Conservation

Students from Cataline Elementary School committed an act of kindness for the community last week by planting flowers in the park. (Angie Mindus photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Park vandals damage Kiwanis Park flower gardens just planted by Williams Lake children

Strong Start children planted water wise plants, while Cataline students were sowing kindness

 

Western painted turtles get their name from their western distribution and their finely detailed red, yellow and green markings. (John G. Woods photo)

Man caught snatching endangered turtles from Kelowna pond

Conservation Officers caught the man and want to remind the public that wildlife must stay wild

 

(BC COS photo)

B.C. man fined, banned from being on Crown land in Cariboo region for illegally guiding

Kurt Walden Mohr pleaded guilty in Williams Lake provincial court

 

Two Northern Spotted Owls have been found dead, bringing the critically endangered species’ wild population back down to one. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)

Death of 2 Northern Spotted Owls brings population in B.C. wilderness down to 1

The owls deaths were discovered earlier this month says Spuzzum First Nation Chief James Hobart

Two Northern Spotted Owls have been found dead, bringing the critically endangered species’ wild population back down to one. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File)
A cougar was euthanized near Lac La Hache Saturday after killing a dog. (File photo)

Cougar euthanized after taking dog from porch at Lac La Hache

B.C. conservation officers responded to the report

A cougar was euthanized near Lac La Hache Saturday after killing a dog. (File photo)
A northern spotted owl is shown at the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) near Hope, B.C. in this undated handout photo. One of just four endangered spotted owls known to be in the wild in British Columbia is now recovering from an injury after being found along some train tracks, slowing the careful plans to revive the species, a breeding program co-ordinator said. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, NSOBP *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Northern spotted owl found injured near B.C. train tracks 2 months after release

It’s believed the owl — named Sitist, which means night in the Spuzzum language — may have collided with a passing train

A northern spotted owl is shown at the Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program (NSOBP) near Hope, B.C. in this undated handout photo. One of just four endangered spotted owls known to be in the wild in British Columbia is now recovering from an injury after being found along some train tracks, slowing the careful plans to revive the species, a breeding program co-ordinator said. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, NSOBP *MANDATORY CREDIT*
The Incomappleux Valley (Paul Zizka)

‘We owe it to our children’: 75,000 hectares of old growth forest conserved east of Revelstoke

The Incomappleux Valley is home to the globally rare inland temperate rainforests

The Incomappleux Valley (Paul Zizka)
Caribou herds in the Shuswap and surrounding areas remain in low numbers but have been relatively undisturbed by humans in the past year. (Black Press file photo)

Caribou herds being left undisturbed in the Shuswap and surrounding areas

Frisby-Boulder and other herds remain small in number but healthy

Caribou herds in the Shuswap and surrounding areas remain in low numbers but have been relatively undisturbed by humans in the past year. (Black Press file photo)
Jenny Howell is the water wise instructor and the executive director of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society. (Photo submitted)

DOWN TO EARTH: Keep making individual changes in 2023 to help the environment

Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society monthly column

  • Jan 15, 2023
Jenny Howell is the water wise instructor and the executive director of the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society. (Photo submitted)
Stuart Westie has been tracking his fitness and environmental impact each year since 2011, and his efforts add up. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Cariboo senior tracks his shrinking environmental impact for over a decade

Stuart Westie started monitoring physical activity for health, then pivoted to environmental reasons

Stuart Westie has been tracking his fitness and environmental impact each year since 2011, and his efforts add up. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
In 2022, the BC Conservation Officer Service completed its ninth consecutive boat safety patrol program. Twenty one patrols were conducted on six priority bodies of water in the North Okanagan and Shuswap. (BC Conservation Officer Service photo)

Many lake enthusiasts in North Okanagan, Shuswap break laws over summer

Conservation officers patrolling lakes and rivers in 2022 report 71% non-compliance

In 2022, the BC Conservation Officer Service completed its ninth consecutive boat safety patrol program. Twenty one patrols were conducted on six priority bodies of water in the North Okanagan and Shuswap. (BC Conservation Officer Service photo)
A peacock is seen in Surrey’s Sullivan Heights neighbourhood. In 2022, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said one of the wackier calls it received was about a peacock seeking shelter in someone’s home. (Credit: Amy Reid)

