Student and adult musicians will be able to compete for substantial prizes in the ‘Song for the Shuswap’ contest….

The Shuswap Watershed Project
MEDIA RELEASE
February 25, 2010

Shuswap’s First Song Writing Contest Announced

Upon the release of the first ever map and poster of our region, the Shuswap Watershed Project is pleased to announce the first ever song writing contest dedicated solely to the Shuswap. Student and adult musicians will be able to compete for substantial prizes in the ‘Song for the Shuswap’ contest that were donated by local businesses and individuals.

Song writing contestants will need to compose lyrics and music for a song that has the words Shuswap and water in it and that conveys what it means to live in and appreciate the Shuswap region. The contest is open to both amateur and professional songwriters and musicians. Songs will need to be totally original works and be between 3 and 5 minutes in length. There are two categories available; Youth : 18 and under, Adult : 19 and over.

School District #83 Music Supervisor Gordon Waters is one of the contest judges and he remarked, ‘The Shuswap is fortunate to have so many talented musicians living here and this contest will give many of them a challenge to focus their creative energies to make music that celebrates our amazing region.’

Young musicians have the opportunity to win a $200 cash prize, plus a glass sculpture award by Chuck St. John, a Roots & Blues 2010 Festival pass, and a live interview on EZ Rock; and second place winners get a $100 cash prize. In the adult category, songwriters have a chance for a $400 cash prize, plus a glass sculpture award, a Roots & Blues pass, and a live radio interview; while second prize winners will receive a $200 cash prize.

‘I am excited to have the opportunity to help organize the events during Celebrate the Shuswap Week, especially the Song for the Shuswap Contest which will bring together the many musicians and music lovers in our region to share music about our beautiful watershed,’ said Monica Gail Kriese, event coordinator.
Registration forms are available online at www.shuswapwatershed.ca and at Acorn Music, EZ Rock 91.5fm, and the Salmon Arm Observer office.

Shuswap Watershed Project extends its utmost appreciation to our generous contest sponsors: Acorn Music, EZ Rock 91.5fm, Salmon Arm Observer, Barley Station Brew Pub, Takezushi Sushi Restaurant, Scotch Creek Super Valu, John & Sonja Woods, Doug & Joanne Leatherdale, Jan & Don Sawyer (NESA). ROXY FX Music, Roots and Blues Festival, Shuswap Water Action Team, Salmar Community Association, Shuswap Singers and Chuck St. John

For more information, contact:
Monica Gail Kriese, ‘Celebrate the Shuswap’ Event Coordinator, 833-6100

Plan calls for a $15-25 parcel tax to help pay for improved protection…

Note:
This is the news coverage of the presentation by SLIPP staff to the CSRD last week. A good article, but the title is a bit misleading, as the planning process is over and now the plan needs to be implemented (a better title would have been ‘Watershed Protection hinges on funds’). The ideal mechanism for implementation would be the proposed Watershed Council, but the province has no money or inclination to pay all the costs, so it is up to the people who live here to pay a nominal parcel tax ($15-25)/year. Cheers, Jim

Planning process hinges on funds

By Barb Brouwer
Shuswap Market News
Feb. 5, 2010

The plan is in place, but putting moving it forward is going to cost money; which raises the question of who’s going to pay?

Ian McGregor, Fish and Wildlife Science head in the Ministry of Environment’s Kamloops office, presented an update on the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process Strategic Plan for Shuswap and Mara Lake to directors at a Columbia Shuswap Regional District board meeting last Thursday.

After providing a review of SLIPP’s past accomplishments and future challenges regarding lake protection, McGregor got down to the matter of governance.

He told directors a formal and inclusive governance framework is needed to expand the SLIPP process to include the entire Shuswap watershed, formalize group representation and establish a secure funding model.

“The reason we’re here, is that the CSRD is seen to be in a strong leadership position to take this (process) forward,” he told directors as he presented financing options.

McGregor said SLIPP needs to gain legal status and suggested the group consider three options, which he listed, along with their benefits and constraints.

Annual expenses to move SLIPP forward are anticipated to be $1.4 million, with income and in-kind resource support estimated at $695,000, leaving a funding shortfall of $705,000.

