S TANDARD TERRACE
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VOL. 25 NO. 40
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Fish catch ban plan draws fire By Anna Killen A proposal to ban the harvest of trout and char caught in area rivers and streams in favour of catch and release only is being opposed by area anglers who say it would violate traditions of parents teaching their children how to catch, dress, and cook fish. What’s worse, the anglers add, is that the proposal was quietly posted on a government website for a public comment period of
Dec. 13-31 last year, right in the middle of the Christmas holiday season. The proposal as posted on the forests, lands and natural resource operations website, states that the “Skeena Region requires a more precautionary approach to management of trout/char. The proposal change is to set regional angling harvest quotas of trout/char to zero. From this baseline, water-specific risks associated with harvest will be evaluated, with retention quotas
re-applied where appropriate.” The quota now for the retention of trout and char is two per day, with only one over 50 cm and none under 30 cm. If the proposal goes through, the changes would apply to the Kitimat, Skeena, Nass, Stikine, and Dease River drainages. Lakes in the region with wild trout and char populations would not be affected and keeping fish would still be allowed in those waters. “Right now, the proposal is to put the brakes on it,” said Mark
Beere, a senior Smithers-based provincial fisheries biologist of the current catch rule for rivers and streams. “But I don’t know where that’s heading in terms of approval and whether or not that’s the kind of thing that Victoria would be interested in or not,” he said of the ban plan, noting that the final decision will be made down south. The proposal “really originated from proposals in Terrace at our angling advisory committee meeting, where people said we’re not seeing
larger trout and char in the Kalum, Lakelse and the Copper River like we used to. If you go north or places where there isn’t much out there, then you start to see lots, and large fish, but not so much in and around [the Terrace area],” he said. Reasons for the proposal cite anecdotal evidence of declining fish population and smaller fish in general put forward by some area anglers and federal and provincial enforcement officers and staffers.
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Owners get demo reprieve
Anna Killen PHOTO
■■ Idle no more For the Idle No More movement’s third Terrace protest, organizers led a pack of around 150 marchers across the Sande Overpass last Friday, Jan. 11. Many passing cars honked their support, with one demonstrator remarking, “I never thought I’d see the day.” The peaceful march, which started and ended with speeches, drumming, and prayers at Terrace City Hall, was just one of many held across Canada Jan. 11. The movement has drawn national and international attention to First Nations issues, but at least one speaker in Terrace emphasized that “this is not just a First Nations issue, it’s a Canadian issue and a human issue.” More demonstrations are planned for later in the month.
The owners of two derelict properties in Terrace have a little longer to tear down their structures after hearings in city council chambers last week. While the two hearings happened separately, both owners of 4440 Little Ave. and 4520 Little Ave. appeared before mayor and council on Jan. 9 to contest demolition orders issued by council Nov. 26. From the date those orders were delivered, Dec. 4, both owners were given 60 days to tear down the structures on each property and other time frames to have properties cleaned up. Council voted to give each owner more time after hearing from Lloyd Wittkowski who owns 4440 Little Ave., and Wayne Kirby, who owns 4520 Little Ave. Prior to council listening to requests from property owners, city staff recommended a time extension on each demolition and clean-up order because the holiday season had caused some delays in scheduling the reconsideration hearings heard in council Jan. 9. City planner and development services director David Block said officials suggested time frames given in original orders for both start over from the hearing dates. Block presented a multi-year backlog of information about safety, health and nuisance issues—including information from inspections of the sites conducted by city staff and Terrace’s fire chief. He noted that since the original orders had been issued, some work had been undertaken. “I did go by the site today ... he did remove the trailer on the property,” said Block of Wittkowski. Wittkowski then asked council for a time extension so that he did not have to tear his building down in the winter time. He noted that he planned to re-use parts of the building, especially the roof, and that winter weather made salvaging the roof unsafe. “I would like to plead with you people, don’t let me do it in the winter time,” he said, “I would like to make it a winwin situation.” Council voted to give three months from last week’s Jan. 9 hearing date – until April – for the work to be complete.
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Northern beauty
Moose hunt
Ice queen
A Terrace artist takes photos of the northwest and sends them abroad \COMMUNITY A14
Conservation officers are looking for law-breaking highway moose killers \NEWS A13
A Terrace figure skater is heading back to town to judge competitions \SPORTS A23