Maps for each of the sub-drainages show old growth forest…

Shuswap Watershed Project
Media Release

The Shuswap Watershed Project has been continuing to work on tasks that improve understanding, appreciation and protection of the Shuswap watershed. Since the release of the groundbreaking map poster in March, 2010, the Project’s website, shuswapwatershed.ca, has been expanded and improved with the addition of many resources, including an educational handbook, images, the winning salmon and Shuswap songs and a section on history with archival documents.

Recently, a new set of maps was added that provide more details about each of the sub-drainages in the Shuswap watershed. There are 12 major sub-drainages within the watershed that range in size from the very small 21,000 hectare Wap Creek watershed to the very large 440,000 hectare Shuswap River watershed. In addition, there is a map of the smaller drainages surrounding Shuswap Lake.

‘These maps provide an invaluable resource for students, backcountry enthusiasts, researchers and anyone with a curiosity about our region’s geography,’ said Project leader, Jim Cooperman. Already one Salmon Arm Secondary teacher, Dave Ramsay, is excited about using these maps in the upcoming school year for his newly developed course on the Shuswap watershed.

For each of these watersheds, there are actually three map files available for downloading on the website. One is a topographic map that includes the water features. The other two maps use satellite coverage for the base and one is a PDF file that can be shared easily and the other is jpeg file that can be modified. All of the maps are designed to be printed in colour on 11 x 17 inch paper or viewed on a screen.

The colour maps show a key feature that until now has not been available for public viewing, all the old growth management areas (OGMAs), which range in size from a few hectares to hundreds of hectares. The designation of OGMAs is a key component of the province’s biodiversity protection plans, as old growth forests provide critically important habitat for many species that cannot survive in clearcuts and plantations. These old growth areas were chosen during the land use planning process over a decade ago and they are protected from logging and road building.

Perhaps the most familiar OGMA for Shuswap residents in the one in the Larch Hills that includes the well appreciated trails in the North Hub area that wind past the giant white pine, red cedar, Douglas fir and hemlock trees. Anyone that is interested in ecology or would like to visit an ancient forest to see what the Shuswap landscape looked like prior to the era of resource extraction can use the maps to locate these majestic, giant trees.

Another use for these sub-drainage maps designed by Silvatech Consulting would be for comparing one area with another. Some drainages, such as Celista Creek, Momich River/Cayenne Creek, Scotch Creek, Anstey River and Wap Creek are void of human habitation, while in others the communities are for the most part located adjacent to lakes or streams. The watershed that contains the largest population, Salmon River, is also the most modified, primarily from intensive agriculture, logging and cattle grazing.

The maps also show where there are extensive wetlands, alpine areas, clearcuts and plantations. The names for many of the smaller creeks are listed. It should be noted that there are many creeks and small lakes in the Shuswap watershed that are unnamed. This lack of names points to one interesting characteristic about our region, that except for forestry workers and occasional fisherman and hikers, few people ever venture into much of the backcountry.

The sky is the limit for what one can do with the jpeg images of the sub-drainages maps. On the screen, the images are sharp enough to allow one to zoom into any area of interest to view roads and individual parcels of private land. The jpegs can also be cropped to create new maps, which can then be further modified. Feedback about this new mapping initiative is welcome via the website. ‘We look forward to hearing from users of this new resource about different ways these maps can be utilized, added Cooperman.

For more information, contact:
Shuswap Watershed Project
www.shuswapwatershed.ca

The CSRD is seeking a court injunction to halt the development…

CSRD seeks court injunction
By Leah Blain
Salmon Arm Observer
June 21, 2011

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) is seeking a court injunction to stop any further work at West Beach Village in the North Shuswap until the landowner has obtained all necessary permits from the CSRD.
CSRD Chair Ron Oszust said they’ve exhausted other ways of working with the developer. ‘As with many situations, staff worked toward finding amenable solutions and sometimes we’re not able to come to that point and hence you move to the next stage or another process.’

Because of the legal action, Oszust was reluctant to get into details but said CSRD is ‘aware of activities on the site.’

North Shuswap director Denis Delisle said although staff have been ‘incredibly patient’ there have been ‘ongoing infractions’ and he would like some backup from other levels of government.

