Wildlife Guidelines
for Backcountry Tourism/Commercial Recreation
Objective
Guidelines Development
Key features of the 2006 guidelines
Commercial Recreation Policy
Alternative Strategies
Objective
The guidelines were developed to ensure that backcountry
recreation activities are conducted
in a manner
that does not compromise the current distribution of
wildlife, the sustainability of their populations,
or the integrity of their habitats. These guidelines
define results, desired behaviours, indicators, and
limits for backcountry activities in relation to wildlife
and their habitats.
Guidelines Development
A joint government and Commercial Tourism (CT) / Commercial
Recreation (CR) sector committee (the Tourism Wildlife
Project Team) was tasked with developing a set of
guidelines that are results based, informed by science
and operational experience, and that meet the legislative
and policy needs of government and the sustainability
objectives of both government and tourism. The guidelines
were developed over an 18 month period in 2004 and
2005, with extensive input from representatives of
commercial and public recreation sectors and organizations.
These guidelines are intended for use by
commercial tourism operators tenured under the Land
Act when
conducting activities on Crown land, including water-based activities. However, it is anticipated that the guidelines
will provide useful guidance for all backcountry
recreational users.
These guidelines replace the first version which
was published in 2002 as the Interim wildlife guidelines
for commercial backcountry recreation in British Columbia (see changes
from the 2002 draft).
The development of the current guidelines was framed
by a strategy (Wilson and Hamilton 2004) that:
- addressed concerns of stakeholders raised after the
release of the Interim Guidelines;
- provided a context for the guidelines in relation to
other legal and policy tools; and
-
stressed a results-based approach based on precautionary
defaults and/or the development of “alternative” operational
strategies.
Key features of the 2006 guidelines
- Guidelines are organized by categories
of recreational activity and season, and secondarily by broad habitat
(ecosystem) types. Operators need to consult all
sections that apply to their operation (e.g., operators who
offer heli-hiking activities should consult both
the aerial-based and non-motorized activity sections -
including seasonal sections).
- Guidelines for individual species are included only where
the species is at risk or of regional interest,
is widely distributed, or requires additional guidelines
beyond those specified for wildlife and habitats
in general. Information links for specific species, species
groups and plant communities is provided here.
- Guidelines for different recreational activities are
organized into 5 issues categories:
- Degradation of soil, air and water quality
- Integrity of vegetation communities
- Direct disturbance of wildlife
- Integrity of fisheries resources
- Special management (for specific values of
concern)
- Concerns are ranked according to the potential risk
to wildlife and their habitats, where potential
is defined as the probability that the activity will
result in either the alteration or destruction of habitat,
or the temporary (on a scale of days or
longer) or permanent abandonment of habitat, in the absence
of guidelines or statutes
- Guidelines are summarized by:
- Results – What the guidelines are attempting
to achieve
- Desired Behaviours – Actions
by users that are most likely to
achieve the
specified Results
- Indicators – What should
be measured to determine if Results
are being achieved
- Limits – Acceptable bounds
related to the measured indicator
- Low risk issues - Results and Desired Behaviours
are identified.
- High risk issues - Results, Desired Behaviours, Indicators
and Limits are identified.
Safety - Despite any direction provided in the guidelines:
- safety remains the first priority under all circumstances;
and
- operators must adhere to all relevant legislation
and regulations
Commercial Recreation Policy
Commercial
Recreation Policy requires that wildlife
values (among other values) are addressed in management
plans that form part of the CR tenure document, which
must be adhered to by CR operators. Ministry of Tourism,
Sport and the Arts (MTSA) staff (decision makers)
are responsible for determining the adequacy/appropriateness
of Management Plans including the measures that are
incorporated to address wildlife values. Ministry
of Environment (MoE) will provide necessary assistance
/ expertise when deemed necessary.
CR operators need to be aware of wildlife and habitat
values within their area of operation and/or those
that may be affected by their activities (see CR
Management Plan template guide for more details).
Operators are responsible for understanding the guidelines
relevant to their activities. The guidelines will form
the foundation for addressing potential wildlife and
habitat issues within operators’ management plans.
Guidelines list the results that are to be achieved
to address wildlife values, along with the associated
desired behaviours that are designed to meet those
results. The desired behaviours are precautionary “defaults” that
operators are to follow, unless alternative
strategies are proposed.
Alternative Strategies
To achieve the results stated in the guidelines, CR
operators may decide to:
- adhere to all desired behaviours listed in the
guidelines for the particular activity or activities
that they
are authorized to undertake or are applying for;
OR
- propose alternative
strategies within their management plans to achieve
any of the listed results.
Note: Alternative strategies must be included in the
Management Plan submitted by the proponent. There must be a corresponding alternative strategy for all listed
results if the operator decides not to adopt any of
the desired behaviours for their activities.
The guidelines will be subject to change from
time to time based on the results of compliance and
effectiveness
monitoring, new science and trial results. The guidelines
are informed by science and the experience of users;
however, there are knowledge gaps and, consequently,
opportunities to “learn by doing”. The
guidelines allow for the development of innovative
practices through management trials and alternative
strategies. To ensure that the guidelines remain relevant
and up to date, an adaptive management approach will
be undertaken by agencies (led by MoE).
Link to PDF of 2006 Wildlife Guidelinesfor Backcountry Torusim/Commercial Recreation (944KB PDF) |