McGregor noted that MOE had contributed $130,000 in cold hard cash with another $150,000 in in-kind support such as staff, boats and other equipment.

He told directors that it seemed likely MOE and other agencies were moving to more in-kind support rather than financial, which drew Area C South Shuswap director Ted Bacigalupo to remind him that the regional district’s in-kind support through staff services should be taken into consideration.

“I hope the means to funding is not going to be the thing that sends the project down the drain,” he said.

In-kind support was a sore point with Electoral Area E director Rhona Martin and Salmon Arm director Kevin Flynn.

Martin pointed out how the province partnered with the regional district on milfoil harvesting in Shuswap Lake but has now pulled out leaving the CSRD to manage on their own.

“There’s a federal and provincial responsibility and there needs to be some kind of guarantee that there will be funds,” she said. “Local taxpayers cannot pay for everything. There are people living along the lake whose assessments have already skyrocketed.”

“I would suggest that in-kind support will go down over the years,” sadded Flynn, describing the provincial government actions as downloading. “Salmon Arm has always supported SLIPP but I’m concerned about who’s gonna pay.”

Under McGregor’s proposed funding model, the three regional districts in the Shuswap watershed would pick up the shortfall; CSRD with $322,000 or 54 per cent, the Thompson Regional District $171,000 or 24 per cent and the North Okanagan Regional District paying 22 per cent or $152,000.

McGregor said he had not included Salmon Arm or Area D Falkland-Ranchero because he did not have the necessary data.

Suggested methods of collecting the money were through a parcel tax to all land parcels, which would amount to about $24 per year, or a value-based tax on the assessed value of properties and at five cents per $1,000 of value would cost about $25 per year on a property worth $250,000.

Phil Hallinan, former manager of the Fraser Basin Council’s Thompson Region, said he thought the presentation to the board went as well as possible.

“It’s a bit of a work in progress, its been shown to them for the first time and they know something needs to be done for the lake but they’re protecting their taxpayers,” he said. “It’s a bit like being nibbled to death by ducks.”

But he reassured that the Fraser Basin Council will continue to fund SLIPP.

“We consider SLIPP to be the flagship program of the Thompson Region,” he said. “One of the keys to this is MLA George Abbott. If he continues to support SLIPP, future funding from the province will be committed.”

Findings show more habitat to be protected…

Visit www.wa-ter.ca for more detailed information about this news about the big-box shopping centre proposed to be build on the sensitive Salmon River floodplain..

Report shrinks plan
by Lachlan Labere
Salmon Arm Observer
February, 24, 2010

Ecoscape: Findings show more habitat to be protected.

A community-funded report suggests the size of the proposed SmartCentres development will have to decrease dramatically so as not to impose on fish habitat.

On Monday, the Salmon Arm organization Wetland Alliance: the Ecological Response (WA:TER) presented the Ecoscape Report to city council. The report, explained WA:TER president Warren Bell, contains a description of the entire Salmon Arm Bay area and goes beyond the provisions of the Riparian Areas Regulations (RAR), which only protects fish.

He said the report was commissioned to Kelowna-based Ecoscape Environmental Consultants (recommended by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans), and paid for, in part, by a grant from West Coast Environmental Law ($3,512) and the rest through donations ($6,341), because the organization felt there were errors and omissions in the qualified environmental professional (QEP) report prepared for SmartCentres.

Soils and vegetation scientist Alex Inselberg summarized some of the findings in the Ecoscape Report (available at www.wa-ter.ca). On one topographical map dated May 14, 1993, Inselberg pointed to grey linear areas running throughout much of the SmartCentres property. He explained these areas resulted from the river overtopping its banks, carrying sediment.

‘The significance of this particular image is that it actually happens to be the one-in-five-year flood event, which everybody is trying to figure out and which everybody has been trying to, as I understand, model as well,’ said Inselberg. ‘Well, a photograph is much better than a model because it shows you precisely what’s happening.’

Taking RAR’s streamside protection enhancement area setbacks into account, the Ecoscape Report leaves as little as 40 per cent of the SmartCentres property outside of protected fish habitat.