‘I’m hoping the federal and provincial agencies start doing their jobs and get involved technically and legally to help the CSRD make sure the development is done right.’

West Beach Village has been controversial from the beginning. Developer Mike Rink proposed the 218 residential unit and commercial facility in 2008 but local residents and environmentalists said a development of that size so near the Adams River would impact the world-renowned sockeye salmon run.

In 2009 Rink applied for development permits and was working within the parameters of zoning and official community plan bylaws.

That same year, however, the CSRD contemplated legal action after receiving a petition from residents asking them to stop the development. The residents said Rink was circumventing the zoning and subdivision rules by selling long-term RV leases and condo and home leases under the guise of camping and motel use.

The CSRD received legal advice not to pursue the matter.

In 2010 Rink faced a civil lawsuit from a group of five sub-contractors who claimed Rink never paid them for the work they did at the West Beach site in 2008 and 2009.

The five companies: Westend Shuswap Concrete and Gravel, Engel Electric, Highland Powerlines Ltd., L Coster Land Surveying and Rona Revy, were seeking over $500,000.

Commenting on the current direction to seek a court injunction, Oszust said although enforcement ‘can be a challenge’ the CSRD has a responsibility to the people to enforce regulations.

Delisle said despite patience, the developer is refusing to co-operate.

‘We felt we’ve given them every opportunity to deal with us,’ said Delisle, ‘and they haven’t.’

Concerns about flood hazard risks prompt need for court action…

By Tracy Hughes
Salmon Arm Observer
July 20, 2011

The Neskonlith Indian Band announced Wednesday they are initiating a legal challenge against the City of Salmon Arm’s issuance of a hazardous area development permit for the SmartCentres Shopping Centre.

In a press release, the band says despite repeated requests to establish a proper consultation process regarding their concerns about the proposed development, none was undertaken.

“The City of Salmon Arm refuses to acknowledge the constitutional obligations which passed to them when the province delegated the responsiblity for flooding risk assessment and we now unfortunately have to look to the courts to ensure that the city lives up to those obligations. We have therefore instructed our legal counsel to prepare the documents to file a challenge…” says Neskonlith Indian Band Chief Judy Wilson.

“As Secwepemc people, we hold aboriginal title and rights over our territory, which includes the Salmon River delta and floodplain. This critically important decision regarding our territory, which we are told by independent experts could have a tremendously negative impact on an area of extraordinary value to our people, was taken without any meaningful consultation with us. We will not sit idly by and allow this to occur,” she adds.

When contacted by the Observer late Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Marty Bootsma said he was unaware of the band’s statement, but said he was not surprised the band would challenge the city in court.

“That kind of talk, it’s always been out there. We’ll just have to wait and see where it goes from here.”

In the wake of reports by Stantec, an engineering firm hired by SmartCentres to report on flood risks for the proposed shopping centre site, the band retained their own expert who disagreed with Stantec’s view that there would be no measurable increase in the current flood hazard risk to adjacent properties from the development. The Neskonlith lands are directly beside the SmartCentres site, which are all part of the Salmon River delta area.

The band retained Michael Church, an engineer and professor who specializes in natural stream channel design, and Nancy Turner, a professor and ethnobotanist, who were of the opinion that further studies were needed to understand the potential impacts to the reserve lands.

“Professor Church is of the view that the development will flood in the near future and there is a pressing need to study the potential impacts of resulting flood mitigation measures. We can not allow such careless planning about an area of such importance to go unchallenged,” said Wilson.

There is no indication as to when the band’s lawyers intend to officially file suit.

Salmon Arm counsel votes yes despite concerns over flood risks…

Centre gets city approval
By Lachlan Labere
Salmon Arm Observer
July 13, 2011

An outpouring from academia failed to keep Salmon Arm council from approving a development permit relating to flood risk on the proposed SmartCentres property.

Council’s decision came Monday evening following two back-to-back public hearings that lasted four-and-a-half hours. The first hearing related to a development permit application that determines the form and character of the shopping centre development at the west end of town. The second hearing was for a Hazardous Areas Development Permit, which determines whether the site can safely be used for the intended purpose.

Council unanimously approved the first permit. The second, however, saw Couns. Ivan Idzan and Ken Jamieson opposed, and Couns. Alan Harrison, Kevin Flynn and Debbie Cannon, and Mayor Marty Bootsma, in favour.

