For decades, a growing number of ecological reserves have dotted the landscapes of British Columbia, offering a legal haven for wildlife and outdoor recreation — and for scientists, a genetic data bank for future discoveries.
But since the early 1970s, when ecological reserves were first established in B.C., the province has lacked the power to fine people and companies for damaging what today adds up to 158 natural sanctuaries. Last week, that changed with the enactment of the new Ecological Reserve Regulation.
“This updated regulation will help protect B.C.’s critically important biological diversity and safeguard rare and endangered plants and animals in their natural habitat,” said Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman in a statement last week.
The regulatory changes give BC Parks the ability to penalize eco-offenders hundreds to thousands of dollars across 21 contravention categories.
Anyone operating a drone, motorboat, or off-road vehicle in an ecological reserve, for example, can face a $575 penalty. Mining or quarrying rock invites a similar penalty, as does logging or lighting a fire in an ecological reserve.
Other infractions include: smoking cannabis, a tobacco or an e-cigarette ($575); constructing a dock, deck, tent pad, road or trail ($575); disturbing an animal, hunting, trapping or fishing ($345); or allowing waste to flow or seep into an ecological reserve ($575).
BC Parks can also hand out a $575 penalty for the illegal use of natural resources in an ecological reserve, such as the commercial harvesting of mushrooms, or diversion of water.
Anyone who commits an offence under the new regulations can be fined up to $200,000, with ongoing breaches leading to separate offences every day they continue, confirmed a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment of Climate Change Strategy.