Recognizing the report failed to fully acknowledge traditional uses on the property, Inselberg stepped aside to give Switzmalph Cultural Society chair Bonnie Thomas the floor. Thomas encouraged working together with the city to bring forward an educational process to the public regarding traditional knowledge of plants and animals documented by her mother, the late Mary Thomas.

Bell said two more studies are planned for the property, one by geoterrain specialist Murray Road, and one by hydrologist Alan Bates. Bell noted both have already commented on how firming up the soils on the SmartCentres property will result in flooding on the neighbouring Neskonlith land.

Coun. Ivan Idzan asked Inselberg if there’s been any comment from DFO or the Ministry of Environment on the Ecoscape Report. Inselberg stated they are aware of the information.

‘They are at this point being very quiet, and I think they’re waiting to see what the developer comes up with,’ said Inselberg.

The impacts from warm winters may cause far worse problems than icy roads…

What Happened to our Shuswap Winter?

By Jim Cooperman
A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
February 5, 2010

As one of our friends remarked a few weeks ago, so far this has been ‘quite the non-winter.’ Although it is not over yet, the record breaking warm temperatures and lack of snow may be a blessing for snow plowing budgets and safe winter driving, but the impacts from warm winters may indeed cause far worse problems than icy roads.

With melting arctic ice and glaciers and warming temperatures, industry sponsored climate change sceptics have changed their tune and now many agree that the planet is warming, but insist that the causes are due to sun-spots or earth wobbles instead of the obvious fact that humans are responsible. Here in the Shuswap, no one could deny that our climate is going haywire.

January is typically the coldest month of the year, and yet this January there was mostly above freezing temperatures with little snow. Like other gardeners, we are concerned about what the lack of snow cover could mean for sensitive perennials and bulbs, including garlic. Snow provides an insulating layer and without it, the frost can kill or severely damage roses, rhododendrons, tulips and other plants.

These problems are not limited to just gardening, as farmers are concerned about the potential for hard frost killing their alfalfa if temperatures fall to minus 10 for a few days without the protection of snow cover. Problems are already occurring where the melting snow is unable to drain through the frozen ground and has pooled in the fields killing the roots of grass and alfalfa. Impacts could also include the time, work and high costs of replanting low elevation hay fields, as well as the expense of buying imported alfalfa and grain in the interim.

The buds on trees and bushes can also be affected by unseasonably warm winter temperatures by opening prematurely and then getting hit by frost. So far, orchardists have not noticed any problems, as nights have remained cool. However, if the current El Nino warming continues, this could result in damage to orchards throughout our region if a hard frost follows more intensive warming.

Perhaps the greatest impacts could take place this coming spring and summer, if the Shuswap snowpack remains low. Adequate soil moisture levels are critically important not only for agriculture, but also for the forests. Lack of moisture, especially in the spring, weakens the trees when moisture is needed for growth and makes the trees more susceptible to pests and disease. Young plantations are particularly sensitive to the combination of unseasonably warm winters and lack of moisture from snow.

Of greatest concern, is the threat of forest fires, when there is a lack of snow to maintain soil moisture. And without adequate snow at mid-elevations, the creeks may not have enough water to flow during the summer. Throughout the Shuswap, thousands of rural residents depend on these creeks for their domestic and farm water supplies. Unless there are substantial snow falls in February and March, these creeks could run dry long before the summer is over.

While it is important to keep up the pressure on politicians and decision-makers around the world to take actions to reduce carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases, it is also necessary to consider and implement climate change adaptation measures. With climate change, there will be more extreme weather patterns that could mean an increase in drier than normal and wetter than normal years. Consequently, any industry or activity that is weather dependent now requires options or alternatives. As well, land and resource management should reflect the need to be prepared for the extremes.

Adaptation measures for the Shuswap could include better fire-proofing around communities, drilling wells and adding more water storage, protecting higher elevation lakes for their water storage potentials, considering different crops for agriculture, devising better road maintenance techniques to cope with more frost heaves and extreme rain events, and avoiding development in flood plains. This year’s green lawns in January could well be a harbinger for a very different future climate, for which some foresight is needed.

As expected, the houseboat industry gets another year to comply….

