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August 2009
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B.C. Applauds Move by Obama on California Standards
Premier Gordon Campbell is welcoming the Obama administration’s decision to grant California its waiver to regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles.
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Minister Penner is Now the Longest Serving Environment Minister in BC History
Barry Penner, pictured with Hon. Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, was sworn in as Minister of Environment on June 10, 2009.That means the former park ranger and lawyer is now the longest serving Environment Minister in the history of British Columbia.
“I’m looking forward to taking on the challenges that lie ahead under our new mandate, which the voters of BC gave us when they re-elected a BC Liberal Government on June 2.” Minister Penner first became British Columbia’s Minister of Environment on June 16, 2005.
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BC Government Expands
“No Hunting” Areas for Bears
Minister Penner advised British Columbians that effective June 16, 2009, an additional 470,000 hectares are now closed to grizzly bear hunting and effective July 1, 2009, more than 122,000 hectares are closed to black bear hunting on the Central and North coast.
The three areas closed to grizzly bear hunting are situated in the Nass-Skeena, Annuhati, and Khutze-Kitlope-Kimsquit Upper Dean-Tweedsmuir areas.
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Two days after being re-appointed to Cabinet, Minister Barry Penner travelled to the north end of Harrison Lake to check out a number of renewable energy projects and visit constituents. Here he is shown at a waterfall on Tipella Creek, which acts as a natural fish barrier. Above this point, Cloudworks Energy of Vancouver has built a small hydro project in partnership with the Douglas First Nation to generate zero-emission power for local residents and BC Hydro.
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BC Protects Two Million Hectares for Mountain Caribou
The BC Government is acting to protect the mountain caribou and its habitat by limiting disturbances to the animals in a large portion of the province’s mountainous backcountry, Environment Minister Penner announced.
The closures under British Columbia’s Mountain Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan, including previously protected areas, will now put more than two million hectares off limits for logging and road building, and one million hectares of alpine caribou habitat out of reach for snow machines in the BC Interior.
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The tanker truck was successfully lifted from the ocean floor in Robson Bight.
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Water Supply and Streamflow Conditions
A combination of below-normal snowpack accumulations this winter, and a dry, hot spring and summer have resulted in low streamflow conditions for rivers in the southern interior and south coast of British Columbia.
Rainfall in these areas has remained below average since April, with most rain resulting from convective storm cells, which produced localized rather than widespread rainfall. This, in combination with the prolonged hot weather and abundant sunshine, has resulted in rapid evaporation of soil water and surface water, causing river levels to recede more quickly than usual and leaving some rivers at record low flows for this time of year.
Given this outlook, Environment Minister Penner urges all British Columbians to help conserve our water resources. For details on how to become a more efficient water user, visit www.livingwatersmart.ca
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Government Sets 2007
GHG Emission Baseline
Environment Minister Barry Penner and Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap today released the British Columbia Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report 2007 as part of the government’s report to the public on GHG emissions levels.
“The low-carbon economy is the economy of the future,” said Penner. “Our Climate Action Plan provides a clear sightline for how to meet our targets for emissions reduction so we can stimulate innovation, investment and jobs in British Columbia’s new economy.”
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Wind Power Takes Off in BC!
Environment Minister Barry Penner and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Blair Lekstrom got a close-up view of the Bear Mountain Wind Park on
August 6, 2009.
It was a pivotal moment for wind power in BC, with this renewable source of energy now joining other clean, green renewable power projects in our province. Located 16 kilometres southwest of the City of Dawson Creek, Bear Mountain is a $190-million development that was developed in a partnership between the Dawson Creek-based Peace Energy Cooperative, Victoria-based Aeolis Wind Power Corporation and Alberta-based AltaGas Income Trust (which now owns the project).
The 102 megawatt project has begun supplying power to the BC Hydro grid under a long-term contract. In an average year, it will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of 38,000 homes. Approximately 90 people were working to complete the project on the day Ministers Penner and Lekstrom visited the site.
Investments in new, clean energy projects will help diversify rural economies, create opportunities for partnerships with First Nations, and help meet our future energy requirements without generating greenhouse gases or local air pollution.
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Minister Penner celebrates the renaming ceremony for Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park on July 13, 2009 with the Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nation. Pictured (Back row, left to right): Ronald Frank, Frank Dragon, Minister Barry Penner, Che:k’tles7et’h’ Tyee (Head Hereditary Chief) Francis Gillette, Cliff Atleo. (Front row): Rose Fred.
