Although the Englishman River wasn’t on the 2011 BC Endangered Rivers List, all the issues that caused it to be on the list previously have not necessarily been dealt with, said Mark Angelo, River Committee Chair of the Outdoor Recreation Council.
There have been some good news stories related to the Englishman in recent years, he said, like efforts from the Nature Trust of BC to acquire and protect key habitat and improvement of steelhead returns; however, other challenges remain.
“A number of challenges remain and among these are habitat pressures, several large timberland property owners, and expanding urbanization,” he said in an e-mail.
To determine which rivers are on the list, The Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC) solicits nominations from its 100,000 members which represent a number of recreation and conservation groups across B.C. A final analysis of nominations is done by the ORC panel.
The Englishman did get a fair number of votes this year, Angelo said, but the 12 rivers that made the list have been deemed to have more urgent issues.
The ORC will continue to track the Englishman River over time and when the endangered rivers process begins next year they will welcome more feedback, Angelo added.
For more information on the ORC visit www.orcbc.ca.