…..To give you an idea of how the industry deals with this issue ‘apparently Sicamous houseboat companies build boats for other regions with a greywater holding tank installed’ because in the U.S. greywater containment is the law!
It may be the law here too, but until a solution can be found for the need for more pump-outs (such as a barge with a huge container), the companies here will continue to resist complying. Here is the latest news from the government:

Shuswap /Mara Lakes Greywater update

As you have expressed previous interest in the greywater discharge issue on Shuswap Lake, I am relaying to you our recent message sent to the houseboat industry on the lake.
MOE has been engaged with the House boating industry on the Shuswap /Mara lakes system since 2007, working towards greywater containment. One our projects was a water quality monitoring project in 2009. The results can be viewed at the following web link:
a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eirs/viewDocumentDetail.do?fromStatic=true&repository=EPD&documentId=10060

As the imposed deadline of 2010 approached, and is now here, MOE has been contemplating the direction we are taking with this project. Just recently we have given direction to the Houseboat industry on the greywater issue and I wish to forward to you the message we are now conveying.

The message being delivered to the CSRD, the boating industry and community, as well as interested stakeholders is:

In consideration of the work been done to date, most importantly the efforts by the houseboat industry and results of the environmental monitoring, MOE has re-visited the strategy on this pilot and have recently adopted the following approach:

– In 2010, we will continue our promotional compliance efforts for the elimination of grey water discharges.

– We retain the option of full enforcement if quantifiable progress with the houseboat industry does not continue and/or there is a significant public health or environmental impact issue that arises.

– We will continue to work collaboratively with other ministries, other levels of government and the public in implementing strategies to protect the water quality of Shuswap Lake and the human health of those associated with it.

– We will be actively engaging the houseboat industry and boating public in a public education campaign during the 2010 boating season.

– Based on further progress towards containment, the findings of the Fraser Basin Council-s study, and our discussions with Transport Canada we will appropriately adjust the strategy of this pilot in the fall of 2010.

The Ministry-s long term goal for the appropriate management of boat discharges has not changed. In moving ahead with this pilot we are balancing the desires of the community, reasonable targets for industry and adjusting the priority as supported by science.

If you have any questions this, please feel free to contact our office.

Regards,
Neale Waters
Environmental Protection Officer
Ministry of Environment
email: Neale.Waters@gov.bc.ca

Independent expert to determine how often land floods…

Josh Dehaas
Vancouver – From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail Published on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009

A 400,000-square-foot shopping centre to be built on the edge of the Salmon River is in limbo after the province said it will bring in an independent expert to determine how often the land floods.

A group opposed to the project had earlier commissioned a report that found evidence that the river floods every two to three years, contradicting the original environmental assessment, which showed the river does not top its banks in a typical five-year period. If the land floods more than once every five years, the province is unlikely to allow development because small fish might use the flooded area.

The move surprised the City of Salmon Arm and the developer, SmartCentres, because the Ministry of the Environment had accepted the original environmental assessment in September. The new study should be completed by winter’s end, according to the Environment Ministry.

Residents who are concerned about the impact of big box stores on the city’s downtown are celebrating the move.

‘At this point, we have a 100-per-cent solid case that the river overtops its banks and does so regularly,’ said Alex Inselberg, a soil scientist and a member of the group that paid for the second report.

Salmon Arm teacher and development opponent Vivian Morrison was not surprised by the news. ‘Everyone who lives here knows [that] the river floods,’ she said.

But Ms. Morrison is not just worried about the salmon.

She and other opponents are also concerned that small businesses would not be able to compete with shops such as Home Depot and Future Shop. ‘The world is moving away from big box,’ said Mrs. Morrison. ‘I don’t want Salmon Arm to become 7-Eleven land.’

The new mall would offer more square footage of retail space than all of the city’s three small shopping centres combined.

The planned development has always been controversial. After a five-day marathon of public hearings in October, 2008, the original proposal was rejected by one vote. The city even considered a plebiscite to gauge public support.

It is widely believed enough councillors now favour the shopping centre that the necessary zoning and community plan changes would pass a vote.

The city’s development office plans to move forward with the first two readings of the bylaw changes in January. The final readings cannot take place until the province is reassured that fish habitat will not be threatened.

