PRRD seeks answers about agricultural land and wind energy

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The regional district is looking to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food for answers on protecting agricultural land from wind energy and drought. 

During the January 8th meeting, the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) discussed talking points for a meeting with Lana Popham, the minister of agriculture and food.

Following the conclusion of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) in September 2025, the directors expressed interest in booking follow-up meetings with ministers to further discuss the issues facing residents.

One of the topics the directors expressed interest in speaking with Popham about wind energy farms located on agricultural land. 

According to the directors, the original meeting was interrupted during UBCM, and they were “thrown out of the room” before the meeting could conclude. 

The board met with the Agricultural Land Commission to discuss wind energy and farm land in October 2025, after being vocal about its continued concerns about wind energy projects since January 2025.

Danielle Veach, director and mayor of the Village of Pouce Coupe, noted five additional wind projects had been proposed since UBCM, all within or crossing over into the regional district.

“I really think that the wind farm topic definitely needs to stay on there and be brought up, or we’re all going to have turbines in our backyards pretty soon,” Veach said.

Brad Sperling, board chair and director of Electoral Area C, expressed interest in discussing artificial beaver dams, stating he had seen members of the region’s agricultural community needing to “jump through hoops” to get dugouts built and expanded. 

An agricultural dugout is a small, excavated pond on farms used in areas experiencing dry or drought conditions to store rainwater and snowmelt. 

The directors decided to expand this to water storage across the region after Darcy Dober, the mayor and director of Dawson Creek, expressed interest in speaking with the ministry about climate change and drought throughout the region. 

Ultimately, the directors voted to request a follow-up meeting with the minister of agriculture and food regarding water storage and wind farms on agricultural land.

Now the meeting request has been approved by the board, staff will connect with the ministry to pass it along and schedule it in the future.