An investigation by BC's forestry watchdog has revealed the ministry and a rancher have destroyed protected grassland in the South Okanagan.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Forest Practices Board
October 23, 2023 - 7:00 PM
An investigation by BC's forestry watchdog has revealed the ministry and a rancher have destroyed protected grassland in the South Okanagan.
BC’s Forest Practices Board received complaints in 2021 about livestock grazing and government construction in the South Okanagan and White Lake Grasslands Protected Areas, according to a board media release issued today, Oct. 23.
During its investigation the board found the Ministry of Forests and a rancher violated rules regarding using the protected grasslands.
The board found the ministry did not get permission or follow proper procedure to build 19 kilometres of barbed-wire fence and two water diversions.
Investigators found during the excavation for the water diversions the ministry had buried and destroyed plants it's supposed to protect.
"The area where soil was removed for the diversion has been irreparably altered," board chair Keith Atkinson said in the release. "No attempt was made to salvage the productive layer for future restoration."
The ministry had attempted to re-plant areas it had dug up for the project, but it used plants which are known to outcompete the protected endangered plants and posed a threat to the endangered species in the grassland.
"Though the Ministry of Forests complied with legal requirements to revegetate exposed soils, it did not consult with BC Parks or adhere to its memorandum of understanding concerning the selection of an appropriate seed mix, putting native plant communities at risk," Atkinson said.
"The board considers this to be an unsound practice."
The area of concern is within the territories of the Lower Similkameen, Osoyoos and Penticton Indian Bands and are considered significant to those bands.
The board found the ministry did not properly enforce grazing regulations in the grasslands.
Of the three ranchers the board investigated only one was discovered to have violated regulations about livestock grazing in the grasslands.
Elkink Ranch is allowed to graze their livestock around Mount Kobau in the South Okanagan Grasslands but failed to “follow the grazing schedule in its range plan, to remove livestock before deterioration to plant communities occurs, to protect riparian and upland areas, and to maintain range developments,” the press release read.
The ministry is supposed to do inspections to make sure ranchers are following the guidelines, but the board’s investigators say the rancher was able to break the rules because the ministry’s inspections were few and far between.
The Forest Practices Board report can be found here.
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