{"id":298,"date":"2020-02-27T19:36:36","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/?page_id=298"},"modified":"2021-04-07T19:01:27","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T19:01:27","slug":"habitat-fragmentation-in-bc","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/conservation\/habitat-fragmentation-in-bc\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevan Bracewell Prevents Habitat Fragmentation in BC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Kevan Bracewell lobbied for the creation of protected natural parks, stopping habitat fragmentation and protecting mule deer and black bear populations in BC.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>At a glance\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Habitat fragmentation poses a major threat to the genetic diversity and long-term survivability of wildlife.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><u>The Details:<\/u> Kevan Bracewell has lobbied for responsible land management policies and the creation of protected natural parks to prevent habitat fragmentation and loss.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><u>Purpose:<\/u> To promote genetically diverse, robust populations of Canadian wildlife.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><u>Goals Achieved:<\/u> Designation of the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park as a Class A park in 2010. Creation of protective policies that support robust wildlife populations throughout the Bridge River Valley Watershed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Whole Story&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Habitat fragmentation poses a major threat to biodiversity across the globe. Over the past decades, biologists have linked habitat fragmentation to increased mortality rates, disruption to the social hierarchy within populations, and loss of genetic variation among species. This last effect has significant implications for the health of wildlife. A loss of genetic variation may reduce survival rates, depress reproduction, and suppresses species\u2019 ability to adapt and survive.<\/p>\n<p>Canadian wildlife is not immune to these disastrous effects of habitat fragmentation. Many species, including mule deer and the black bear, have been negatively impacted by habitat fragmentation throughout British Columbia. Having seen the progression of poor land management throughout BC and in other parts of North America, Kevan Bracewell has lobbied for mindful management and protection of wildlife habitats throughout the Coast to Cascades region.<\/p>\n<p>For the black bear, the greatest threat is human activity, most often in the form of habitat fragmentation. As shown in Florida, habitat fragmentation can block gene flow among a region\u2019s black bear populations. Biologists predict that an unresolved lack of genetic variation will harm the long term survival of Florida\u2019s black bear populations. To avoid a similar outcome closer to home, Kevan Bracewell invested a great deal of time and energy to help establish the South Chilcotin Mountains as a Class A park, achieving success in 2014. Today the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park provides one of the largest, uninterrupted habitats for black bear populations in the Coast to Cascades region of BC. The park is free from the busy highways that isolate black bear populations and contribute significantly to black bear deaths by motor vehicle collisions. Since the creation of the provincial park, Kevan Bracewell has continued to lobby for policies and measures that will prevent overuse, noise pollution, and other activities that would harm the very habitats black bear populations have come to depend on.<\/p>\n<p>Mule deer are another Canadian species that is particularly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Even though the mule deer are of least concern on the endangered species list, they do play a critical role in the habitats they populate. Conservationist David Petersen once said, \u201cIf mule deer herds are in poor health, the land is in poor health.\u201d As such, the state of mule deer populations is a major indicator of the overall condition of the wilderness. According to Gerry Kuzyk, a Provincial Ungulate Biologist for BC, two necessary factors for mule deer to thrive are improved habitat and enhanced nutrition. Due in large part to the dedication of Kevan Bracewell and other conservation groups, the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park and greater Bridge River Valley watershed provide both and will continue to do so for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Next steps&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Without the purposeful action of individuals like Kevan Bracewell and the work of conservation groups, the Bridge River Valley watershed would have been highly vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and harmful overuse activities. The fight to protect Canada\u2019s wilderness is not over, however. Each year, new groups and tourism initiatives threaten to cause irreparable damage to protected regions throughout the Bridge River Valley. And while these initiatives hold the promise of economic stimulus, it is only a fleeting promise. Once this pristine BC wilderness has been destroyed beyond repair, the beauty that currently attracts visitors from around the world will vanish. And more importantly, Canadian wildlife like the mule deer and black bear will likely vanish with it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Want to receive updates about threats to BC wilderness and learn how to promote current conservation efforts? Sign up with the <a href=\"https:\/\/chilcotinarkinstitute.com\/contact\/\">Chilcotin Ark Institute<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/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>Kevan Bracewell lobbied for the creation of protected natural parks, stopping habitat fragmentation and protecting mule deer and black bear populations in BC. &nbsp; At a glance\u2026 Habitat fragmentation poses a major threat to the genetic diversity and long-term survivability of wildlife. The Details: Kevan Bracewell has lobbied for responsible land management policies and the [&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\/298"}],"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=298"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":410,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/298\/revisions\/410"}],"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=298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}