News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

Tl’etinqox-t’in (Anaham) community leaders have issued a warning to the government and the general public of a looming crisis in the Chilcotin. According to Chief Joe Alphonse, "We believe moose populations are crashing at an accelerated rate and are fearful that if immediate action is not taken we will be seeing a total elimination of a species within this region."

"We are not sure what the problem is whether it’s a lack of scientific evidence needed by Provincial Government employees or a lack of political will by the Provincial Liberal Government or a combination of both to acknowledge the crisis and implement policy change to assist the floundering moose population."

"Moose are facing tremendous and constant pressure by its nemesis the wolf. Wolf populations are at an all-time high, numbers that have never before been seen in the Chilcotin. Moose and wild horses are staying out in the open meadows for safety reasons as the wolves are constantly following these animals and picking the animals off at will.  You can cover all the ground you want I guarantee you won’t see any moose or wild horses born last spring, you won’t even find the tracks of these young animals,” Joe Alphonse continued.

"Intervention is needed immediately, the leadership of Tl’etinqox is calling for government representatives to step up to the plate and call a meeting with all resource sectors to hear from the people who are affected by this epidemic. Government can ignore the problem for only so long. This government is only concerned about collecting hunting fees, not fulfilling their obligation to manage wildlife stocks, I guess government considers it to be a costs to them, and that is not a priority.”

"The loss of Moose population or if the population were greatly reduced, the cost to Tl’etinqox members will be great as moose is considered one of the main staple ingredients in the diet of Tl’etinqox members, in addition to representing a way of life. The cultural dependency on the species is great therefore a reduction in population numbers would be considered a significant loss."

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