A handful of snowmobilers could suffer major consequences for allegedly crossing into areas reserved for Caribou in this region.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is in the process of putting together cases under the Wildlife Act against four suspected of committing the violation, according to conservation officer Eamon McArthur.
Charges against them remain subject to approval by Crown prosecution but if that occurs and they are subsequently found guilty, their snowmobiles could be forfeited to the Crown, McArthur said.
All four live in this area and are among 10 McArthur said were caught venturing into the zones set aside to avoid stressing the animals, designated as threatened under federal legislation. Four others were issued tickets carrying a $230 fine and two were given warnings.
He said the incidents occurred in the Crystal Ridge area near Valemount, the Otter Lake-Captain's Creek area near George Evanoff Provincial Park northeast of Prince George and east of Mackenzie.
Even if signs designating a closure boundary have been torn down, McArthur said that's no excuse - finding out where the closure are is simply a matter of searching for B.C. mountain caribou closures on the internet. Doing so will take the searcher to a provincial government website where maps and GPS coordinates of the various areas can be downloaded.
Since December, conservation officers in this area have charged about 130 snowmobilers. Most are out-of-province sledders found riding unregistered machines, some of which were found to have been stolen, McArthur added.
Conservation officers have relied on a combination of patrols by helicopter and snowmobile, checks at trailheads and tips provided on the service's RAPP line. (Call 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 or go online to https://forms.gov.bc.ca/environment/rapp/).
Officers plan to continue the patrols into mid to late April.
