{"id":296,"date":"2020-02-27T19:35:18","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/?page_id=296"},"modified":"2021-04-07T19:22:43","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T19:22:43","slug":"native-animal-and-plant-species","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/conservation\/native-animal-and-plant-species\/","title":{"rendered":"In 2016 Kevan Bracewell and BC Protect Native Animal &#038; Plant Species"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>At a glance\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Western provinces of Canada finalized a joint agreement in 2016 to manage and reduce the spread of invasive species.<\/li>\n<li><u>The Details:<\/u> Kevan Bracewell and other conservation-minded groups are contributing to provincial efforts by stopping the spread of invasive species at the local level.<\/li>\n<li><u>Purpose:<\/u> To support the health of native plant and animal species, and their unique ecosystems, throughout Canada.<\/li>\n<li><u>Goals Achieved:<\/u> At the provincial level, significant reduction of aquatic invasive species entering through BC waterways. At the local level, increased management and reduction of non-native species throughout the Bridge River Valley watershed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Whole Story\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>The native plant and animal species of Western Canada face a serious threat: invasive land and aquatic species. These non-native species monopolize resources and push Canada\u2019s native plant and animal species from their niche in specific ecosystems. This has broad implications for both the environment and society as a whole. Invasive plant and animal species negatively impact the biodiversity and infrastructure of the environment, along with harming recreational pastimes, economic enterprises, and cultural traditions. Environmental departments from western provinces, along with individual wilderness tourism operators like Kevan Bracewell, are taking action to address this urgent issue.<\/p>\n<p>To prevent further spread of non-native plant and animal species, the provinces of Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, along with the Yukon, created the <em>Inter-Provincial-Territorial Agreement for Coordinated Regional Defense Against Invasive Species<\/em>, finalizing the agreement in March of 2016. The participating parties are currently focusing their efforts on invasive aquatic species, which impact Canada\u2019s native aquatic wildlife and its fishing industries. BC has shown its commitment to this current initiative by supporting the Invasive Mussel Defence Program with an annual contribution of $2 million, beginning in 2016. This program is of particular importance because invasive mussel species not only put Canada\u2019s freshwater ecosystems in jeopardy but also clog water intake pipes, increasing costs for all water-dependent industries. The contribution from BC has resulted in the opening of 8 inspection stations in 2016 . Along with protecting Canada\u2019s native aquatic species, this coordinated effort also ensures that fishing activities, including recreational fishing, continue to provide the quality experiences that have made fishing an economic stimulus throughout the provinces.<\/p>\n<p>As coordinated provincial efforts continue to gain momentum, individual wilderness tourism operators and conservation groups are also contributing to the defense against invasive plant and animal species. Kevan Bracewell and the team at Chilcotin Holidays are continuing their work to remove invasive species throughout the Bridge River Valley watershed. In 2016, one of their primary areas of focus is burdock removal. Burdock is especially damaging to native plant and animal species in BC because it alters the pH and available nutrients in the soil. This causes a significant shift in the composition of the ecosystem, hindering the regeneration of native flora, which then limits the nutrients available to animal species that are higher up in the food chain. In addition to coordinating burdock removal with the Stewardship Foundation, Kevan Bracewell also ensures that his wilderness guides are well-trained in identifying burdock and preventing the spread of the plant\u2019s clinging seeds. Through the reduction and management of invasive species, Kevan Bracewell and the Stewardship Foundation are supporting both the wilderness of BC and the economic activities that depend upon it.<\/p>\n<p>As indicated by Western Canada\u2019s recent, concerted efforts to combat invasive plant and animal species, this urgent matter requires participation from concerned parties at every level. Provincial contributions from BC, along with the efforts of individual wilderness tourism operators like Kevan Bracewell, will help the region manage and reduce invasive species through 2016 and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Next steps\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>As provincial ministries of environment continue to expand their defence against invasive species, conservation-minded individuals and groups are steadily increasing their own efforts. In the Bridge River Valley watershed of BC, Kevan Bracewell and the Stewardship Foundation are investigating alternative methods for reducing and eliminating invasive species. The goal is to identify simple, effective solutions that can be easily implemented throughout the region.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Want to learn more about invasive species and discover how you can support the Chilcotin Ark Institute&#8217;s efforts?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Check out the Chilcotin Ark Institute&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/chilcotinarkinstitute.com\/invasive-species-management\/\">invasive species management efforts<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Learn more about Kevan Bracewell\u2019s work:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chilcotinholidays.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Chilcotin Holidays<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wilderness.stewardship.foundation\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Wilderness Stewardship Foundation<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stewardship.foundation\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Stewardship Foundation<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trails-to-empowerment.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Trails to Empowerment<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chilcotinarkinstitute.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Chilcotin Ark Institute<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/wildernesstrainingacademy.com\/\">Wilderness Training Academy<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/communitymill.ca\/\">Community Mill<\/a> <\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a glance\u2026 The Western provinces of Canada finalized a joint agreement in 2016 to manage and reduce the spread of invasive species. The Details: Kevan Bracewell and other conservation-minded groups are contributing to provincial efforts by stopping the spread of invasive species at the local level. Purpose: To support the health of native plant [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/296"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":412,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/296\/revisions\/412"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}