Please read the attachment below from the Scientists for species, asking for a meeting with Premier John Horgan to establish long overdue provincial endangered species legislation and investment in protection and recovery to reverse biodiversity loss in BC.

Trails Society of BC applauds this letter requesting the Premier to direct the next Environment Minister to protect species at risk in BC, both legally and through effective action, completing the unfulfilled mandate of 2017.

We encourage the BC government to follow the guidance and expertise of these scientists.

We request the Government of BC to reverse the decision to turn 67km of the Columbia and Western Rail Trail into a roadway. Our current legislative and regulatory framework (Forest Range and Practices Act -FRPA) is totally timber-centric with other values such as wildlife, watersheds, biodiversity, fisheries, tourism and outdoor recreation.  The Kettle-Granby Grizzly lives in this region.

This region is habitat for Grizzly Bear which is a threatened species. Trails Society of BC recognizes there are significant concerns with the construction of roads and the human activity associated with roads. Roadways have many impacts on Grizzly Bear survival and we are unclear if these roads and permit to drive logging trucks on the rail trail have been properly accounted for in wildlife management and grizzly bear management planning in this region. In 1995, the BC Government made a public commitment “to maintain in perpetuity the diversity and abundance of Grizzly Bears and the ecosystems on which they depend in British Columbia. Since then, this entire region’s Grizzly Bear habitat has been fragmented with increased road density outside the Granby and Gladstone Provincial Parks. These two Provincial Parks are too small to support the habitat requirements of these Grizzly Bears.

No continued industrial or privatized modification of BC Rail Trails in this Province should be allowed until FRPA is updated from the 2019 consultation and Endangered Species legislation is enacted.

FRPA must reflect improved forest management incorporating climate science and adaptation, improved public consultation and dialogue, and increased prioritization of recreational values, biodiversity and wildlife habitat in land use management.