Peacock seeking shelter, ram seeking mate top wacky calls to B.C. Conservation in 2022

Conservation officers received over 30,000 calls last year, some more unique than others

A peacock is seen in Surrey’s Sullivan Heights neighbourhood. In 2022, the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said one of the wackier calls it received was about a peacock seeking shelter in someone’s home. (Credit: Amy Reid)
Claudia Copley, an entomologist at the Royal BC Museum, on the hunt for spiders. Copley is one of three biologists asked to champion a less lovable endangered species by Canada’s National Observer. (Photo by Jennifer Heron)

B.C. biologists standing up for at-risk slugs and bugs

The slimy, creepy creatures are worth saving too, researchers say

  • Jan 3, 2023
Claudia Copley, an entomologist at the Royal BC Museum, on the hunt for spiders. Copley is one of three biologists asked to champion a less lovable endangered species by Canada’s National Observer. (Photo by Jennifer Heron)
A family of black bears cross a highway in Canada. (Liam Brenna/Submitted)

Wildlife overpasses not wide enough: University of B.C. study

UBC research indicates issues in wildlife overpasses

A family of black bears cross a highway in Canada. (Liam Brenna/Submitted)
Dr. Chris Shepherd, right, with his daughters Raven, left, and Robyn, at the Scout Island Nature Centre on Oct. 20, 2022. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

Cariboo-based researcher working to address global illegal wildlife trade

Dr. Chris Shepherd is based in Big Lake after decades in Malaysia and Indonesia

Dr. Chris Shepherd, right, with his daughters Raven, left, and Robyn, at the Scout Island Nature Centre on Oct. 20, 2022. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)
Deemed as an historic milestone for conservation, it was the result fo a partnership between the provincial Spotted Owl Breeding and Release Program and Spuzzum First Nation. (BC Gov News)

Wild B.C. population of critically endangered spotted owl jumps from 1 to 4

Conservation made possible due to partnership between Spuzzum First Nation and provincial government

Deemed as an historic milestone for conservation, it was the result fo a partnership between the provincial Spotted Owl Breeding and Release Program and Spuzzum First Nation. (BC Gov News)
Rosamund Moore, second from right, poses with family members Justine Keirn, Anika Keirn, and Lachlan Keirn along with Mayor Ron Toyota at the celebratory opening of the Dwight and Rosamund Moore Community Wetland. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)

Town of Creston restores reservoir, opens new community wetland

Dwight and Rosamund Moore Community Wetland will serve as public green space, educational site

Rosamund Moore, second from right, poses with family members Justine Keirn, Anika Keirn, and Lachlan Keirn along with Mayor Ron Toyota at the celebratory opening of the Dwight and Rosamund Moore Community Wetland. (Photo by Kelsey Yates)
Conservation officers seized five firearms during an arrest Thursday, Oct. 20 west of Williams Lake where three individuals were hunting at night on private property. (BC Conservation Officer Service photo)

Night hunting on private property west of Williams Lake leads to 3 arrests

The individuals were hunting with high powered lights

  • Oct 23, 2022
Conservation officers seized five firearms during an arrest Thursday, Oct. 20 west of Williams Lake where three individuals were hunting at night on private property. (BC Conservation Officer Service photo)
Fall is the perfect time to check that your bat box is well-attached, water-tight and clean, ready to offer a safe roosting site for bats in spring. (Habitat Acquisition Trust photo)

Trick or … a weed pull? Ways to help Cariboo bat populations at risk

Bat-friendly landscaping can help bats at Halloween

  • Oct 22, 2022
Fall is the perfect time to check that your bat box is well-attached, water-tight and clean, ready to offer a safe roosting site for bats in spring. (Habitat Acquisition Trust photo)
Students learn where the tools go and how to hold them before beginning the process of stripping bikes at Cataline Elementary on Oct. 3, 2022. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)

From “feral” to Forbes, Williams Lake’s bike recycling champion

Program works to educate, mobilize and inspire

Students learn where the tools go and how to hold them before beginning the process of stripping bikes at Cataline Elementary on Oct. 3, 2022. (Ruth Lloyd photo - Williams Lake Tribune)