City staff supported both permit applications and related variances, with conditions tied to each. These included a recent condition tied to the second permit, relating to new flooding information that could impact the northwest part of the property.

‘Over the last couple of weeks, the Ministry (of Environment) has received some additional information in the form of a formal complaint: and at this point in time, they are currently reviewing a portion of the property, said city development services director Corey Paiement. As part of that, the hope was that the ministry could make a determination prior to the hearing, but what they have determined was the applicant and their consultants will have to do some additional work to see if the Riparian Areas Regulation applies to that portion of the property, and if that portion of the property is an active flood plain or streamside protection enhancement area.

The condition requires the applicant to do any additional work determined necessary by the ministry.

SmartCentres site manager, Nathan Hildebrand, said hes met with the ministry to discuss the matter.

We are committed to go out and undertake further investigation, said Hildebrand. That may result in changes, that may not: If there are changes that need to be made and we arent able to construct, essentially the extension of 30th Street, our site plan can function without 30th Street.

The majority of the evening meeting was in the publics hands to voice their opinions on the two permit applications. While SmartCentres had its supporters in the audience, the podium belonged to those concerned or critical of the development.

First to speak for both hearings was Neskonlith Indian Band Chief Judy Wilson and Switzmalph Cultural Society president Bonnie Thomas. Wilson emphasized that, to date, the city has yet to engage in proper consultation with the band, and instead has communicated through letters, largely legal in nature. Thomas implored council to consider the rare species of plants and animals that currently reside on the subject property. Wilson and Thomas referenced two professional studies of the SmartCentres property that confirm the significant importance of the ethnobotany of the Salmon River Delta, and call for further study of the land.

Throughout both hearings, flooding data provided by SmartCentres contracted consulting engineer, Stantec, was challenged by professionals in the audience, including soils and vegetation specialist Alex Inselberg and professional engineer Calvin VanBuskirk, who suggested the city could avoid future flooding challenges with the creation of a channel that would run under the Trans-Canada Highway and along that northwest portion of the SmartCentres property.

We can run it through here, an open channel, and right back into the river and essentially have a massive reduction in flood hazard risk in Salmon Arm, said VanBuskirk, maintaining the channel would safeguard the town at a very nominal cost compared to cleaning up after a flood.

Along with the advice, council and the applicant received significant criticism. Diane Ambil expressed her disappointment with council not having consulted with the Neskonlith. Others, like Warren Bell, argued a flood plain risk analysis needs to be done before a spade is put in the ground.

With the quality and quantity of conflicting technical information, Coun. Ivan Idzan said he would not support the permit application. Jamieson commended SmartCentres for their tenacity in working to make the project happen, but said what they are trying to do on the site is not what he wants to see happen.

Coun. Alan Harrison said he respected all the opinions provided but, in the end, his vote to support the permit was based on what he has seen at the site over the 40 or 50 visits hes made, along with the recent fly-over he and council made. Harrison said the development proposal represents compromise, with 48 of the 67-acre lot being preserved in its natural state. He described the 19 acres to be developed as harsh land, with a consistency like concrete.

Cannon agreed that city council and the Neskonlith band need to come to the table and discuss what a proper consultation looks like. However, she said she sees no problem with development proceeding on the SmartCentres property.

Hildebrand said construction could begin as soon as August, with completion expected in November 2012.

The Regional District of the North Okanagan begins a planning process…

Securing a sustainable future for the Shuswap River
A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
By Jim Cooperman
December 17, 2010

The Regional District of the North Okanagan (RDNO) has long been a leader for environmental protection. When Okanagan Lake was threatened by pollution over 40 years ago, the regional district joined with other regional districts to form the Okanagan Basin Water Board which helped secure funding to clean up the region’s sewage treatment systems. When development threatened Sugar Lake and the Shuswap River, RDNO worked quickly to prevent the development from dumping its sewage effluent into the lake.

Now, with concerns mounting yearly over the Shuswap River, the regional district has embarked on an ambitious planning process to achieve long-term sustainability for the entire watershed. With an investment of over $250,000 towards the process, the goal is to involve all relevant stakeholders in the development of a plan that will guide decision making by all public agencies and the community. Rather than compete with the Shuswap Watershed’s other project, Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP), the goal is to collaborate and share information.

