The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on the planet. Resident killer whales spend their entire lives with their mothers. Vancouver Island marmots greet by touching noses. Northern spotted owls live in old-growth forests where they mate for life. Grizzly bears eat up to 90 pounds of food in a day, but most of their diet is made of roots, bulbs, berries and other nutritious plants.
What do these magnificent creatures have in common? They all call British Columbia home, as permanent residents or regular visitors of the province. British Columbia is home to more plant and animal species than any other province in Canada.
Unfortunately these species have something else in common. Along with 1,900 other species in the province, they are at risk, mostly because of habitat loss and degradation. And yet, British Columbia, along with Alberta, is one of only two provinces in Canada with no endangered species legislation to protect wildlife at risk.
It is time to change that. The Wilderness Committee is working on a campaign with other groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, ForestEthics and the Sierra Club, to encourage everybody to stand up for wildlife at risk and sign a petition to tell our political leaders that the province urgently needs an endangered species law. The petition can be signed online on the campaign's website:
http://www.protectbiodiversity.ca/action.
Isabelle Groc is the BC Species at Risk Outreach Coordinator of the Wilderness Committee, http://www.protectbiodiversity.ca.