The Columbia Valley’s Newspaper Since 1956
From Canal Flats to Spillimacheen
VALLEY ECHO T he
invermerevalleyecho.com
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Vol.57 56Issue Issue 40 Vol. 47
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$ 05 INCLUDES GST PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 7856
BERNIE RAVEN CHRIS RAVEN 1-866-598-7415 TEAMRAVEN.CA Offices in Panorama, Invermere & Fairmont
Our local equine charity mascot
Pg. 12
Hat trick scored in losing cause Pg. 13
MaxWell Realty Invermere
Crossing guard Water sustainability act welcomed STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com
Dan Walton/Valley Echo photo One of Radium Hot Springs' iconic bighorn sheep toes the centre line of Highway 95 just north of the village on Sunday, November 17th, unfazed by oncoming traffic or the winter weather taking hold in the valley.
Wildsight wins anti-Jumbo dollars STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com
Local East Kootenay environmental organization Wildsight has won $5,000 from Mountain Equipment Co-op. The co-op's Wildbucks program awarded a total of $10,000 to three environmental organiza-
tions across Canada, with the winner decided by several weeks of online voting. Wildsight was first among five finalists, earning a $5,000 prizes. Second place got $3,000 and third place $2,000. "We are thrilled to have won Mountain Equipment Co-op's Wild Bucks national competition. said Wildsight program manager Robyn Duncan.
VJ (Butch) Bishop Owner/Operator 4846 Holland Creek Ridge Rd. Invermere, BC V0A 1K0
»See A5
The province will soon have a new Water Sustainability Act, a move being greeting with optimism by local water conservation group Lake Windermere Ambassadors. The new act would replace the current Water Act, which is more than a century old. “It's amazing, wonderful, and fantastic to have a sustainability act,” said Lake Windermere Ambassadors program coordinator Kristen Harma, adding the focus on sustainability is precedent setting and includes some truly great ideas, such as monitoring environmental flows. “It's actually considering water for nature,” said Ms. Harma. “Our group is here to steward a lake (Windermere) and having a natural flow is essential to that, so legislation that will help monitor those flows is a great thing.” The ecological watershed health of a small area, such as the Upper Columbia Valley, is more heavily dependent on small streams than it would be in larger areas, she said, so small changes here in the valley can have big impacts. Although Ms. Harma said the new act will create an excellent framework, she cautioned that there are still many details that need to be worked out.
“We need to make sure the new act is really rigorous about reporting and monitoring and then compiling the information in a central database — we won't be able to properly manage water flows without it,” she said. “The new act also needs to be more clear about how it will protect those flows; they need to make a legal standard.” There also needs to be funding support for all the ideas in the act, in order to actually implement them, said Ms. Harma. The new act may also allow for delegating some water management activities or decisions to entities other than the provincial government. “This opens up a way for local people to have a say in waterrelated issues that affect them,” said Ms. Harma. “There could be a great opportunity for people in our area, far from Victoria where decision are being made, to have more of a chance to influence local water management, but this wouldn't be taking ultimate responsibility from the provincial government.” Another aspect of the proposed new water act — one drawing attention more attention in other parts of the province than in the Upper Columbia Valley — is introducing fees and regulations for industrial groundwater users. »See A2
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