Marine Protected Area Network partners endorse plan to protect British Columbia’s North Coast

Feb 07, 2023

The blueprint for a vast network of marine protected areas (MPAs) across the northern third of Canada’s West Coast is being unveiled after more than a decade of work. Today, 15 First Nations, the Government of Canada, and the Government of British Columbia (B.C.) are jointly announcing the endorsement of the Marine Protected Area Network Action Plan (the Action Plan) for the Northern Shelf Bioregion (NSB).

The Action Plan is a model of collaborative governance and provides a planned approach to the establishment of new MPAs in the NSB. It includes a proposed design for the network, and recommendations for potential designation tools, conservation objectives and implementation timelines for the protection of future sites. The completion of the Action Plan represents the output of a truly collaborative partnership by Indigenous governments, the Province of British Columbia, and the Government of Canada working closely with industry and community stakeholders. The process has been guided by Indigenous knowledge and robust science to inform the identification of sites and their ecological and cultural conservation objectives.

In addition to endorsing the Action Plan, the partners will work together to advance the establishment of a sustainable conservation finance arrangement – using the internationally recognized Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) model to support long-term funding for ongoing network implementation, management and stewardship.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.