Conservation

So-called Magical Mountain on the edge of Finlayson Arm is for sale, and local organizers are campaigning to have it acquired as a park. (Photo courtesy of Kristen Awram)

Langford mom campaigns to have property listed at $3.8 million acquired as a park

Pristine parcel of forested, undeveloped land lays on the east side of Finlayson Arm

 

Brendan Sandhu cuddles one of the male wolf-dog hybrids he recently helped rescue in the Hope and Chilliwack area. (Submitted by Brendan Sandhu)

‘One of my guys jumped into a 10-foot poop pit,’ says wolfdog rescuer near Chilliwack

Born from dog/wolf parents, hybrids are nearly genetically, physically identical to wolves

 

Proceeds from the B.C. Wildlife Federation’s second annual online auction will support conservation initiatives around the province. BCWF photo.

Online gift, gear and getaway auction boosts BC fish and wildlife conservation

B.C. Wildlife Federation online auction supports conservation projects across the province

 

Tucker, the starving bobcat rescued by Langley’s Critter Care, is doing well, but he will need new accommodations. The wild animal rehab centre has launched a sponsorship campaign to help pay for it. (Critter Care video)

VIDEO: B.C. animal rehab centre offers a chance to sponsor rescued bobcat

Tucker is doing well, but he will need a new enclosure

Tucker, the starving bobcat rescued by Langley’s Critter Care, is doing well, but he will need new accommodations. The wild animal rehab centre has launched a sponsorship campaign to help pay for it. (Critter Care video)
British Columbia Conservation reminds people to remove attractants in urban areas and to keep their distance when spotting wildlife. (Photo courtesy of Jill Hayward)

BC Conservation, Saanich police warn residents after bear sightings near Elk Lake

Residents reminded to bring garbage, food in, keep their distance from bears

British Columbia Conservation reminds people to remove attractants in urban areas and to keep their distance when spotting wildlife. (Photo courtesy of Jill Hayward)
A free concert happening July 9 next to the south campus of Lansdowne Middle School will feature Indigenous poet Tanisha Nuttall, jazzist David Santana and vocalist Myriam Parent. (Photo courtesy of Friends of Bowker Creek)

Free Friday concert: Saanich school hosts Bowker Creek friends event

Summer concert series starting July 9 serves as fundraiser, educational opportunity

A free concert happening July 9 next to the south campus of Lansdowne Middle School will feature Indigenous poet Tanisha Nuttall, jazzist David Santana and vocalist Myriam Parent. (Photo courtesy of Friends of Bowker Creek)
Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)

New conservancy will protect 274-acre corridor B.C. grizzly bears use to meet, mingle

Maintaining connectivity between Stein-Nahatlatch and South Chilcotin grizzly populations essential for species’ survival

Gates Creek, 274-acres of land now in trust with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. (Nature Conservancy)
New research suggests wolves can be steered away from the endangered caribou herds they prey on by making the man-made trails they use to hunt harder to move along. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Culling cutlines, not B.C. wolves, key to preserving caribou herds: researcher

The government has turned to killing hundreds of wolves in an effort to keep caribou around

New research suggests wolves can be steered away from the endangered caribou herds they prey on by making the man-made trails they use to hunt harder to move along. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service set up a live trap on Ben McGuffie’s property on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy Ben McGuffie

B.C. winery operator throws rock to protect his goats from menacing grizzly

The big bears are rare for Quadra Island, especially in the populated areas

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service set up a live trap on Ben McGuffie’s property on Quadra Island. Photo courtesy Ben McGuffie
Camper Sanjay Srivastava had an unsettling discovery near the Big Bay recreation site last week. Photo courtesy Google Maps

Camper finds decapitated bear carcass west of Campbell River

‘I just wanted to do right for the bear which I believe was the mother of a young cub.’ — Camper

Camper Sanjay Srivastava had an unsettling discovery near the Big Bay recreation site last week. Photo courtesy Google Maps
A group of Coquitlam golfers was interrupted on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, by a black bear who bit a player's ball and tossed it back towards the group. (Screen grab/Mark Pettie)

VIDEO: ‘Seriously annoyed’ black bear tosses ball, interrupts B.C. golfers

‘If the bears are chasing golf balls at least they are not chasing golfers,’ says Sgt. Todd Hunter, a B.C. conservation officer

