Famous wild salmon activist tours the Shuswap

Shuswap Environmental Action Society
Salmon Arm KAIROS Committee
Adams River Salmon Society
Media Release
April 27, 2012

Famous wild salmon activist tours the Shuswap

Famed wild salmon activist and marine biologist Dr. Alexandria Morton will be on a speaking tour of the Shuswap from May 9 to May 12, with engagements in Lumby, Enderby, Salmon Arm and in the North Shuswap. On Thursday, May 10th, Morton at 7:30 pm will speak at the Senior’s Activity Centre, 170 5th Ave. SE, Salmon Arm for a public event sponsored by Shuswap Environmental Action Society (SEAS), Salmon Arm KAIROS, and the Adams River Salmon Society.

Morton began her marine biology career studying captive killer whales at Marineland of the Pacific in Los Angeles and soon realized that in order to learn more about their complex language and behaviour she needed to study these whales in their natural habitat.  After moving to the Broughton Archipelago in 1979 to study the orcas, she wrote numerous research papers on the topic. When fish farms began to expand into the area in the late 1980s, the local fishing community turned to her for help.

Her research then focused on the impact of these farms on wild salmon and soon her papers, published in leading journals such as Science, were warning how sea lice were spreading from the farmed Atlantic salmon to wild pink salmon. In 2001, she predicted the stock collapse that occurred the following year.  After she went to the B.C. Supreme Court in 2009, the decision required the federal government to uphold their constitutional obligation for regulating the ocean fishery, which forced them to take over management of the fish farm industry from the province.

Last year Morton provided key testimony to the Cohen Commission, the federal inquiry into the decline of the Fraser River sockeye, and her efforts resulted in the province releasing detailed fish farm disease records. Her research has found that salmon anemia, a disease associated with farmed salmon, is present on the West Coast, despite denials by the government. Most recently, Morton has had tests done on farmed salmon purchased at lower mainland supermarkets that show evidence of a virus associated with heart and skeletal muscle inflammation, another disease that afflicts fish farms in Norway. Consequently, she has put forward a request to have the Cohen Commission inquiry reopened to examine the evidence about the virus, which could be one of the key factors responsible for recent salmon run declines.

“Our government has prioritized the fish feedlot industry and foreign trade over the welfare of wild pacific salmon,” said Dr. Morton. “This could well be the biggest, most ecologically and financially devastating cover-up in the history of our province, she added.

“Shuswap residents are fortunate to have this opportunity to hear Dr. Morton speak about the impacts that the fish feedlot industry is having on the wild salmon that are this region’s most iconic species,” explained Jim Cooperman, president of SEAS.

“We are pleased to help make the tour possible by providing the financial support needed to cover the travel expenses,” said Darlene McBain, president of the Adams River Salmon Society.

“Not only are fish farms likely impacting the health of B.C.’s salmon, they also are impacting those communities that depend on a viable wild salmon fishery, including First Nations,” said Anne Morris, of Salmon Arm KAIROS Committee.  “We look forward to learning more about the issues one of Canada’s foremost experts and finding out how we can help,” added Morris.

In addition to the May 10th talk in Salmon Arm, Morton will be in Lumby on May 9th at the White Valley Community Centre at 7pm for an event sponsored by the North Okanagan/Shuswap NDP. On May 11th, she will be at the Enderby Seniors Hall at 7pm. And on May 12th, outdoor enthusiasts will meet at the Interpretive Cabin and then hike with Morton in Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park from 10am until noon and then enjoy their picnic lunches until 1 pm.

For more information, contact:

Lumby, Priscilla Judd, 547-9475
Enderby, Jean Clark, 838-7299
Salmon Arm, Anne Morris, 833-5773
North Shuswap, Celia Nord, 371-2630

Looking after our Shuswap watershed

Looking after our Shuswap watershed

A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
April 20, 2012
by Jim Cooperman

Shuswap residents can take pride in knowing that the protection of their watershed is continuing to improve thanks to the work of the Shuswap Lakes Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP). At the April 12th all-committee meeting, government and public representatives were provided with updates on all the projects underway.

There are four streams of activities within SLIPP: recreation; water quality; foreshore development; and education, compliance and enforcement. Significant progress is occurring for all these programs, through the work of government agencies and volunteer organizations.

While efforts have been underway for sometime in the other three streams, work on the recreation program, which focuses on water based activities, has just begun. A draft situational analysis report about Shuswap water based recreation has been prepared and once it is complete it will be made publicly available in the fall. Many of the water-based recreational sites have also now been identified and mapped.

Recreation expert consultants based at Thompson Rivers University have been tasked to review best management practices; complete the mapping; identify the issues, the diverse community values and use patterns; and present their findings to the SLIPP committees. The final step will be to prepare a recreational management plan with strategies that recognize our region’s carrying capacity and identify a vision for the ideal future condition.

