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Crowsnest Pass
Herald
Vol. 94 No. 35
September 18, 2024 $1.25
Serving our communities since 1930
Protesting a Mine in the Crowsnest
John Kinnear photo
Mountains Not Mines held a rally in Blairmore AB at Northbacks Mining offices on September 14, 2024 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ten people showed up to the protest.
Vote on coal coming to Pass electorates in November MUNICIPALITY OF CROWSNEST PASS Press Release At the September 10, 2024 Council Meeting, Council passed a motion to hold a Non-Binding Vote of the Electors on a Question within the next 90 days. The Vote of the Electors process is similar to a plebiscite or referendum and is held in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act (LAEA). The question that will be asked on the ballot is “Do you support the development
and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain?” Councillor Ward put forward the motion with the following comment “In the last 10 years Northback and its predecessors have attempted to develop a coal mine to the north of our community. Many individuals, organizations and levels of government have expressed an opinion on whether the project should move forward or not and its time the residents of the Crowsnest Pass were taken into consideration on this issue.” Read his full statement in the Council Package of September 10, 2024, item 10a. Residents of the Crowsnest Pass who meet the criteria in the LAEA Section 47 will be eligible to vote which includes being at least 18 years old, and a Canadian citizen that resides in Alberta in Crowsnest Pass on voting day. If a person has more than one residence, the rules that govern which one is their place of residence under the act is detailed in Section 48. The vote on a question will take place within the next 90 days. Details on the voting dates and times will be released once confirmed. See Northback’s Open House story and future plans regarding the Grassy Mountain on page 20
10 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, September 18, 2024
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Jordan Pedersen with his first few grouse of the season 2024 hunting season.
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Wednesday, September 11, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 11
The myth about hunting experts F.J. HURTAK Contributor There are people in our region who perceive me as being an expert on hunting, simply because I have written 2 books on the subject. (Elk Hunting in the Kootenays, and Hunting the Antlered Big Game of the Kootenays) However, I’d be the first to tell you it takes more than writing books to be elevated to the “expert” category. It’s true that my partners and I have had a good deal of success in harvesting some great bulls and bucks over the years, but neither I nor they will tell you we consider ourselves experts-----far from it. The reason is, we make far too many mistakes. In hockey for example, an expert goal scorer will get you 50 goals a season, or in football, an expert running back will consistently get his team 1500 yards or more each and every season. To achieve such a high standard, they make fewer errors than anyone else on the ice or in the field. In the sport of hunting, there really are far too many variables for anyone to really term them-selves as an expert...a person who achieves perfection almost every time out .I sometimes take offence to things I hear and read from these people. If, as a result of achieving great success at the sport, and other people consider them to be experts that’s one thing---however, if a particular individual terms himself/herself as an expert, that’s entirely another, and is the epitome of arrogance in my opinion. For example, a high profile game calls manufacturer makes this statement in one of his elk hunting
Five myths about Grizzlies F.J. HURTAK Contributor In these parts we have what is widely acknowledged as a healthy grizzly bear population which is said by some to be increasing each year. The fact that our human population continues to escalate every year as well, means that there likely will be more grizzly-human encounters to deal with in the future. Therefore, if you use the back country for any type of recreational activity it’s always wise to be prepared if you happen to have an encounter with any bear, grizzly or black. Knowledge of what to do and what you need to have for your own defense for such a time has been widely documented so we won’t go there in this article. I’ve always believed though that the more knowledge one has of a particular species like grizzly bears and their habits, better prepares a person, should a situation arise. It’s hard to argue that point I believe, but still today, there are a number of myths that seem to exist in society in general, about grizzly bears. I’m not certain at all where some of these myths were perpetuated, but there is no doubt that the misinformation that stems from them has been circulating for countless decades. I’m going to list some of the most popular myths about grizzly bears and hopefully debunk them with facts and my own experiences with grizzlies. 1.
Grizzlies can’t run well downhill. False! They
videos, “If you have hunted elk for any length of time, you’ll know that elk do little moving until just before daylight.” Well, this fellow certainly hasn’t spent anytime around my hunting camps, because I have heard elk moving, and calling each other at all hours of the night, right outside my camp. In almost all of these cases the elk have vacated the premises by daylight, and several times we have located these same elk several kms away. Therefore, they travelled a lot in the wee hours of the morning. Last year I used my Trail-Cam a lot, and it dis-plays the time when the various animals were photographed, at a designated location. By far, the majority of movement occurs at night. Another “expert” outdoor writer from the United States, made the statement in one of his articles, that bull elk do not bugle when its windy or raining heavily. Sometimes, the weatherman brings a lot of both, and although the bulls are much tougher to hear and call in, I have heard bulls bugle through some of the worst storms of the season. Another example I will give you is almost laughable. I attended a deer calling seminar in Alberta a number of years ago when rattling and calling whitetails in particular, was relatively new. The host made a statement at that seminar which I never forgot. He said that you must hold the rattling antlers a certain way to achieve the correct sound to attract a buck into your stand, and that whitetails could tell if you were calling from a treestand. I took this expert for his word at the time, but learned quickly that as long as you don’t break your own knuckles while rattling or draw your own blood, it doesn’t really matter how you hold the antlers, or whether you are 15 feet in the air or on the ground. I’m of the firm belief that there aren’t really any all knowing experts out there. One American writer, whose name escapes me at the moment, even goes so far as to say, “There are no experts, just hunters with different levels of knowledge and experience”. I
can run uphill or downhill, on just about any variety of terrain and at speeds that will astound you. Grizzlies have been clocked at speeds of 35 miles per hour (58.5 km) running beside a vehicle or train tracks. In the Spring, when they have lost their fat reserves, the top estimates have been 45 miles per hour (75km). A case in point. A number of years ago a hunting partner and I were watching some slides in the heart of elk country. We spotted both a cow and a bull but we were 800-900 yards away so I started calling using the odd bull bugle mixed in with cow and calf chirps to see if we could convince the elk into closer range. A huge grizzly appeared much higher up on the very steep alder-choked slide and in an instant, literally hurdled himself a 100 yards down the slide in mere seconds, thinking no doubt, that there was an easy meal nearby. We could not believe the speed of that bear especially through difficult terrain. (If you are interested in the full story behind that hunt you will find it in my first hunting book, Elk Hunting in the Kootenays, in a story entitled “Night of the Grizzly.” There is lots more to that story but if we needed to learn any lesson from that day, it was the fact that no human could ever outrun a Cont’d on page 14
couldn’t agree more, and all hunters, novice or veteran have useful information and opinions that can be shared. It’s true of course novices learn much more from experienced hunters on how to handle certain hunting situations. That’s the natural course of events, but every once in awhile it’s the neophyte who scores on the really big one, not the seasoned vet. I know I’m always interested in hearing their story because I might pick up a tip I could use on a future hunt. As far as goof-ups in the field go, they are really part of what makes the overall hunting experience what it is. From my standpoint, the minute I’m able to figure out every move of every bull, buck, bear, sheep etc., and I’m certain I can harvest the animal when and where I want him, it will be time to hang up my gun or bow. Why? I’d be an expert who cannot learn any-more, but I sure wouldn’t be having fun, as the challenge would be completely eliminated from the equation. So, I’m no expert, and hope I never reach that status. In reality, do you know of anyone who really has? F.J. Hurtak is the author of the books “Elk Hunting in the Kootenays”, and “Hunting the Antlered Big Game of the Kootenays”.
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