# Planning a hunt in British Columbia? Please reconsider!



## forestwalker (Jan 4, 2015)

Hello to a the hunter men and women of this North Dakota hunting forum

I'm coming to you from British Columbia with a issue of great importance, one which you may find one day soon on your own doorstep.

Very recently our liberal government decided to amend our provincial policy in regards to wildlife allocation in our province. The resulting changes have left the residents and hunters of BC. hopping mad. This post is part of a grassroots movement begun by the resident hunters of BC hoping to overturn these decisions and inform the public of the very real impacts they are certain to have on the people of BC. The British Columbia Wildlife Federation (BCWF) is our provincial volunteer conservation organization. Unfortunately, being a non-profit organization the BCWF is unable to become involved in political efforts to the degree in which we are now faced. We aim to take up the issue in areas they are unable to go.

The Guide Outfitters Association of BC has been working with the BC government behind close doors to increase their yearly quotas. Without even bothering to involve the resident hunters of BC in their decision our government quickly amended past policy on allocation and GOABC have since had their quotas increased to 40% of the Grizzly, Goat and Sheep numbers and up to 25% of other species. Considering that the average allotment to non residents in the USA and Canada is between 5-10 % this hurts! This increase is not coming from an excess of animals but straight from the annual allowable harvest numbers allocated to the resident hunters of BC.

This brings me back to my opening statement. What is to stop your governments from following suit. Our campaign sees these decisions as setting an unfortunate precedent for further allocation changes in North America. Would you sit back and just settle for the scraps!

BC's resident hunters, already hampered by strict quotas and regulations on most species, worry about the continued existence of hunting BC's wilderness, we worry about our kids and the younger generations being able to live and hunt like our generation and past generations have done. When foreign and economic interests outweigh the needs and interests of residents everybody loses!

I must make sure you understand that in no way is our campaign affiliated with the BCWF. This is very important as our campaign headquarters, located on our largest hunting forum for BC hunters (huntingbc.ca) has already been threatened by legal aid with slander, undoubtedly by an angry and worried GOABC or affiliate. We do not want the BCWF facing the same accusations. We don't have the resources the GOABC has at their disposal, but we do have thousands of really ****** off resident hunters ready to step up and reverse the decisions.

I'm speaking on behalf of the resident hunters of BC, we ask that you please refrain from booking guide trips with the GOABC until this dispute has been resolved to the satisfaction of BC residents. There are guiding outfits that are not aligned with the GOABC and do not support the decisions made. If you do decide to travel north you'll be treated in a positive light, after all we're all people of the same ilk and share the same values. Our battle is with the GOABC and our provincial government not the foreign clientele. Also, make sure to ask about what your $150 towards the hunting allocation fund actually goes towards.

Please take some time to educate yourself on this issue by visiting the huntingbc.ca site and reading the various threads.

Now as I suggested before, the lawyers are following our efforts and I'm afraid they will engage with litigious law suits. So hear is my disclaimer. All comments are opinion only and I make no claim to the accuracy or completeness of any facts or figures I have provided. As I said please educate yourself.

If you have any questions I will be around to answer as best I can.

From your northern brethren

Sincerely 
The resident hunters of BC.


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Forest walker, if what you say is true, and I don't doubt it, it his is an ominous thing for the hunting future of BC. 40 years ago I lived in Salmon Arm and it was a hunting paradise. A two hour drive to the east were mtn goats, locally deer moose, bears of all kinds and occasional caribou. But even back then there were relatively few hunters though there were three places to buy guns and ammo. I hear there are nine there, now, with Kamloops the closest.
Good luck in your endeavor. Between the draconian gun laws and lack of interest by most residents, you'll have an upstream battle! Best of luck!
PS I remember a few years ago about the Britishers than managed to close down frizz hunting for a while. Thankfully the Guides assn turned that one around, but both the WF, the Guides and you guys should stand together against the antis. BC is too beautiful of a province to lose hunting or have it curtailed for locals or non residents.


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## forestwalker (Jan 4, 2015)

Habitat Hugger said:


> Forest walker, if what you say is true, and I don't doubt it, it his is an ominous thing for the hunting future of BC. 40 years ago I lived in Salmon Arm and it was a hunting paradise. A two hour drive to the east were mtn goats, locally deer moose, bears of all kinds and occasional caribou. But even back then there were relatively few hunters though there were three places to buy guns and ammo. I hear there are nine there, now, with Kamloops the closest.
> Good luck in your endeavor. Between the draconian gun laws and lack of interest by most residents, you'll have an upstream battle! Best of luck!
> PS I remember a few years ago about the Britishers than managed to close down frizz hunting for a while. Thankfully the Guides assn turned that one around, but both the WF, the Guides and you guys should stand together against the antis. BC is too beautiful of a province to lose hunting or have it curtailed for locals or non residents.


Thank you "habitat hugger" for your reply,

The resident hunters of BC do believe that these recent decisions could lead down a very slippery slope for the future of hunting in British Columbia. When foreign interests and financial gains are put ahead of the residents it causes alarm. If we continue to head down this path we will soon find hunting as a sport for only the richest of persons.

