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Vol. 89 Issue 32 • Wednesday, August 8, 2012 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 Includes HST
Premier bullish on IPPs amid bureaucratic shake-up
How did the toad cross the road? The answer is with your help. The Summit Lake Toadfest is on again this year. PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGUS GLASS, FWCP
Contributed by Angus Glass, FWCP
BC premier Christy Clark during a visit to Revelstoke on July 31. AARON ORLANDO/ARROW LAKES NEWS
By Aaron Orlando Arrow Lakes News
A bureaucratic shake-up of the way private B.C. waterpower applications are administered by the province will bring proposed independent power producers to the fore in the coming weeks. The change is designed to ensure proponents who’ve staked a claim on a particular river are actually moving forward with that application, including new requirements that proponents conduct ongoing development work, such as surveying, geotechnical studies, archaeological exploration and biological studies, for example. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations spokesperson Thomas Winterhoff told the Revelstoke Times Review that the province switched over to a new “investigative licence” system in 2010, but older claims were grandfathered in. Now, they’re being required to comply with the more stringent new system. He said the system also seeks to balance IPP projects with
other potential land uses so that water power applications, “are not used for the sole purpose of staking a claim or excluding other investment opportunities on Crown land.” One new requirement is public advertising. Proponents in the Kootenay region (including Revelstoke) are now required to advertise their claims in local newspapers, bringing the proposed projects to public eye at an early stage. The advertisements draw public attention to the proposed projects, many of which have been filed away for years and years with little public knowledge. Winterhoff said the new requirements are already shaking up the system. There are about 650 Land Act waterpower applications in the province, including about 60 applications in the Kootenay–Boundary region administered from a ministry office in Cranbrook. Provincially, an estimated 80 per cent of the pre-2010 applications are expected to receive an investigative licence. Another 15
See story page 2
Every year tens of thousands of western toadlets, each no more than the size of a dime, get squashed as they attempt their first migration from the shoreline of Summit Lake, across Highway 6, to upland habitat. That’s a load of dead nearly-endangered toads. In 2006 the B.C. Ministry of Environment and BCMOT hopped to it, and began to address the situation through the design and installation of directional fencing and culverts (“toad tunnels”) to safely guide the toads underneath the highway. The third annual western toadlet event Toadfest - will be happening again at Summit Lake Provincial Park, just southeast of Nakusp, on Wednesday August 22, between 4 and 7 p.m., and Thursday August 23, between 9:00 a.m. and noon. This free and fun community event that helps get a few toadlets safely across the highway has quickly become one of the highlight summer activities for many families in the Kootenay region. The event is coordinated by the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP), with support from B.C. Parks, the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO), the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (BCMOT), and Columbia Basin Trust. “The timing of the event is right at the start of the annual toadlet migration so we can’t guarantee numbers, and the emphasis is on education and awareness about this important western toad breeding area,” said Trevor Oussoren, program manager for the FWCP in the Columbia region. “The event provides an opportunity to talk to biologists, understand the life cycle of the western toad, and learn about other species in the water-
shed – and of course to have lots of fun in the process, as there will be games and live music as well!” The FWCP is a partnership between BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. In addition to being able to find toadlets and carry them safely across the highway, there will be other activities to see and do, including displays of live aquatic insects, amphibians, and reptiles; information on invasive plants; face painting; and a chance to explore a simulated “toad tunnel.” “Summit Lake is one of the key breeding areas for western toads in the Kootenay region, if not the province,” said Arrow Area Supervisor for B.C. Parks, Chris Price. “We need to ensure that it remains that way for generations to come, and a key part in doing so is ensuring that local communities know what we have here.” The total annual toadlet migration at Summit Lake is estimated to be in the millions, and there are also significant concentrations of western toads at nearby Box and Beaver Lakes. To ensure the safety of event participants, traffic control, donated by Yellowhead Road and Bridge (YRB), will be in place during the scheduled times, and drivers can expect very minor delays. “We do not want anyone moving the toadlets outside of the organized event,” added Oussoren. Camping spaces at Summit Lake Provincial Park cannot be reserved. To learn more about B.C. Parks, visit www.env.gov.bc.ca/ bcparks. The event is free and containers for carrying the toadlets across the road will be provided. Parking is limited and carpooling is encouraged. For more information about the event visit fwcp.ca or call 250-3546333.
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