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Vol. 91 Issue 3 • Wednesday, January 15, 2014 • www.arrowlakesnews.com • 250-265-3823 • $1.25 •
PM40036531
Hydro boat ramp threatens to leave derby high and dry Community collaboration saves the day in the end Claire paradis Arrow Lakes News
After some uncertainty and a rocky start, the third annual Blue Knuckle Derby is on again in 2014, thanks to the community of Nakusp coming together to make it happen. With the water levels too low to launch from Nakusp’s new boat ramp, Rod and Gun Club president Hank Scown approached the Village about putting in some washed gravel to fill the gap and get boats into the water for the derby on January 18. It just so happened that CAO Linda Tynan and mayor Karen Hamling were about to talk to BC Hydro and the Water Comptroller about the lack of winter access. It was only in the course of that conversation that the Village learned that contractors would be bringing equipment to the launch site and preparing to lay more slabs. Just in time for the derby. Scown said there had been no communication from BC Hydro that this would be happening, and that communication between the club and the utility had been very poor before discussions around the derby came up. “If those folks have been in touch it would have saved a whole lot of anxiety,” said Scown. “It was pretty loose,” he added, about when Hydro said the project would be
resuming. In contrast to this, BC Hydro representative Sabrina Locicero said that they and Columbia Power “have provided regular updates to the Village of Nakusp and community stakeholders to keep them informed.” When asked if the Village had been receiving regular updates, Nakusp mayor Karen Hamling replied with a blunt “no.” She added that this was the first they had heard of plans to recommence the launch project. “Communications [with BC Hydro] have been terrible,” said Hamling. She said that the Village has asked Hydro to meet with public about the ramp and they haven’t done it to date. “I told them ‘You have to have a public meeting,’” she said, clearly frustrated. “’People may be upset but they have good ideas you have to hear.’” The continuation of the project has hinged upon water levels, the updated forecasts for which are expected this week, Locicero told the Arrow Lakes News. The extension, Locicero said, has been scheduled to take place “during the low water period this spring” but no dates have been specified. Because the completion of the boat launch has been so long-awaited, Scown told Hydro not to wait, and that an alternate spot for the Blue Knuckle would be found.
The Village recently learned that crews are on their way to start up construction, just before the Blue Knuckle Derby. Courtesy Shawna Lagore And it was: Isaac and Carla Trenholm have agreed to open up their waterfront for the derby. Not only that, they will be plowing as much room as they can for parking. “Putting a boat in water is one thing,” said Scown, but getting it out in winter is much tricker. Fortunately, when derby organizer Joe Williams approached Dave Kew of Interfor about getting a boom stick or two to help,
he got more than he expected. Interfor is now bringing a 70-foot wharf by tug from Fosthall over to the derby launch site. WaterBridge have also stepped to the plate, offering a raft available to the derby if they need it.
Derby, page 2
Grizzlies worth more alive than dead, study says Tom Fletcher Black Press
B.C.’s Coastal First Nations were quick to endorse a new U.S. study of the value of bear viewing in their traditional territories. Kitasoo/Xai’xais councillor Doug Neasloss said the study by the Washington D.C.-based Centre for Responsible Travel supports what the northwest coast aboriginal communities have been saying for years: “Bears are worth more alive than they are dead.” The study calculated that in 2012, bear viewing in what is now popularly known as the Great Bear Rainforest generated 12 times the visitor revenue as bear hunting. It counts 510 people employed in bear viewing companies
compared to 12 jobs in guided hunting. The study is the latest salvo in a battle over trophy hunting in B.C. In November the province proposed to expand its traditional grizzly hunt to include Cariboo and Kootenay regions that were previously closed due to population concerns. The Coastal First Nations, which includes Haida, Heiltsuk and seven other North Coast communities, has asserted its unresolved treaty rights in logging and pipeline protests as well as bear hunting. In 2012 the group announced a ban on trophy hunting for bears in its territories. The province has continued to issue “harvesting” permits, including one well-publicized trophy shot by NHL
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player Clayton Stoner in May 2013, who took only the head and paws. The U.S. study, funded by Tides Canada and Nature Conservancy USA, suggested B.C. has overstated the value of its guide-outfitter business to remote economies. The province tracks wildlife populations and records human-related deaths, including vehicle accidents and “conflict kills,” where ranchers or conservation officers shoot bears to protect homes or livestock. The U.S. study reports that there were 74 grizzly hunters from outside B.C. in 2012, 80 per cent of them from the U.S. From 1976 to 2009 the province issued hunting permits for an average of 297 grizzly bears a year.
Bear viewing companies on B.C.’s remote North Coast are growing as hunting declines, according to a U.S. analysis. Douglas Brown/Centre for Responsible Travel
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