Government is a business, ours is no different, they only see the dollars! If given the allocation percentages that the GOABC have demanded, there is nothing to stop the wildlife allocation policies from beings amended again and again to favor the guiding industry and leave BC residents cleaning up the scraps. BC's resident hunters have stood up and said no to the privatization of our wildlife!

An average cost for a guided sheep hunt in BC is approximately $40,000 dollars! this is our provinces premier guided hunt. The government seeing the possible revenues gained, have essentially propped up the dying guide industry in our province on the backs of BC residents.

Two important notes two add are the recent changes they have made that will have unlimited quota on non-resident sheep in the Kootenay region. What this translates to is several outfitters can book as many sheep hunts as they wish, attempting to fill their pocketbooks. Several of these outfits who offer bighorn hunts for sale have a very low success rate, and IMO hunt quality will decline in the region.This would have a MAJOR impact if I was a non-resident hunter booking a sheep hunt in BC upcoming.

In fact British Columbian residents in general are already highly disapproving of the guiding industry and their trophy hunting clientele. There is a strong backing for the closing of Grizzly hunts, much more exposure on the matter and we could find all guiding opportunities lost because of a small number of greedy individuals demanding more than their fair share.

We have 103,000 plus resident hunters in BC, appropriately 260 guiding outfits that bring in around 3 to 5 thousand clients a year. given those numbers how does a 60-40 split make any sense?

We agree with your final sentences and our aim is for co-operation among everyone. Unfortunately the guide industry is only out for themselves at the moment. When this issue is all settled then we can all get down to the brass tax of habitat enhancement, better conservation practices and creating more wildlife for all parties alike.

Cheers
BC's resident hunters


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks for the info. Yes, sounds like hunting in BC will be soon only for the rich. Back when I lived in NC several of us would research an area, then more a use plane to fly is in to a lake somewhere, then pick us up a couple weeks later in another lake if possible. Hunted Kluachesi, Edziza and a couple areas along the Stikine. We backpacked and other than tents, etc we largely lived off the land. We were harassed a couple times by outfitters, even back then. one even deliberately chased away a small herd of caribou and another had the game warden check us out when the float plane landed after our hunt. We hadn't broken any laws, except maybe peeing in public in the woods, LOL but some of them did everything they could to harass us. And that was in the early 70's, 40 years ago! In fairness, one outfit we met was really nice and offered to help us haul our moose quarters to our takeout point. We hauled them out ourselves but shared a meal and ca,p fire with them one evening. Good guys! 
Hopefully you can stand up to the outfitters. wOW! Unless the Kootnays have drastically changed since I hunted elk there how can they possibly offer unlimited licenses?? Politicians are NUTS! 
I never did shoot a grizz, but always had a $20 tag in my pocket. Could have shot one lots of times but with no means of recovering a heavy wet hide and skull I only took picture and memories of those beautiful animals. 
Good luck. BOB


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## forestwalker (Jan 4, 2015)

Habitat Hugger said:


> Thanks for the info. Yes, sounds like hunting in BC will be soon only for the rich. Back when I lived in NC several of us would research an area, then more a use plane to fly is in to a lake somewhere, then pick us up a couple weeks later in another lake if possible. Hunted Kluachesi, Edziza and a couple areas along the Stikine. We backpacked and other than tents, etc we largely lived off the land. We were harassed a couple times by outfitters, even back then. one even deliberately chased away a small herd of caribou and another had the game warden check us out when the float plane landed after our hunt. We hadn't broken any laws, except maybe peeing in public in the woods, LOL but some of them did everything they could to harass us. And that was in the early 70's, 40 years ago! In fairness, one outfit we met was really nice and offered to help us haul our moose quarters to our takeout point. We hauled them out ourselves but shared a meal and ca,p fire with them one evening. Good guys!
> Hopefully you can stand up to the outfitters. wOW! Unless the Kootnays have drastically changed since I hunted elk there how can they possibly offer unlimited licenses?? Politicians are NUTS!
> I never did shoot a grizz, but always had a $20 tag in my pocket. Could have shot one lots of times but with no means of recovering a heavy wet hide and skull I only took picture and memories of those beautiful animals.
> Good luck. BOB


Thanks Bob, your support means a lot!
Some of those areas mentioned are truly beautiful, I hope to hunt more of the BC back country in the coming years. 
There are many encounters with guides that end in a negative light, many seem to believe they own they area's they guide in and any outside presence is treated in a negative light. That being said, there are many outfitters that hunt alongside the resident hunter and are friendly and co-operative with them. The GOABC speaks on behalf of the guide outfitters in association with them, there are others not associated with the GOABC just as there are those within the GOABC that don't agree with the demands presented and the allocation decision. I believe the GOABC is beginning to understand and hear the voice of the resident hunter and they may soon wish they had never backdoor-ed this deal in the first place. 
There are many problems in the BC guiding industry related to the recent allocation, foreign ownership of BC guide outfitters and the essential bailout our government has just handed the failing guide industry of BC. We aim to put all this behind us with a fair deal for resident hunters so we can hopefully work together with the guides on the big picture, the ever diminishing wildlife populations and their habitat.
Cheers
Rick


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## littlegreenman87 (Jan 4, 2006)

I don't understand any of this #homeschooled


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