Complaint Investigation – IRC/143
July 2008

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Integrated Land Management Bureau should complete old growth management area (OGMA) spatial establishment in the Rennell Sound Landscape Unit, addressing goshawk foraging habitat to the degree possible within the OGMA selection criteria.
2. Government should consider the unique situation of goshawks and foraging habitat on Haida Gwaii and advise the Board of its plans for managing foraging habitat there.
3. The goshawk situation on Haida Gwaii appears to be an example of where an adjustment to the one percent limit on timber supply impacts is warranted. Ecosystem-based management objectives from the Land Use Agreement may address foraging habitat, but implementation is 18 months away. In the interim, managers may need flexibility to provide protection within a specific goshawk territory. Government should consider increasing the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy budget, specifically for goshawks on Haida Gwaii, to provide this flexibility when it is needed.

Response to Recommendations