The Shuswap River planning process kicked off on December 2nd with a workshop in Enderby that was attended by local environmentalists and community leaders; federal, provincial and regional district government staff; and most of the region’s local politicians. I participated in the workshop as one of the regional environmentalists and was impressed with the commitment of the local politicians who worked side by side with us on the assigned tasks.

The goal for the workshop was to create a long term vision for the Shuswap River watershed and determine the issues that need to be addressed by the sustainability plan. The next stage of this first phase will be to gather data in order to develop a baseline that shows the current condition of the watershed. Rather than duplicate the work of SLIPP, the plan is to join forces for the water quality monitoring and some funding will even flow from RDNO Area F, as a portion of Mara Lake is within this area.

At the workshop, after we completed the visioning process, large maps of the watershed were placed at each table, where participants rolled up their sleeves and went to work identifying the problems that plague the river. Some of the top concerns include the erosion caused by intensive recreation, the need to protect water quality, foreshore development on Sugar and Mabel Lakes, the need to identify and protect spawning habitat, off-road recreational vehicle use, the need to protect recreational areas, water quantity, and the problems caused by the Wilsey Dam, which blocks passage by salmon to the upper spawning beds.

As well, a number of specific problems were identified, including an old garbage dump that could be leaching toxins into the river and the loss of riparian vegetation along the river that results in continuous erosion of the river banks, particularly where the hydro-line crosses the river. Concerns were also expressed about the sewage treatment for Lumby and for Silver Star Mountain that may be leaching into the watershed. Another major concern is the agricultural run-off from manure spreading on fields near the river, which was likely one of the causes of this year’s algae bloom in Mara Lake.

The next phase of the planning process will be the actual development of the plan which will include establishing the desired future condition for the watershed and determining how best to achieve this condition with both short-term and long-term objectives and strategies. To do this, it will be necessary to identify all the existing policies that currently direct management and then determine where there are gaps that need to be filled.

The final phase of the process will include implementing all the recommendations by first prioritizing the actions and seeking the necessary funding to insure these actions take place. As well, the implementation of the plan will be monitored and reviewed, so that if needed, changes can occur to ensure the plan succeeds. Of course, the major complicating factor is that regional districts do not have jurisdiction over many of the issues impacting the watershed. So for the plan to be successful, provincial and federal government agencies will have to cooperate with all phases of the process, especially the implementation phase.

Ideally, within a few years, the completed Shuswap River Watershed Sustainability Plan will merge with the ongoing SLIPP process. As a result, all the Shuswap watershed regional districts will see the value of working together with other levels of government and from these efforts a permanent watershed board will emerge to ensure we will have sustainability throughout our entire region.

A rationale for funding comprehensive water quality monitoring in the Shuswap watershed…

Sleuthing the sources of Shuswap Lake pollution
A Shuswap Passion column for the Shuswap Market News
By Jim Cooperman
November 5, 2010

Implementation of the Shuswap Lakes Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP) Strategic Plan is getting a rough reception by many local politicians as described by recent headline news articles. Even though it appears that the key components of the Plan will receive funding, there remains an air of uncertainty about the project. Despite overwhelming public support for implementation as shown by the recent watershed survey, substantial financial support from the province and the obvious need for action due to the recent algae blooms, opposition continues due in part to misunderstandings about the project.

Much of the confusion revolves around the issue of duplication. Although water quality monitoring has been ongoing and results have shown deterioration in Salmon Arm Bay, Blind Bay, and throughout the lake; the results do not provide the comprehensive data needed to accurately identify the sources of excess nutrients causing the problems. To address the need for detailed data, SLIPP contracted experts in the field to design a monitoring program that will provide this information.

Except for Salmon Arm Bay, Shuswap Lake is primarily defined as oligotrophic, with clear water lacking in nutrients. Salmon Arm Bay became mesotrophic in the 1970s, due to an increase in nutrients that resulted in less clear water and more algae growth. Monitoring to date has shown an increase in nitrogen and phosphorus throughout the lakes, which should ring alarm bells especially given the large volume of water and rapid flushing rate in Shuswap Lake.

