Black bears. Photo Shutterstock
More conservation officers will be patrolling the Tri-Cities and neighbouring municipalities looking for poachers and dealing with wildlife issues.
Two additional officers have been hired for the North Fraser zone, just as bear season gets underway.
"We recognize the need for additional conservation officers to help protect our natural resources and lessen human-wildlife conflicts. For too long, there has been a lack of frontline conservation officers, and communities have suffered the consequences," said George Heyman, minister of environment and climate Change strategy in a press release.
"We are taking action to put more boots on the ground, so all British Columbians can benefit from the important work conservation officers do every day,” Heyman further stated.
The hiring of additional conservation officers gives a boost to COS staffing levels, and will bring the total number of conservation officers in communities around the province to 160.
However a spokesperson for the ministry couldn’t provide the total number of officers who will be working in the Fraser North area for security reasons, but confirmed the two new officers will be additional staff.
Conservation officers work on a zone-coverage basis and respond to complaints and concerns anywhere in the zone. Several factors were considered in the posting of new conservation officers, including officer safety, call volume, zone coverage and geographic location.
