Agriculture Minister Don McRae issued the following statement following the World Trade Organization's (WTO) ruling that U.S Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) measures do not conform with its WTO trade obligations:

The public is reminded of their responsibilities when conducting any backyard burning.

A new woodlot licence available near Gold River will increase forestry opportunities for small operators. The woodlot includes 740 hectares of Crown land near Hisnit Inlet, approximately 30 kilometres west of Gold River, and has a proposed allowable annual cut of 3,000 cubic metres.

Farmers and ranchers on Agricultural Reserve Land will have more tools to protect their way of life as a result of proposed legislation, increased funding and other measures to improve the operations of the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), Minister of Agriculture Don McRae and ALC chair Richard Bullock said.

Bill 19, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act (No. 3), 2011, was introduced in the legislature by Attorney General Shirley Bond. If passed, the amendments will affect the following provincial statutes.

A new, permanent public engagement website will give British Columbians an opportunity to review and comment on proposed angling, hunting and trapping regulations.

A 19-year veteran of B.C.'s Conservation Officer Service from the North Island has received the Conservation Officer of the Year award for 2010 in recognition of his outstanding work and professionalism.

With 43 sold so far, there's still time to sponsor a BC Parks' limited-edition bench as part of its 100 park benches for 100 years of provincial parks program.

The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is now requiring any sled dog company receiving a Crown land tenure to obtain an annual inspection of its sled dogs.

Boss Power Corp. has agreed to surrender to the Province of British Columbia all claims to its uranium exploration and mining rights at the Blizzard Uranium Deposit in the Kamloops-Kelowna region.