I think not. This is a very poignant speech on dam removal and hatchery fish.
Elwha River: Dylan Tomine from Patagonia on Vimeo.
Showing posts with label conservation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conservation. Show all posts
Monday, 14 October 2013
Friday, 30 November 2012
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
Saturday, 10 March 2012
Run of River and Freedom of Information
Here's a link to an article publicizing the results of Run of River power based on information obtained via a Freedom of Information request. To summarize, Run of River compromises fish and fish habitat. Who could've predicted that? Hundreds of dead fish on multiple occasions is unacceptable. Let's hope DFO has the gumption to nix all future Run of River projects in anadromous fish habitat. Crashing wild fish numbers and artificially enhanced numbers via hatchery production are both wrong. Fix the problem, not the symptoms.
Please email the contacts listed in my previous post before the DFO makes their decision on the Kokish River. Their decision is due to come down any day so write fast.
Please email the contacts listed in my previous post before the DFO makes their decision on the Kokish River. Their decision is due to come down any day so write fast.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Thursday, 1 March 2012
My Message to DFO: Save the Kokish
This is my email to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in opposition to the proposed Kokish River hydro project. Please make the time to send your own message and do it fast as a decision is due to come down in a matter of days. If you want to send an email, click on this DFO contact link.
I'm writing to express my opposition to the Kokish River power project proposal. The health of all steelhead and salmon rivers have been in decline for decades. This is undoubtedly largely due to the hands of man and our penchant for abusing the habitats these fish live in for our own purposes. Power can be generated via wind turbines or other methods--hydro does not have to be the main power generating method. I urge you to protect all steelhead and salmon rivers, starting with the Kokish. Please act on behalf of Canada's anadromous fish and turn down this proposal. I would also like to see a policy that sends a message that all steelhead and salmon rivers remain free flowing and uncompromised. That, along with habitat rehabilitation for our past transgressions, are our best hopes to rebuild Canada's anadromous fish populations.
Roy Wheeldon
Roy Wheeldon
Fly Fishing Fantasies
Skate First, Ask Questions Later
Willie Mitchell on Kokish River's Last Gasp
Only you and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) can save the Kokish River now. The provincial government has dropped the ball, letting one of Vancouver Island's last decent east coast steelhead rivers be decimated by their approval of a Run of River power project.
NHL defenceman and Van Isle native Willie Mitchell is one of many BC residents or groups throwing their names into the ring in the hopes of having the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the final gatekeeper for all Run of River power projects, turn down Brookfield's extremely harmful power project proposal. Below is today's Vancouver Sun advertisement hoping to create a last minute swell of opposition. Please contact the DFO and let your voice be heard quickly. We're likely only days away from their decision. I plan to email them right now to express my opposition, hopefully you will too.
NHL defenceman and Van Isle native Willie Mitchell is one of many BC residents or groups throwing their names into the ring in the hopes of having the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the final gatekeeper for all Run of River power projects, turn down Brookfield's extremely harmful power project proposal. Below is today's Vancouver Sun advertisement hoping to create a last minute swell of opposition. Please contact the DFO and let your voice be heard quickly. We're likely only days away from their decision. I plan to email them right now to express my opposition, hopefully you will too.
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Float Tubing for Tarpon
Tarpon fishing is a dream trip for many but tossing in a float tube as your vehicle of choice?
Sunday, 22 May 2011
I'm Sorry
Saddened About the State of Steelhead
I watch this release of steelhead from some hatchery and can't help but be deeply disappointed. An incredible race of fish evolved over who knows how many centuries reduced to being "man made". They're poured into degraded environments so they may return in decent numbers. You need only look at the unnatural grassy banks of the release point to understand that this environment has been compromised. I'd love to see a park that had natural vegetation and trails meandering through it instead of a bank reinforced with blast rock and a manicured lawn.
If You Build It
We've missed the boat and we've missed it horribly. I become very uninterested when I feel like I'm chasing the hatchery truck to my fishing holes. Money should be spent on improving stream side habitat. If you build it, they will come? Wrong! If you allow it to repair itself, they will return. Logging to the banks, no longer okay. Building homes on the banks in a flood plain, same.