Province and First Nations Rename
Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park
An agreement has been reached between British Columbia and the Che:k’tles7et’h’ peoples to rename Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park to a dual name that celebrates the First Nations’ connection with the history and culture of the park, Environment Minister Penner announced.
“This agreement is intended to foster a strong foundation for the collaborative management of all of the parks and protected areas within the traditional territories of the Che:k’tles7et’h’ peoples,” said Minister Penner. “It provides certainty, acknowledgement, and recognition of the local First Nations and the connection they have to these special areas. This step is one of many to recognize and increase their involvement in planning.”
The BC Government is partnering with the Che:k’tles7et’h,’ members of the Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations, one of the five signatories of the Maa-nulth treaty, to rename Brooks Peninsula Provincial Park.
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Craig Daniell, BC SPCA CEO and special guest Gizmo joined Minister Penner in introducing British Columbia’s new Antifreeze Regulation.
New Rules Protect B.C. Pets
To increase the safety of pets and to give pet owners more peace of mind, British Columbia has become the first Canadian province to legally require the addition of a bittering agent to antifreeze and engine coolant sold in the province, Environment Minister Penner announced.
“The sweet taste of antifreeze is a major reason for the accidental – often fatal – ingestion of toxic antifreeze by pets, wildlife and young children,” Minister Penner said. “By making it mandatory to add an extremely bitter substance to the product, we will make it less appealing, reducing its likelihood of being consumed in significant quantities.”
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Celebration of Serpentine WMA
The Minister joins Wetland Stewardship Partners after the WMA sign was unveiled. The Serpentine WMA includes deltaic marsh and agricultural lands that provide habitat and forage for a rich variety of migratory waterfowl and other species. The property has been managed as a wildlife area since 1973 in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada. Approximately 16 hectares are managed under agreement with Ducks Unlimited Canada as forage crops which attract waterfowl and reduce crop damage on adjacent agricultural lands.
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Environment Minister Penner was at the Vancouver Aquarium to announce new rules regulating alien species that pose the most serious threat to public safety. Here, assisted by aquarium staff, Minister Penner helps hold a South American boa constrictor.
New Rules for Alien Species Protect Public
New rules regulating alien species that pose the most serious threat to public safety will take effect immediately, announced Environment Minister Penner.
“British Columbians shouldn’t have to worry about being harmed in their community by dangerous, foreign animals like tigers, pythons or alligators,” said Minister Penner. “Protecting public safety is our number one priority and this new regulation is intended to do just that.”
The provincial government has identified species that are a sufficient risk to public safety to warrant regulation. These include some types of mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The new Controlled Alien Species Regulation under the Wildlife Act contains a list of species that individuals are prohibited from possessing unless the animal was in BC prior to March 16, 2009. The regulation also includes restrictions on possessing, breeding, transporting and releasing animals that are currently
in British Columbia.
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Environment Minister Penner, centre, is flanked by Mark Angelo, left, representing the Heart of the Fraser initiative and Tom Blackbird, BC Parks area supervisor, on April 13 at a celebration for the designation of the Bert Brink Wildlife Management Area. The celebration took place along the banks of the Fraser River near McGillivray Slough in a 915-hectare area set aside for the preservation of important fish and wildlife habitat located just west of Chilliwack.
New Bert Brink and Serpentine Wildlife Management Areas for Fraser Valley
The BC Government has designated 915 hectares of important fish and wildlife habitat located just west of Chilliwack, and a further 71 hectares in south Surrey
as wildlife management areas.
“We are ensuring a long-term legacy for wildlife and future generations,” said Minister Penner. “This action by our government will protect prime habitat for many migratory birds, fish and other fauna around McGillivray Slough along the Fraser River. I can’t think of a more appropriate way to honour the memory of the late Bert Brink than by naming this area after him. And, while the Serpentine area near Surrey is a smaller parcel of land, it is also very important for fish and wildlife in the Lower Fraser Valley.”
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Minister Penner was on hand to speak at Dockside Green in Victoria as the development unveiled its biomass plant that provides clean energy for residents and businesses. He congratulated Dockside Green for being chosen as one of the sixteen developments by the Clinton Climate Initiative for its worthy aim to reduce on-site GHG emissions to below zero.
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