According to Mr. Inselberg, the fine layer of silt on Cottonwood trees on the banks of the river should be indisputable evidence of recent floods. The group that wrote the independent report also observed piles of washed-up sticks and a lack of lichen growth at the base of the Cottonwoods, both of which are also signs of frequent flooding. The report also includes an agricultural assessment from 1963 that classifies one of the properties in question as too wet to farm, which was cited by the city as a reason for removing it from the Agricultural Land Reserve in 2005.

SmartCentres spokesperson Nathan Hildebrand said that the company is still moving ahead with its application and hopes to get final approval by April. If successful, building will begin in late spring or early summer.

Mr. Hildebrand would not speculate on the project’s chances. Mr. Inselberg said he believes the third study will confirm the flooding threat, and that he would be ‘surprised’ to see the shopping centre built at all.

SEAS calls for government action to purchase West Beach property near the Adams River and other news…

Re: West Beach : SEAS has decided to encourage everyone to contact George Abbott and encourage him to use his cabinet influence to expedite the current negotiations so that this property can be purchased this year before more damage is done. Currently, there is a pile of concrete forms, tiles and lumber there and two excavators are parked near the house. See sample letter to George Abbott below. Here is his contact info:
George Abbott, george.abbott.mla@leg.bc.ca , (250) 833-7414 or toll free, 1- 877-771-7557

Dear Honourable Minister George Abbott

Most Shuswap citizens continue to maintain a keen interest in the future of the West Beach property. It is crucial that the property be placed into public hands in order to protect the viability of the sockeye salmon run and the ecologically sensitive Roderick Haig-Brown Park.

While we were disappointed to learn that the provincial Government ‘remains interested in purchasing the land but not at this time for the appraised value,: we were encouraged to learn that the government is interested in working with partners. While these economic times are difficult, the purchase represents an invaluable investment in the salmon fishing industry, the Interior tourism industry and the environmental sustainability goals of the government – a legacy at least as important as the 2010 Olympics, the Vancouver Convention Centre and BC Place stadium that are costing many hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most recently, Minister Barry Penner has revealed that talks have begun with the developer. Please represent the wishes of your constituents and help ensure the purchase of the West Beach property remains a priority that will hopefully happen before the election this spring.

Sincerely,

In other news, BC Nature magazine reports that the provincial budget released last month is bad news for the environment. Funding for the Environmental Stewardship department of MOE, which supports Crown lands, wildlife and habitat was reduced by 15 percent. The parks and wildlife management areas budget was reduced by 14 percent. And other MOR department budgets were also reduced. Meanwhile, there is no news yet about any funding for SLIPP implementation.

Here is what the local media has to say about these issues:

Favour of a reply required
Editorial, Salmon Arm Observer
March 24, 2009

Like rivers at freshet, the Liberal government’s press service has been rolling out releases, sometimes as many as 30 a day, many of them funding announcements.
Over the past several weeks, the funding tap has poured out sometimes huge sums.
The City of Salmon Arm was one of many B.C. communities to benefit from last week’s funding spree, receiving more than $500,000 to support infrastructure expansion, deliver community services, improve community safety, revitalize green spaces and invest in local jobs.

On the same day, the Salmon Arm Elks were advised they would be getting $97,000 in gaming grant revenue to build a new community hall.

Earlier in the week, $1.4 million in joint provincial-federal funding to improve Sorrento’s water system was announced. In recent weeks both the Shuswap and District Arts Council and Haney Heritage Village and Museum were the recipients of welcome funding.

While all of this is good news, there seems to be a disconcerting silence emanating from certain ministries.

Despite vigorous local support for the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP), spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment with approval from the highest levels, the environment minister’s office has chosen to ignore repeated requests from the Observer for a statement regarding its funding fate.

This despite the fact, a SLIPP report sets out sound recommendations to prevent further deterioration to the lake that provides our water and a livelihood for many.

Chief among them is the need for increased monitoring to pinpoint contamination sources.
This is particularly important given last year’s huge algae bloom that stretched from Salmon Arm Bay to Sicamous.

And water samples taken at the mouth of the Salmon River have shown water quality deterioration, not improvement, as originally stated in this year’s Fraser Basin Council Report.

Also frustrating is the silence surrounding the fate of the West Beach property near the mouth of the Adams River and its world renowned salmon run.

