A complex six-year investigation into major habitat destruction along the Chilcotin and Kleena Kleene rivers in British Columbia, Canada, has concluded with a total of Can $545,000, or about U.S. $398,000, in fines, following three court cases.
The violations to fish and fish habitat by a cattle company occurred between 2017 and 2020 on two privately owned ranch lands along the two rivers, near Redstone and Kleena Kleene, British Columbia, and on Crown land, according to a press release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, abbreviated as DFO from its previous name Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The habitat destruction resulted from the removal of riparian habitat vegetation, infilling of side channels, fish passage obstructions, stream diversion, unauthorized changes in a stream, and unauthorized works on Crown lands, according to the DFO. The purpose was to increase the land available for agricultural purposes. None of the work had authorizations under the federal Fisheries Act or provincial regulations, the agency said.
The Chilcotin river system supports important salmon populations, including coho, chinook, and sockeye, the agency said. Within those are salmon populations listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada: Interior Fraser population of coho (threatened), Middle Fraser stream spring population of chinook (endangered), and chinook (endangered).
The investigation was conducted by DFO officers in Williams Lake and Prince George, in conjunction with British Columbia natural resource officers and biologists.
Also Read: Canada seizes elvers worth $367,000 being exported illegally
The trial in the first case concluded in October 2022 following a guilty plea by Altherr & Schellenberg Cattle Company Ltd. The company was fined Can $280,000, or about U.S. $204,000, for serious violations of the habitat provisions in the Fisheries Act.
The second court case concluded on February 28, 2023, following a guilty plea by the company. This time, it was ordered to pay a fine of Can $175,000, or nearly U.S. $128,000, for serious violations of the Fisheries Act, British Columbia’s Water Sustainability Act, and the British Columbia Forest and Range Practices Act.
The third case concluded last month following a guilty plea by the contractor, Bayliff Enterprises, Ltd, hired by Altherr & Schellenberg Cattle Company to clear land along the Kleena Kleene River. Bayliff Enterprises was fined Can $90,000, or about U.S. $66,000, for serious violations of the Fisheries Act and British Columbia’s Forest and Range Practices Act. Half the fine amount was to discourage companies or individuals from undertaking unauthorized activities to earn money, the DFO said.
A total of Can $545,000 in fines was handed down to the company and the contractor involved in these violations. Of this, Can $440,000, or about U.S. $292,000, was ordered to be held in trust with the Environmental Damages Fund for the conservation and protection of salmon, salmon habitat, or restoration of salmon habitat in the Chilcotin region. The remainder went to general revenue.
The court further ordered the company to give a bond of Can $1,250,000, or about U.S. $912,000, to remedy the affected sites within two years, and provide four reports comprehensively documenting work done and survival rates of plantings on riparian land adjacent to the rivers for the next decade.
SOURCE: PR Newswire