A dream
I love the motto of groups like the Western Rivers Conservancy. Raise money to buy up lands along river corridors, rehabilitate them, provide access to the rivers for all user groups through these properties, and let the resource heal itself and return to its former glory. I often talk with fishing buddies about how incredible it would have been to fish our rivers before man's influence. I'd love to fish these rivers with the knowledge of new techniques and the advanced new equipment combined with an intact ecosystem.
Needs
We all have needs people. It's been shown that when bank side vegetation is removed, summer water temperatures can become fatally high for fish. Root systems of large trees reinforce the banks of a river creating natural pools instead of shifting wide open gravel bars. These same big trees fall into the streams, shearing water in different directions and digging out new pools. Additionally, those trees provide hiding and rearing habitat for small trout, steelhead and salmon. A solid buffer zone of vegetation filters pollutants and sediments. If we want to restore our streams, we need to restore their riparian zones. Then, we can leave them to their own devices. Fish numbers are dwindling due to man's influence--hatcheries, harvest, habitat, and hydro. Let's put their environments back to their natural state and be reasonable with our harvest.
Please Help
Donate to groups like the Western Rivers Conservancy and other like minded conservation groups.
I watch this release of steelhead from some hatchery and can't help but be deeply disappointed. An incredible race of fish evolved over who knows how many centuries reduced to being "man made". They're poured into degraded environments so they may return in decent numbers. You need only look at the unnatural grassy banks of the release point to understand that this environment has been compromised. I'd love to see a park that had natural vegetation and trails meandering through it instead of a bank reinforced with blast rock and a manicured lawn.
If You Build It
We've missed the boat and we've missed it horribly. I become very uninterested when I feel like I'm chasing the hatchery truck to my fishing holes. Money should be spent on improving stream side habitat. If you build it, they will come? Wrong! If you allow it to repair itself, they will return. Logging to the banks, no longer okay. Building homes on the banks in a flood plain, same.
A dream
I love the motto of groups like the Western Rivers Conservancy. Raise money to buy up lands along river corridors, rehabilitate them, provide access to the rivers for all user groups through these properties, and let the resource heal itself and return to its former glory. I often talk with fishing buddies about how incredible it would have been to fish our rivers before man's influence. I'd love to fish these rivers with the knowledge of new techniques and the advanced new equipment combined with an intact ecosystem.
Needs
We all have needs people. It's been shown that when bank side vegetation is removed, summer water temperatures can become fatally high for fish. Root systems of large trees reinforce the banks of a river creating natural pools instead of shifting wide open gravel bars. These same big trees fall into the streams, shearing water in different directions and digging out new pools. Additionally, those trees provide hiding and rearing habitat for small trout, steelhead and salmon. A solid buffer zone of vegetation filters pollutants and sediments. If we want to restore our streams, we need to restore their riparian zones. Then, we can leave them to their own devices. Fish numbers are dwindling due to man's influence--hatcheries, harvest, habitat, and hydro. Let's put their environments back to their natural state and be reasonable with our harvest.
Please Help
Donate to groups like the Western Rivers Conservancy and other like minded conservation groups.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Fishing closed, whale watching closed, grizzly bear tours closed, etc, etc.
Business Casualties of Run of River
Could the title of this blog entry simply be a news headline in BC's future? BC's government is looking to privatize power generation in our province through "green" power initiatives such as Run of River Hydroelectricity. Green power, it is not. Not only that, but BC currently uses less power than it produces. The whole plan seems to be good for big businesses and bad for the environment, and therefore, bad for many existing BC businesses which make money off our incredible natural assets in sustainable ways.
I think it's far better to make money from our environment in sustainable ways that don't undermine other businesses' ability to continue operating. Whale watching companies, grizzly tour operators, fishing guides, and others will be the casualties of Run of River Hydroelectric. A company that's approved for a Run of River project has the right to continue producing power on these gifted lands and rivers forever. Once we cross this bridge, there's no turning back.