A few statistics about recreation were provided that shows just how significant this activity is to the Shuswap life style and economy.  With three types of users, permanent, short-stay and seasonal, there are an average of 32,000 marine park visits per season, 35-40,000 angler days, thousands of bird watchers and many millions of dollars that go into our local economy. But, with so many vastly different types of user groups from families to backcountry adventurers to hard-core partiers, conflicts do occur. Concerns that need attention include, noise, waste, safety, health and habitat and cultural resource destruction problems, as well as access conflicts and a host of compliance and enforcement issues.

Water quality monitoring has been both comprehensive and cooperative so that efforts are no longer duplicated and timing ensures optimal results. Not only are samples now being taken throughout the lakes, but also in those creeks and rivers where there are the highest potential impacts from agricultural practices. Early results are already showing high concentrations of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus during spring run-off times. The public can now find useful information about the water quality monitoring program at the slippbc.ca website and will soon be able to access the results for specific locations using the map-based database.

The shoreline development stream is providing some of the best results, especially for its restoration activities. Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, the most serious shoreline modifications such as illegal concrete boat ramps, large rock groynes, and abandoned docks are being removed and the natural condition of the shoreline is being restored. Fifty-three of the most critical sites have been identified and numerous sites have been rehabilitated at no cost to the property owners, who have been primarily supportive of the program. More education will be underway soon, so that lakeshore property owners have an improved understanding of the importance of the shoreline for fish habitat, as salmon fry utilize the gravel and rocks during the year they spend in the lakes.

In addition, a comprehensive inventory has been completed for the Sicamous Channel that shows how and where dock structures are consistent with existing tenures. Some of the old, unpermitted structures will be removed and others will be rebuilt with an improved design, which will help restore important salmon habitat features in this channel.

The compliance and enforcement program has benefited from additional staffing and new vessels, with joint patrols on long weekends. As well, there was a houseboat used by the team that was stationed in the Cinnemousun Narrows, so that patrols would be located closer to where problems occur. Thanks no doubt in part to this program; the fatality rate was the lowest last year with only one death.

We are fortunate that local governments are now taking a very active role in helping to protect the Shuswap watershed, as not only our economy but also our way of life is dependent on the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. While monitoring water quality is key, so will be the next step, to take action to reduce the level of pollution entering the system. And at some point, SLIPP needs to be expanded to include the entire watershed with a new name that better fits this mandate.

Imagine the Adams River sockeye’s home protected – details on the upcoming project to purchase the Cottonwood Campground

A major effort will soon be underway to raise funds for the purchase of the property adjacent to the mouth of the Adams River called the Cottonwoods Campground.

Download the Cottonwoods Campground Brief to learn more.

And view the video, SEAS and the Adams River.

Aerial view of the campground adjacent to the Adams River:

Judge rules in favour of city, Big-box development

By Tracy Hughes – Salmon Arm Observer
Published: April 04, 2012

see www.saobserver.net/news/146210865.html

NOTE: click here for a copy of the judgement – Judge Leask, re Neskonlith Band

A BC Supreme Court judge ruled against the Neskonlith Indian Band’s petition regarding the City of Salmon Arm’s handling of the  SmartCentres development permit process.

Justice Peter Leask dismissed the band’s claim in his decision which was handed down today, April 4.

In the decision, which resulted from three days of hearings beginning March 19, Leask noted the principle issue in the dispute rested on whether the city had an legal or constitutional obligation to consult with the band before issuing the environmentally hazardous area development permit for the SmartCentres site. The permit was approved by city council and was officially issued on Oct. 25. 2011.

The Band initiated the lawsuit saying they are concerned that the SmartCentres property will flood, and that flood-control measures will be necessary. These flood control measures, they argue, will do damage to the environment and to the interests of the Neskonlith people.

In its legal arguments, the Neskonlith Band claimed that they city had a constitutional obligation to consult with it before making decisions that could adversely affect its aboriginal rights or title. The Neskonlith Band’s land lies directly adjoining the SmartCentres property to the west.

Both the city and SmartCentres denied this was the case.

One of the main arguments made by the city is that B.C. law states that once an applicant has complied with the guidelines under an official community plan, a municipal council has no discretion to withhold the development permit. As well, they argued, existing case law from the Supreme Court of Canada and British Columbia courts makes it clear that a local government cannot stand in the shoes of the Crown for the purposes of a duty to consult and accommodate a First Nation.

In his judgment, Leask rejected the Neskonlith’s legal arguments.

“In this case, as even the Band agreed, there is no express or implied statutory language in the Local Government Act requiring or empowering the City to engage in… consultation or in any consultation beyond that required by s. 879,” Leask writes in his decision.

“I reject the argument of the Band that the duty to consult vests automatically with whoever is empowered to make decisions affecting aboriginal rights… I find that the City of Salmon Arm had no such duty. As a result, I dismiss the Band’s petition. In the circumstances, there is no need to consider the other arguments put before the Court.”

Leask’s ruling was issued in time to accommodate the SmartCentres proposed construction schedule which is set to begin later this month.

The Observer will have more information and reactions to the judgement as they become available.