientists had undertaken a study of fish in the Skeena estuary due to proposals to build a super port in the Prince Rupert area. The federal government wanted to know: “What destructive consequences could be imparted on the fisheries resource by superport construction?” So the […]
Courts asked to rule on B.C.’s controversial wolf cull
Local and international groups rally in support January 20, 2016 [Victoria, B.C.] – Pacific Wild and Valhalla Wilderness Society are challenging the legality
Mine shut down after pollution spill at Yellow Giant gold mine
Mon, Jul 27: Environmentalists sounding the alarm about tailings pond spill at Yellow Giant gold mine on Banks Island on
Heat wave adds to salmon’s migratory obstacles
The Early Stuarts, first of this season’s sockeye, are now ghosting in from the North Pacific, homing on the freshwater plume of the Fraser River. It spills in a vast, silty lens across the Salish Sea, one of the last mysterious signals guiding them toward the final dangerous stretch of a 16,000-kilometre journey. They will […]
B.C. caribou herds face extinction despite government protection
Woodland caribou in northeast British Columbia are headed for extinction and could become the first subpopulation of a species to vanish in Canada while under government protection. Researchers from the University of Northern B.C. and the province say five herds are collapsing even though the government is pursuing a recovery strategy that includes captive breeding, […]
Fighting Over Herring- the Little Fish that Feed Multitudes
The Pacific herring—an oily, silvery, schooling fish—is rarely high on the list of marine animals people fret about. But for the second straight year, the Canadian government has ignited a skirmish in British Columbia by moving to let fishing nets scoop up spawning herring, despite objections from scientists, Native people, and even commercial fishing groups. […]
