With its vast paleontological wealth, British Columbia is one of the world’s most important fossil-bearing regions. The fossils of British Columbia are important to every British Columbian and the BCPA has thus encouraged strong stewardship of those fossil resources, to fully realize their significant scientific and educational benefits.

In this respect, the BCPA has worked with the British Columbia Provincial Government over the past 20 years to improve management of fossil resources in the province. BCPA efforts in this regard have been focused on public education as well as providing scientific expertise to policy makers to help them formulate the best decisions concerning fossil management for the province.

The BCPA was requested to make a presentation on the history of its efforts to promote proper stewardship of fossil resources in the province at the 2011 Protected Areas Research Forum, held at the University of British Columbia in December, 2011. This presentation summarizes the BCPA’s efforts over many years to, first, promote the importance of sound and proper fossil resource management within British Columbia and, second, to provide advice and expertise to government policy makers in order to help them develop a suitable Fossil Management Framework for the province. You can review this presentation below. The presentation has been modified slightly from its original format.

The current state of BC Fossil Management can be found here.