Impacts on water quality come from a number of possible sources, including sewage effluent, leaching septic fields, greywater from houseboats and cabin cruisers, forestry practices, storm sewers, algae toxins, and agricultural run-off. While it may seem more direct to curtail these potential impacts now, there is too much resistance to change practices and that resistance will continue until agencies have the scientific proof needed to enforce improvements.

Thanks to scientific advancements, water quality monitoring has progressed far beyond the techniques used to date in Shuswap Lake. Expensive, high tech equipment is now available that can identify chemical tracers that indicate the sources of nutrients entering the lake. The SLIPP pilot project calls for comprehensive testing that will be able to reveal whether the excess phosphorus and nitrogen comes from human sources, fertilizers or domestic animals. As well, the program calls for complete integration and cooperation between all agencies to avoid any duplication of efforts.

In addition to the monitoring, the SLIPP pilot project will include annual planning meetings and annual public reports. Everyone will benefit, as the results will lead to access to credible scientific information that will support improved decision making to reverse the current downward trend in Shuswap Lake water quality.

It is somewhat ironic that the highest level of support for the project comes from the Thompson Nicola Regional District which contains the smallest area of the Shuswap watershed. In the centre of our watershed, it is possible that some politicians are concerned that the results of the monitoring will show the need for more expensive upgrades to sewage treatment and/or for expensive changes to agricultural practices. Or it may be possible that these politicians would rather use their gas tax revenues for capital expenditures rather than address the causes of the algae blooms.

For the North Okanagan Regional District, there is a resistance to working with the other two regional districts as they have already allocated substantial funds for their Shuswap River Sustainability planning process. Fortunately, both their process and the SLIPP pilot project will be coordinated by the Fraser Basin Council and thus the water quality monitoring proposed for the Shuswap River will likely be done using the same chemical tracer methodology as planned for Shuswap Lake and its other tributaries.

In addition to the water quality monitoring project, the SLIPP pilot project calls for recreation use studies, improvements to the foreshore development application process, improvements to compliance and enforcement activities, and improvements to stakeholder communication and education. The long term vision is to create a watershed board or council similar to the Okanagan Water Basin Board that has been successfully operating for over 40 years.

The public has long insisted that action is needed to safeguard our lakes and watershed. Everyone who lives in the Shuswap is dependent in one way or another on the lake and its tributaries. Representatives from all relevant government agencies along with representatives from the public have spent years developing the SLIPP Strategic Plan. It only makes sense that governments allocate the funding needed to implement the Plan to protect the future of our watershed.

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end for this ill-conceived development….

Another lawsuit filed against Rink

By Tim Petruk
October 12, 2010
Kamloops This Week

The embattled builder behind a controversial Kamloops development is facing another challenge.

Mike Rink, head of the Kamloops-based New Future Building Group, has had a civil action filed against him in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops, with a group of five sub-contractors and suppliers seeking in excess of $500,000 in connection with a project Rink is developing in the Shuswap.

This latest lawsuit follows a claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court by Denny Segal, a purchaser of a unit in Rink’s Mission Hill development in Kamloops, seeking the return of his $32,000 deposit.

The five companies ‘ Westend Shuswap Concrete and Gravel, Engel Electric, Highland Powerlines Ltd., L. Coster Land Surveying and Rona Revy ‘ say Rink and his wife and business partner Marnie McEachern, failed to pay them for jobs completed at the West Beach Village project, near Lee Creek at the Shuswap, in 2008 and 2009.

According to documents filed at the Kamloops Law Courts last week, Rink and McEachern received more than $13 million in financing for the project.

‘A portion of the said funds were specifically designated by [the lender] for payments of the accounts of the plaintiffs in this action and of other contractors for the supply of labour, materials and services,’ reads a notice of civil claim claim, filed on behalf of the five companies.

‘[Rink and McEachern] misappropriated the said funds by converting them to uses other than payment of the accounts of the plaintiffs and other contractors engaged by the defendants in connection with the West Beach Village project.’

Specifically, the notice of civil claim alleges Rink and McEachern used the money to ‘increase their equity’ in two properties ‘ a home at 263 St. Paul St. West in Kamloops and the Parkside Estate Retirement Residence in Chase.

The document says both properties are legally owned by McEachern.

‘McEachern and Rink . . . directed and/or participated in the . . . misappropriation and misuse of the funds in a manner contrary to their stipulated purpose,’ it reads.