Collateral Damage
Informed BC citizens are standing up to fight atrocious and stealthy attempts to steal the veins and arteries of this province, but many of us hardly know this battle is going on. I for one, only really found out just how major the Run of River issue is a few months ago, and I pursue the fish that are among the first casualties of these projects. When the fish populations plummet, and I'm sure they will when you steal as much as 90% of a river's water from its most productive reaches, the next casualties are sure to be seals, fishers, eagles, whales, bears, forests, tourists, and on and on and on. I assume if we removed 90% of the blood from our veins and arteries, we'd experience some difficulties. In fact, after googling this question, it appears 30-40% blood loss leads to death--I shudder to think of the after effects of Run of River. I also don't want to be left wishing I'd done more to help stop Run of River projects in BC.
Let Your Voice Be Heard
To see how far reaching the effects of giving away BC's rivers will be, you should check out Powerplay, the groundbreaking documentary series on the theft of bc's rivers and public power. Although I haven't had time to view all the episodes yet, this series is a major eye opener and requires a major response from citizens of BC, Canada, and the world. Please let your voice be heard by BC's government. I'll list government contacts I was given for the Kokish River Run of River project. I assume they'll be involved in many Run of River projects. For different areas of the province, I expect there'll be different Environmental Assessment Managers but I hope these individuals will forward your opinions to the appropriate government representatives. Here they are: Ron.Ptolemy@gov.bc.ca; Martha.Anslow@gov.bc.ca. Ron Ptolemy is listed as an Instream Flow Specialist and Martha Anslow is listed as one of a number of Environmental Assessment Managers.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide, BC's incredible rivers need your help to remain that way. It's my hope they'll be around for you to enjoy if and when you make your first or next trip to our province. If we work hard and work together, they may be even better.
Could the title of this blog entry simply be a news headline in BC's future? BC's government is looking to privatize power generation in our province through "green" power initiatives such as Run of River Hydroelectricity. Green power, it is not. Not only that, but BC currently uses less power than it produces. The whole plan seems to be good for big businesses and bad for the environment, and therefore, bad for many existing BC businesses which make money off our incredible natural assets in sustainable ways.
I think it's far better to make money from our environment in sustainable ways that don't undermine other businesses' ability to continue operating. Whale watching companies, grizzly tour operators, fishing guides, and others will be the casualties of Run of River Hydroelectric. A company that's approved for a Run of River project has the right to continue producing power on these gifted lands and rivers forever. Once we cross this bridge, there's no turning back.
Collateral Damage
Informed BC citizens are standing up to fight atrocious and stealthy attempts to steal the veins and arteries of this province, but many of us hardly know this battle is going on. I for one, only really found out just how major the Run of River issue is a few months ago, and I pursue the fish that are among the first casualties of these projects. When the fish populations plummet, and I'm sure they will when you steal as much as 90% of a river's water from its most productive reaches, the next casualties are sure to be seals, fishers, eagles, whales, bears, forests, tourists, and on and on and on. I assume if we removed 90% of the blood from our veins and arteries, we'd experience some difficulties. In fact, after googling this question, it appears 30-40% blood loss leads to death--I shudder to think of the after effects of Run of River. I also don't want to be left wishing I'd done more to help stop Run of River projects in BC.
Let Your Voice Be Heard
To see how far reaching the effects of giving away BC's rivers will be, you should check out Powerplay, the groundbreaking documentary series on the theft of bc's rivers and public power. Although I haven't had time to view all the episodes yet, this series is a major eye opener and requires a major response from citizens of BC, Canada, and the world. Please let your voice be heard by BC's government. I'll list government contacts I was given for the Kokish River Run of River project. I assume they'll be involved in many Run of River projects. For different areas of the province, I expect there'll be different Environmental Assessment Managers but I hope these individuals will forward your opinions to the appropriate government representatives. Here they are: Ron.Ptolemy@gov.bc.ca; Martha.Anslow@gov.bc.ca. Ron Ptolemy is listed as an Instream Flow Specialist and Martha Anslow is listed as one of a number of Environmental Assessment Managers.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide, BC's incredible rivers need your help to remain that way. It's my hope they'll be around for you to enjoy if and when you make your first or next trip to our province. If we work hard and work together, they may be even better.
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