The 3 remaining Northern Spotted Owls in BC can breathe a sigh of relief ... at least for a year... Plus sign the new rodenticide petition!

Read the whole article at the Narwhal HERE

Is this truly a victory?! If so it is one that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The need for the government to protect the habitat of the last 3 Spotted Owls should be a given not something to be celebrated.

However this is where we are and so I must say thank you to the Wilderness Committee and the Spô'zêm First Nation for working so hard to make this happen. 

These owls have been failed by both the provincial and federal government. All we must do is to look to WA state, where even though populations have dwindled to under 500 birds... that we have done something gravely wrong here at the northern limit of their range.

With only 3 wild birds this species is functionally extinct in my view. No captive birds have been successfully released into the wild. When these owls are gone after all the failed NDP promises of creating an endangered species act and not logging in old growth forests and breaking the Species At Risk Act (SARA); we will all be the worst for it.

So yes, even though this is a victory, that logging will be deferred in their active old growth habitat, I still feel in my heart that it is too little too late. 

One thing this shows me is that we must never stop fighting for the birds, animals and environment. We humans, are all these voiceless creatures have, so we must never EVER give up.

Premier Horgan promised he would create an endangered species act in 2017 in BC but failed to do so. We need to keep pushing the BC Gov’t to create an Endangered Species Act. We can be grateful that Spotted Owls are protected under SARA or this deferral would never have happened.

Speaking about that... the appeal to get an injunction to stop the destruction of the Quadling Quarry Peregrine Falcon nest has been filed and is going forward. So many birders and birding/conservation organizations have sent in letters of support to be heard at the appeal. If you want to know how you can send in a letter of support (must be done by March 2nd), please send me an email at bcbirdergirl(at)gmail(com) and I can show you a copy of the appeal and provide an easy template to fill in.

As you have read on this blog, many cities across BC have banned rodenticides on civic lands. So now  we have made a petition to ban rodenticides across BC (studies in California have proven that even Northern Spotted Owls are affected by rodenticides!) . If you can sign the petition please do so HERE!

Thank you to all the birders who have supported me in these efforts and most of all, thank you for supporting the birds. What a wonderful community we have here of caring advocates.

Northern Spotted Owl - I wish we did better by this species in Canada - Photo: Melissa Hafting

Comments

  1. PacificnorthwestkateFebruary 25, 2021 at 5:55 PM

    As someone who has never seen a spotted owl this is all a bit too late. I am so sad and so disheartened by the Govt and their lack of leadership and their blatant lies - we must hold the leaders responsible and We must keep speaking up for the wild - for the Quadling road peregrine falcons and for banning rodenticides - Thank You Mel for your Inspiration - to always keep Fighting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingFebruary 26, 2021 at 10:01 PM

      thank you so much Kate! yes it is all too late... the govt is pounding millions into a spotted owl captive release program for ten years now and hasn't released a single bird.. how can they when there is not enough habitat for the young to hunt, live and succeed? it is soul destroying. spotted owls are magical birds and it is a shame future generations wont get the chance to see them in the wild in bc. thanks for all your support for the peregrines, wildlife and the birds it is much appreciated.

      Delete
  2. Teesa CFebruary 26, 2021 at 1:20 PM

    Yeah, it can be pretty frustrating to see how the BC Government has dealt with conservation issues. Is the rodenticide petition a completely new one, or the same one that's been going around for a few months? I signed one a few months ago....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Melissa HaftingFebruary 26, 2021 at 9:57 PM

      Hi Teesa ! Thanks for reading. You are correct there is a petition on The change.org site which i have posted and promoted on this blog. It has been successful in driving awareness around the rodenticide problem by sharing the story of "lucky" and a broad desire for change. it has over 15000 signatures from around the world which is awesome. The Rodenticide Free BC petition is a next step effort that draws from and highlights ALL of the energy around the issue, including the success of the change.org, municipal letters of support, organizational sign-on (fact sheet), science, and policy.

      The goal is to synthesize all of the energy - and evidence of it - together in a singular package with an explanation of law, and a tangible solution. In addition to sharpening the ask, the Action Network platform is requesting signatures from BC residents only and can be further narrowed on the back end before it is presented to politicians.

      Furthermore, the change.org platform itself has developed a bit of negative reputation among politicians in recent years, and is generally not considered a credible display of support by constituents in a government setting as it solicits and collects signatures from around the globe.

      Additionally, the signatures collected prior to the petition changes made in July of 2020 may be further discredited due to a substantial expansion of the scope. Prior to that date, the petition aimed to encourage change in municipal policy in North Vancouver, not at the provincial level. It seems that assuming signatures can be applied at both levels is problematic as some advocates believe energy should be focused on enhancing municipal powers related to the environment and would not have signed the petition as presented after the July 2020 modifications.

      I sincerely hope that everyone passionate about this issue will recognize that the aim is to build upon the volume of work that has been done, to unite, and to achieve the change we all want to see as quickly as possible!.

      Delete

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