The B.C. Wildlife Federation and government : a comparative study of pressure group and government interaction for two periods, 1947 to 1957, and 1958 to 1975
Date
1982
Authors
Terpenning, John Gordon
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Abstract
This thesis examines the comparative influence that the B. C. Wildlife Federation had on government policies and actions for two periods, namely 1947 to 1957 and 1958 to 1975. Established in 1947, the Federation was a pressure group that was supported almost entirely by fish and game associations. It interacted with government on matters related to t he propagation and conservation of fish and game, and amended its objects in 1967 to include parks and outdoor recreational resources.
From 1947 to 1957, the Federation was a virtual captive of the provincial Game Commission. During that period, the Commission assumed all the fiscal and most of the administrative responsibility for the Federation' s annual conventions. After each convention, the Commission followed up on approved resolutions and reported back to the Federation and its member clubs, acting in effect just like Federation directors. After the 1957 convention, the Federation became fully responsible for its conventions. It then interacted directly with government at the bureaucratic and political levels, rather than with the Commission as in Period 1.
The Federation's influence, or effectiveness, was measured in terms of legitimacy, access channels, and government action on convention resolutions . The methods used to measure effectiveness involved analysis of 790 resolutions, a review of Federation officials' annual reports, and recollections of key actors.
In Period 1, the Federation's effectiveness was limited by the system . In Period 2, when the Federation was emancipated, its opportunity for participation in the political process became much more open-ended. The Federation improved i t s level of legitimacy, greatly increased its access channels, and consequently moved government to act on a higher percentage of resolutions.
Although the system of assigning values to partly acted-on resolutions is arbitrary, it is nevertheless contended that t his thesis has demonstrated what it set out to do, namely, to show that the Federation had greater influence on government policies and actions in Period 2 than it did in Period 1.