The notice of civil claim alleges New Recreations Ltd. ‘ doing business as Northstar Builders, which Rink and McEachern own and operate ‘ owes $42,240.30 to Westend Shuswap Concrete and Gravel for concrete work at the West Beach Village project.

It also alleges $317,914.47 is owed to Engel Electric for underground electrical work done at the site, while $115,570.88 is still outstanding for Highland Powerlines’ above-ground electrical work.

The document says Northstar owed $57,645.31 is owed to L.Coster Land Surveying for work they did at West Beach Village, while Rona Revy is seeking $15,564.74 for unpaid building material bills.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Rink has been under fire in recent months, with work having ground to a halt on his large Mission Hill development in South Kamloops.

Work was stopped on the development early this summer, after Rink and New Future ran into financing issues.

The first phase of Mission Hill ‘ which stands unfinished above the lower part of the Summit Connector ‘ was supposed to be complete by July, but Rink told KTW bank lenders decided to suspend funding until they reviewed the project.

Employees on the project set up pickets in June after they said they hadn’t been paid in weeks.

Residents living on neighbouring streets are also upset with the project, claiming assessed home prices in the area have fallen by as much as $100,000 since the development was approved by the city in 2007.

According to an email obtained by KTW from the local BC Assessment office to an area homeowner, the lower assessed value is a direct result of the Mission Hill development.

The email, dated June 24, 2010, states the properties in the area of Mission hill have a view adjustment built into the land value and, now that the view is lost, an adjustment has been applied to account for the loss of market value.

The email notes those types of homes normally sell as ‘view properties.’

Rink had yet to respond to the notice of civil claim as of KTW press deadline.

Ten tunes that promote appreciation and respect for the Shuswap….

Shuswap songs hit CD
by Jim Cooperman
October 26, 2010
Salmon Arm Observer

It is whole new concept, using music to foster a sense of place. Thirty-four songwriters took up the challenge to compose lyrics and melodies to convey what it is like to live in and appreciate our region.

In April, the Shuswap’s first ever song writing competition thrilled the audience at the Salmar Classic Theatre. Two months later, many of these songwriters performed again to a packed audience. At that time, there were many requests to produce a CD of these songs. Thanks to the Shuswap Watershed Project and the songwriters, the CD was recorded and is now available.

Songs for the Shuswap celebrates the special features of our region with lyrics that capture its beauty and music that fills one with joy. The recording project was a collaborative effort.

Jesse Clarke of Old Man’s Beard did many of the recordings and all of the tracks were mastered at Sylvain Vallee’s Scotch Creek studio.

The CD begins with Megan Abel’s Shuswap Magic, which took first prize in the youth category. ‘I feel very lucky and am so glad I went through with my first performance the night of the competition,’ Abel says. ‘I had no idea at the time how much more fun was coming my way recording in Jesse’s studio and being an active part of such a wonderful community.’

Next up is Ariana Vrieling’s ballad, My Home with Shae-lyn James, and with the lovely melody played on piano by Monica Wilson.

One cannot help wanting to get up and dance to Peter Blacklock’s, Take Back the Shuswap, that also delivers an important message for everyone to do their part to help protect our watershed.

One of Shuswap’s favourite bands, Birchbark performs Sue Kyle’s winning song, Shuswap Swing.

Monica Wilson’s ode to the good life in Salmon Arm in My Town, paints a picture of grebes dancing and the people smiling.

Sicamous songwriter Len Benty also provides a fun song with a message that our water needs protection. And Sylvain Vallee’s Keep the Water Flowing delivers a message about love and respect for our waters, with a powerful jazz melody using keyboard, drums and a saxophone.

‘A brilliant idea that brought us all together for a purpose larger than us,’ says Benty of the project. ‘It was a real wake-up call to the beauty and vulnerability of the Shuswap.’

Jesse Clarke’s By your Side, speaks to the joy of returning home to his beloved Shuswap Lake. This song, which took second place, fills one with happiness, as the words fit so well with the alt-country melody highlighted by Darrin Herting’s guitar licks and Dick Owings fiddle solo.

Cherryville folksinger Tim Staker’s tune, Rinse Myself, is reminiscent of a Leonard Cohen song.

