BCTV News Hour Access

Description - An investigative news piece segment for BCTV News Hour weekend series, Community Access with Margit Nance, broadcast during the weekend news hour show in November 1976. The piece explores the politics over ostensibly-necessary “harvesting” of wild animals as resource in Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Preserve (today Provincial Park, founded Dec. 3, 1975) in northern British Columbia. Explores “the after the fact-management program that endangers wild animal populations, [and] disputes between biologists and environmental advocates versus hunters represented by Victoria.” Speakers discuss potential conflicts of interest on the part of the provincial council members of the Fish and Wildlife Branch, which governs the park, described in the piece by Jim Wright as “a giant rod and gun club.” Interviewed in the piece: Jim Wright of Telkwa-based Spatsizi Guardians, which later worked later with Greenpeace to ban trophy hunting by (mostly) European visitors in the preserve and, in 1979, held demonstrations to temporarily halt all hunting and bring attention to mismanagement of the park by the Fish and Wildlife Branch; Dave Spalding, director of Smithers branch of provincial Fish and Wildlife Branch; Tommy Walker, former guide and hunter (resident since late 1940s); Rosemary Fox, president Sierra Club of Vancouver; Lefty Gardiner, guide and outfitter; Vladimir Krajina, Chairman Ecological Reserve Committee; Ed Vernon, Fish and Wildlife Branch board member; Honorable Grace McCarthy, Minister of Recreation & Travel Industry. Mentioned or pictured in the piece: Gladys Lake Ecological Reserve, Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Provincial Park, cariboo in the park, Smithers, McDonald Lake hunting camp, Copper River Ranch. Unfortunately the video has been cropped from original dimensions, cropping out some of the top and bottom of the frame. Note that introductory titles and first few seconds of the video identifying the first speaker and the context have been lost. Film Eric Cable, editor Bert Darbyshire, production assistant Roberta Meilleur, director Rick Amaro, producer Margit Nance. Aired November 1976 21min.

Director

Margit Nance for BCTV