B.C. government increases protection for threatened species

The B.C. government is protecting more wildlife habitat areas for the northern goshawk and marbled murrelet to help populations of these birds recover, Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, and George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, announced today. “These unique species of birds require mature and old-growth forest areas for breeding, and with their numbers declining, we need to do more to help them recover. These implementation plans will include habitat protection, species inventory and monitoring,” said Donaldson.  Northern goshawks are large hawks that usually build their nests in large trees in mature or old-growth forests along B.C.’s coast. A pair of goshawks will use the same breeding area year after year, but may make new nests as part of their courtship rituals. Marbled murrelets are the only coastal seabirds that nest in forested areas, usually on mossy platforms high in old-growth trees.