Despite earlier assurances the environment minister would investigate the possibility of purchasing the property from the developer, whose plans created public furor, no word has been heard here.

Reviewing the province’s news releases, it becomes evident that environmental issues are not a Liberal priority in the upcoming election.

But the state of Shuswap Lake is a top priority among many voters in the in the area, voters who deserve to hear some answers : even if they are not likely to like them.

If there is no provincial funding forthcoming, let the voters hear the reasons why this government has chosen to act on something as crucial as the fate of Shuswap Lake. This is hardly the time for ostrich-like behaviour.

B.C. permitting snowmobiling in sensitive caribou habitat despite the concerns of biologists… 

Caribou protection plan falls short
By Jim Cooperman
A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
March 13, 2009

The provincial government recently made an announcement about the progress made with its British Columbia’s Mountain Caribou Recovery Implementation Plan. The Ministry of Environment’s Information Bulletin boasts, ‘More than two million hectares off limits for logging and road building, and one million hectares of alpine caribou habitat out of reach for snow machines in the B.C. Interior.: A coalition of environmental groups called the Mountain Caribou Project applauded the news but pointed out that much of the plan can be termed an ‘IOU: because more efforts are still needed in order for the plan to succeed.

The ten-member coalition, which includes the Shuswap Environmental Action Society, points out that habitat is still at risk from mineral exploration development and motorized recreation. As well, logging restrictions contain too many loopholes. Even though logging and road-building is apparently banned from ‘protected: caribou habitat, it will still be allowed if the blocks are 2 hectares or smaller, if it is needed to address ‘forest health factors,: if there has been a mapping error, or if a road is needed to access timber adjacent to the protected area. Also, it appears that heli-ski and snow-cat ski operations may be able to log in caribou habitat to provide more areas for skiing.

According to the coalition, the provincial government still needs to: ‘act on all the science-based recommendations to close mountain caribou habitat to winter motorized recreation; boost caribou numbers in threatened herds with animals transplanted from elsewhere to ensure herds achieve critical mass for self-sufficiency; ensure that any activities within designated habitat support the recovery goals and require a caribou biologist’s review of any development; ensure that large areas of critical caribou habitat that were missed through mapping errors are protected; and ensure that predator strategies are transparent and that wolves and cougars are not the scapegoats for incomplete habitat protections.:

Here in the Shuswap, approximately 40 percent of the habitat for the three remaining herds totalling some 60 animals is protected from logging. Efforts to protect this habitat began during the Okanagan Shuswap Land and Resource Management planning process that provided the direction for 6 years of research that culminated in the identification of approximately 10,000 hectares of additional old growth forest habitat. However it was the government’s caribou initiative that helped to convince the forest licensees to give up their rights to logging these forests.

Although more habitat has been protected from logging, the government’s plan to restrict snowmobile use is flawed. The Ministry of Environment intends to make an exception for the snowmobile closure in the Mt. Grace plateau to accommodate the desire of the Seymour Arm snowmobile club to continue riding in this area. Announcing a snowmobile closure, while making an exception behind the scenes has been a political decision that was not supported by government wildlife experts.

In a 2005 report, wildlife scientists reported that the Mt. Grace area contains a large portion of the late winter range of the Columbia North subpopulation that have not been previously exposed to snowmobile activity. The report goes on to warn, ‘there is potential that future snowmobile activity could be detrimental to the large numbers of caribou that use this area.: The Queest Mountain area is also caribou habitat, however snowmobile activity occurs south of the closure area that is just west of North Queest.

Most snowmobiling is done by individuals not connected with the clubs, yet the government is signing management agreements with the clubs to control where the riding takes place. These agreements are expected to be self-monitored by the clubs, although the Ministry does intend to also do some monitoring on a rotating basis. Yet the environment ministry that is reeling from an 11 percent cut in their budget is hardly in any shape to watch over thousands of hectares and prevent snowmobilers from disturbing caribou.

It is a sad state of affairs that the provincial government can allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to the Olympics, BC Place stadium, highways and bridges and another giant convention centre; yet it pleads poverty when money is needed to protect the environment. And why are the recreational desires of a few snowmobilers a higher priority than the need to safeguard an irreplaceable legacy by protecting the rapidly diminishing population of mountain caribou?