To the Editor:
At the recent all MLA candidates forum in Creston, I raised concerns about the current provincial government’s direction regarding the future of the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (CVWMA). My first concern is the dismantling of the current model of managing the area, which has served well to attain the CVWMA’s objectives for over 40 years. My second concern is the failure of the government to provide any opportunity for public input into their decision or provide any rationale for their decision.
I believe there are some ways the current operational model for the CVWMA can be improved but they certainly don’t require the extreme changes the government is pursuing. The government is planning to eliminate the Creston Valley Wildlife Act, which is the strongest legislation in B.C. to protect a wildlife management area. Converting the area into simply another wildlife area under the BC Wildlife Act makes it far less secure from political manipulation than its current status. In so doing, the government also intends to eliminate the three-member Creston Valley Wildlife Management Authority and get rid of the public representative and Canadian Wildlife Service representative’s involvement in the area. Thus the most effective avenue for having public input into the operation and management of the CVWMA will be lost. So will the influence of the Canadian Wildlife Service, which has the responsibility to oversee the management of all waterfowl in Canada under the Migratory Birds Convention Act.
The government is also planning to close the Wildlife Interpretation Centre and its programs unless it can find a private organization to take it over. This facility is vital to serving the educational objectives of the CVWMA, as well as serving the public and tourist interests in the area. One positive move the government is making is fostering greater involvement of Ducks Unlimited Canada in the operation of the CVWMA. This organization, in my view, is one of the finest wildlife conservation organizations in Canada and it has played a vital support role to the CVWMA since its inception. But its board of directors has decided they will not be involved in the operation of wildlife interpretation centres in Canada. However, I applaud its commitment to put more funding into the upkeep and maintenance of the water control structures on the CVWMA, which it previously constructed.
I have been in contact with an increasing number of citizens in the Kootenays who share my concerns about what is happening with the CVWMA. Though they recognize there are ways to improve the current operational model of the CVWMA, they also believe the advice they can offer the government in this regard will result in a much better future for the CVWMA than what is currently being pursued. For this reason and, on behalf of all of them, I have asked the minister responsible for the CVWMA and all of the MLA candidates for Nelson-Creston to support putting a hold on any further government action regarding the CVWMA’s future until a meaningful opportunity has been provided to Kootenay area citizens to make input on this matter.
Dennis McDonald
West Creston