Together for Wildlife - Goal 1

In 2020 the Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council was established with members from across British Columbia. Council members bring together a wide range of expertise in natural resource stewardship and have a passion for wildlife and habitat. Council members include First Nations, the public, local government, academia, natural resources and other industry sectors, and conservation organizations. To date, the Council has been in place for two, two-year terms with many Council members agreeing to continue for a third term beginning in September 2024.

The Council advises and supports the Minister on implementation of the Together for Wildlife strategy, as well as on new and existing provincial legislation for wildlife and habitat stewardship, provincial initiatives across government that affect wildlife stewardship, and other priority wildlife stewardship matters identified by the Minister.

Work completed and underway

• Appointed Council members and Co-Chairs
• Secretariat support for bi-monthly Council meetings and working groups and to support Council work on planning and policy work to implement T4W
• Annual wildlife dialogues hosted by the Council to share progress and gather input from First Nations and other partners to guide Council advice

Find out more about the Council 

To learn more about the council, visit the Minister's Wildlife Advisory Council homepage. 

You can learn more about the Council members on their meet the council page. 

Correspondence to Government

The Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council has submitted a number of recommendations to government on a range of topics. To review the correspondence to government, please visit the council's Resources page. 

Annual Wildlife Dialogue Reports

Every year the Minister’s Wildlife Advisory Council holds Wildlife Dialogues. To see the summary reports of previous dialogue sessions please visit the council's links and documents page.

We will create or expand existing regional wildlife advisory committees to represent a variety of perspectives and provide opportunities for collaboration to improve wildlife stewardship. We will tailor advisory bodies to meet the unique needs and priorities of each region and ensure they can influence and be involved in processes that affect wildlife stewardship (e.g., land use planning, cumulative effect assessments, wildlife and habitat monitoring, etc.).

Regional wildlife advisory committees will provide opportunities for dialogue with provincial government programs, industry, interested parties, local governments and the public that complement the government-to-government relationships the province is committed to pursuing with Indigenous governments. Indigenous governments will be invited to join regional advisory bodies as the province’s government-to-government partners.

Action 2 in the Together for Wildlife strategy commits to create or expand existing Regional Wildlife Advisory Committees to represent a variety of perspectives and provide opportunities for collaboration to improve wildlife stewardship.

This commitment is founded on the principle that wildlife stewardship is a shared responsibility that requires diverse viewpoints.

Action 2 aims to bring communities together to:

• Represent a unified voice for wildlife and their habitat
• Foster dialogue between parties with diverse perspectives and knowledge systems
• Strengthen individual and collective relationships with the land
• Work collaboratively towards common goals and shared objectives

Role and function

There are many possible roles and functions as these groups come together. Their role will be advisory, not decision making. They will support sharing of perspectives, collaboration, and relationship-building among Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in an ethical space which prioritizes healthy ecosystems (e.g., biodiversity, wildlife and their habitats, and ecosystem function).

Ethical Space frameworks consider bridging western worldviews and Indigenous worldviews by opening a culturally safe environment in which the western written culture and knowledge and the Indigenous oral culture and knowledge come together to allow learning and understanding one another.

They may also:

• Collaboratively identify shared regional priorities and goals, including informing wildlife and habitat objectives
• Support regional planning to guide the implementation of the Together for Wildlife strategy in both the short and long term
• Measure effectiveness and performance related to regional implementation of the Together for Wildlife strategy
• Play an important role in providing regional scale, high level, technical advice
• Link with other existing regional and provincial level groups
• Facilitate implementation of the Together for Wildlife strategy (for example by identifying related projects undertaken through different initiatives)

Structures that are developed to meet the intent of Action 2 will respect and recognize the distinct relationship between provincial and indigenous governing bodies.

These structures will uphold the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and support reconciliation.

Since April 2022, ministry staff have been working in collaboration with the Ministers’ Wildlife Advisory Council, the First Nations – B.C. Wildlife and Habitat Conservation Forum and the Provincial Hunting and Trapping Advisory Team to develop options for group structures (e.g., committees, working groups, round table), guiding principles and draft Terms of Reference.

Ministry staff in many regions of the province have started engaging with interested parties, exploring how to implement Action 2, and having early conversations to determine the best approach to implement Action 2. 

Work completed and underway

• Reach out to First Nations for their input on how to best create regional wildlife advisory committees or advisory structures within region (RWACS).
• Make connections between regional initiatives working on wildlife issues to ensure they are coordinated and working together, for example linkages with initiatives like Modernized Land Use Planning.
• Work to enhance relationships with First Nations, interested parties and regional wildlife staff
• Work to identify issues and opportunities to improve regional engagement
• Develop guidance for staff for implementation including policy discussion paper and draft procedures
• Launch of three pilot advisory bodies: 
  • East Kootenay Wildlife and Habitat Advisory Committee
  • Okanagan Boundary Wildlife and Habitat Committee
  • Thompson-Lillooet Wildlife and Habitat Committee
• Continue implementation across the province in a way that aligns with regional contexts and needs

For more information, access the Regional Wildlife Advisory Committee's Action 2 information sheet (PDF, 184KB).

We will increase opportunities for the public to learn about and engage on wildlife stewardship issues that are important to them. We will update and expand wildlife and habitat communications, conduct province-wide surveys to better understand priority issues and opportunities, and hold public open houses in different areas of the province.

Work completed and underway

• Created a Together for Wildlife website to highlight how we are improving wildlife and habitat stewardship across British Columbia.
• Modernize the Wildlife and Habitat Branch websites to make the information clearer and more accessible.
• Reach out and engage with a provincial survey to learn more about what British Columbians think when it comes to caring for wildlife and their habitats.

• Public engagement on stewardship plans such as the Stewardship Framework for Thinhorn Sheep, the Grizzly Bear Stewardship Plan and the Commercial Bear-viewing strategy
• Public engagement on strategic policy such as the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework