Identified Wildlife Management Strategy



The Identified Wildlife Management Strategy (IWMS) is an initiative of the Ministry of Environment in partnership with the Ministry of Forests and Range and carried out in consultation with other resource ministries, stakeholders and the public. Statutory authority is provided for the Ministry of Environment to carry out this strategy under provisions of the Forest and Range Practices Act and previously under the Forest Practices Code.

Under the Forest and Range Practices Act, the Minister responsible for the Wildlife Act, the Minister of Environment, is authorized to establish two categories of wildlife which require special management attention to address the impacts of forest and range activities on Crown land. These two categories of wildlife are the Category of Species at Risk and the Category of Regionally Important Wildlife. The Species at Risk category includes endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species of vertebrates and invertebrates, and endangered or threatened plants and plant communities that are negatively affected by forest or range management on Crown land and are not adequately protected by other mechanisms. The Regionally Important Wildlife category includes species that are considered important to a region of British Columbia , rely on habitats that are not otherwise protected under the FRPA, and may be adversely impacted by forest or range practices. Together these two categories of wildlife —Species at Risk and Regionally Important Wildlife—are referred to as Identified Wildlife under the IWMS.

The IWMS provides direction, policy, procedures and guidelines for managing Identified Wildlife. The goals of the Strategy are to minimize the effects of forest and range practices on Identified Wildlife situated on Crown land and to maintain their limiting habitats throughout their current ranges and, where appropriate, their historic ranges. In some cases, this will entail restoration of previously occupied habitats, particularly for those species most at risk. Identified Wildlife are managed through the establishment of wildlife habitat areas (WHAs) and the implementation of general wildlife measures (GWMs) and wildlife habitat area objectives, or through other management practices specified in strategic or landscape level plans. The authority to establish wildlife habitat areas and associated general wildlife measures or objectives is enabled through sections 9 and 10 of the Government Actions Regulation. This authority has been delegated by the Minister of Environment to the Deputy Minister of Environment.

The Identified Wildlife Management Strategy (IWMS) Version 2004 was released in May 2004 and replaces IWMS Volume 1, released in 1999. IWMS Version 2004 contains an updated list of identified wildlife, updated species accounts and updated procedures for implementing the IWMS.

This website provides information on the implementation of the IWMS, on the species and plant communities that make up the strategy as well as the areas proposed and approved as Wildlife Habitat Areas.

If you require further information, please contact the project manager of "Wildlife Conservation Planning" or the Wildlife Biologist (or Ecosystem Specialist) in the appropriate region.

Project Manager
Wildlife Conservation Planning
Ministry of Environment
PO Box  9338 Stn Prov Gov
Victoria, B.C.  V8W 9M1