Waterfowl Management Technique in Delta, British Columbia: Balancing the Perspectives of Farmers and Waterfowl Advocates

In this study, I investigate methods of addressing the issue of migratory waterfowl damage to farms in Delta, BC. I examine the waterfowl management policies of British Columbia, namely the Delta Forage Compensation, Mitigation and Monitoring Project, and those of the prairie provinces. My analysis of the programs in the prairie provinces reveals that they share important characteristics related to compensation. Drawing on these findings, I propose four policy alternatives. After evaluating these alternatives, I recommend that British Columbia augment the current Delta Forage Compensation, Mitigation and Monitoring Project with enhanced mitigative schemes in the form of increased cost-shared lure and cover crop. Additionally, I recommend that BC adopts its own Canada-BC Waterfowl Damage Compensation Program modeled after Waterfowl Damage Compensation Programs in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.