A group of Coquitlam golfers was interrupted on Tuesday, May 25, 2021, by a black bear who bit a player's ball and tossed it back towards the group. (Screen grab/Mark Pettie)
Brandi Hansen said she was disheartened to find dozens of severed, declawed bear paws dumped in a culvert alongside a North Shuswap road on Sunday, May 23, 2021. (Contributed)

B.C. First Nations condemn those responsible for bear paws dumped near Shuswap Lake

Union of BC Indian Chiefs says poachers likely responsible

Brandi Hansen said she was disheartened to find dozens of severed, declawed bear paws dumped in a culvert alongside a North Shuswap road on Sunday, May 23, 2021. (Contributed)
From May 21 to 24, the Capital Regional District hosts a virtual Biodiversity Challenge in honour of the International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22.

Picture this: Discover the biodiversity in your own backyard

CRD hosts a virtual Biodiversity Challenge … and the chance to win some awesome prizes!

  • May 17, 2021
From May 21 to 24, the Capital Regional District hosts a virtual Biodiversity Challenge in honour of the International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22.
A black bear, dubbed Huckleberry by Deep Cove, B.C., residents died on July 31, 2020, after becoming conditioned to food and humans. (North Shore Black Bear Society photo)

Fewer dead bears, more fines: Advocates call for B.C. conservation officer reform

B.C. Bear Alliance wants to see body cameras on conservation officers after more than 600 black bears were killed this past year

A black bear, dubbed Huckleberry by Deep Cove, B.C., residents died on July 31, 2020, after becoming conditioned to food and humans. (North Shore Black Bear Society photo)
The Royal BC Museum exhibit begins by pulling visitors underwater, immersing them in the orca’s world. (Photo: Shane Lighter/Royal BC Museum)

Royal BC Museum exhibit dives into the world of orcas

Deep inside the belly of the Royal BC Museum’s much-anticipated new exhibit,…

  • May 4, 2021
The Royal BC Museum exhibit begins by pulling visitors underwater, immersing them in the orca’s world. (Photo: Shane Lighter/Royal BC Museum)
Stage 1 water restrictions took effect across Greater Victoria on May 1. (Black Press Media file photo)

Summer watering restrictions in effect for Greater Victoria

Check your house number before you water

Stage 1 water restrictions took effect across Greater Victoria on May 1. (Black Press Media file photo)
The conservation service confirmed they do not relocate cougars from settled areas but that euthanasia is not necessarily the fate for an animal in the Fanny Bay area. The hope is that the animal will move on to wild areas. (File photo)

Woman hopes cat-stalking Fanny Bay cougar can avoid euthanization

Conservation officers do not relocate the animals from Vancouver Island

The conservation service confirmed they do not relocate cougars from settled areas but that euthanasia is not necessarily the fate for an animal in the Fanny Bay area. The hope is that the animal will move on to wild areas. (File photo)
Contents from a tailings pond is pictured going down the Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake near the town of Likely, B.C. on Aug. 5, 2014. (Photo by Jonathan Hayward)

New map details potential environmental threats from B.C. mines

Map editors pressure province to move faster on regulation reforms

Contents from a tailings pond is pictured going down the Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake near the town of Likely, B.C. on Aug. 5, 2014. (Photo by Jonathan Hayward)
A Pacific great blue heron preys on a juvenile salmon in Cowichan Bay. A new study out of UBC suggests the birds removed between three and six per cent of the young fish every year from the Salish Sea region. (Photo supplied by Robert Stenseth)

Blue herons identified as a significant predator of B.C.’s juvenile salmon

Surprising UBC findings may actually be beneficial to stability of salmon populations

A Pacific great blue heron preys on a juvenile salmon in Cowichan Bay. A new study out of UBC suggests the birds removed between three and six per cent of the young fish every year from the Salish Sea region. (Photo supplied by Robert Stenseth)
A decade into the 100-year blueprint for restoring the Bowker Creek watershed, Soren Henrich, director of the Friends of Bowker Creek Society, feels positive about the future of conservation and daylighting of the creek. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)

Ten years in, Greater Victoria’s 100-year Bowker Creek blueprint gets a boost

Victoria council passes several restoration recommendations

A decade into the 100-year blueprint for restoring the Bowker Creek watershed, Soren Henrich, director of the Friends of Bowker Creek Society, feels positive about the future of conservation and daylighting of the creek. (Nina Grossman/News Staff)