COALITION HEADS TO VICTORIA
Members of the Fish, Wildlife & Habitat Coalition hosted two events in Victoria between November 24, 2025 and November 25th, 2025. Our events saw strong attendance from MLAs and provincial government representatives.
The Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Coalition has urged the Province to legislate dedicated, long-term funding for fish and wildlife conservation. British Columbia’s ecosystems—and the fish and wildlife populations they support—are chronically underfunded. Legislated, stable funding is an essential first step toward restoring ecological integrity and supporting thriving fish and wildlife populations across the province.
To achieve this, we recommend legislation that includes the following core components:
- Dedicate revenue from hunting and angling licence fees and wildlife violation fines back into wildlife conservation.
- Implement a statutory requirement that all funds be invested exclusively in fish, wildlife, and habitat conservation—not absorbed into general revenue.
This kind of forward-looking investment will help secure the long-term health and resilience of BC’s ecosystems. Abundant fish and wildlife are a leading indicator of ecological health—and in turn, ecosystem health is vital to the well-being of all British Columbians.
WHO ARE WE
The Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Coalition represents groups with diverse interests from environmental non-government organizations, hunting and angling guides, conservation organizations, wildlife viewing, ecotourism, naturalists, hunters, anglers and trappers with over 273,000 members and more than 900 businesses across the Province of British Columbia.
MEMBERSHIPWHY ARE WE HERE
A review of recent government actions suggests that, while there is discussion around change, challenges related to species and habitat decline persist. British Columbia continues to face historically low fish, wildlife, and habitat indicators, reflecting longstanding funding and capacity constraints, as well as gaps in existing legislation. The British Columbia Fish, Wildlife and Habitat Coalition (FWHC) was formed to support biodiversity and ecosystem health, and to promote the restoration and long-term sustainability of fish, wildlife, and habitat in British Columbia.
In recent communication to the Minister of Forests, Lands & Natural Resources, FWHBC has encouraged the provincial government to act immediately to create new overarching legislation that prioritizes ecosystem health, a critical step towards the recovery of fish, wildlife and habitat.
Decades of resource legislation have prioritized resource extraction over ecosystem health.
PRINCIPLES
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The conservation (management, restoration and protection) of habitat across B.C. is fundamental to the needs of fish and wildlife
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That all native species should have abundant, self-sustaining populations
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That restoration, conservation, policy and management of species and habitat is guided by science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge
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The coalition recognizes and respects the constitutionally protected rights of Indigenous peoples and our collective commitment to advancing reconciliation in British Columbia. We will support the process of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples by seeking agreement on the protection, enhancement and utilization of fish, wildlife and habitat.