The CD closes with Lee Creek performer Dave Allan’s British Columbia that instills pride and respect for our beautiful province.

The CDs are available at Askew’s, Salmon Arm Observer, Acorn Music and elsewhere in the region.
[including: Scotch Creek SuperValu, Lighthouse Market in Sorrento, Pink Cherry, Java Jive, CD Plus, Takezushi Restaurant and more]

The songs can also be heard at www.shuswapwatershed.ca.

CSRD approves funding for SLIPP implementation…

Salmon Arm Observer

By Barb Brouwer
Published: September 21, 2010

A long sought-after project to protect the Shuswap Watershed got the green light from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District board last Thursday ‘ but not without controversy.

Regarded as the most important project of the Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP), a three-year, pilot Water Quality Monitoring project will proceed.

That the $335,000 needed to run the project was anted up at last week’s board meeting is a credit to Electoral Area C South Shuswap director Ted Bacigalupo, Area F North Shuswap director Denis Delisle and Area D Falkland/Ranchero/Silver Creek director Ren’ Talbot.

One of the major stumbling blocks to the project has been coming up with a satisfactory funding formula for the watershed, which includes all of the Shuswap and parts of the Thompson-Nicola and North Okanagan regional districts.

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the City of Kamloops have already offered their support to the tune of $53,600, 16 per cent of the overall cost of the water quality monitoring project.

At the board table, Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma and Coun. Kevin Flynn maintained their stance that they were unprepared to spend Salmon Arm tax dollars if the funding formula is assessment based, or until CSRD rural areas have building inspection.

As well, Flynn said he was unwilling to contribute because too many unanswered questions remain, a statement supported fully by Area E director Rhona Martin who wanted the project deferred.

Bacigalupo cut through the controversy by seeking and receiving support from Delisle and Talbot to use money from their Community Works Funds, which are based on provincial gas tax revenue and can be spent at the discretion of the directors without public assent.

Sometimes heated discussion ensued about participation and funding.

‘Nobody has said they will pull out, because nobody is in yet,’ said Bootsma, responding to criticism of Salmon Arm’s role and drawing laughter when he added, ‘But I do like Bacigalupo’s proposal.’

Directors voted ‘that (the) CSRD board support the implementation of the SLIPP in principle with gas tax funds from Areas C, D and F and invite Area E, Sicamous, Salmon Arm and Nord to participate at a later date.’

The motion passed with only Area B Rural Revelstoke’s Loni Parker and Martin opposed and with abstentions by Revelstoke and Golden being considered affirmative votes.

CSRD administrator Charles Hamilton says the amendment was supported ‘in principle’ because there are matters to be considered, including what portion of the funding would be assigned to Areas C, D and F and how other areas could come on-board later.

‘The gas tax revenue is a population-based formula and I am prepared to apply that same formula to cost-sharing between the three electoral areas,’ Bacigalupo said Monday, noting that his Community Works Fund is richer than the other two because of Area C’s much larger population.

He says the watershed-wide SLIPP project definitely meets the specific criteria that includes being a benefit to the greater community.

‘What the hell good is the money if it’s sitting there not being applied to worthwhile causes,’ he says. ‘If we apply it to the right projects, it could result in less net taxes.’

SLIPP’s initiator, Ministry of Environment’s Ian McGregor, is thrilled to see another big piece of the SLIPP puzzle coming together.

He says a water quality monitoring program created at UBC is already being partially implemented.

‘MOE, CSRD and Salmon Arm are already contributing to that program, but at a much reduced funding level,’ he says, allaying the fears of some directors that there would be duplication. ‘Now with the full funding we will expand the sampling program to the entire watershed.’

McGregor says the next steps will be to find out when funding will be available and to reconvene the already formed water quality monitoring committee that consists of all regulatory agencies.

‘That’s what is so innovative about the plan, we have the document, we were just chasing funding at this point,’ he says, noting the Fraser Basin Council will manage the finances and that MOE’s contribution is worth another $335,000. ‘MOE has the equipment and staff, that was our commitment.’

McGregor says funding is available to proceed with other projects and that he is hoping to get the water-quality monitoring project running before the next growing season, by February or March at the latest.

‘We’re ecstatic the community has pulled together to fund a valuable environmental process and that the people of the watershed are taking ownership of the issues, he says. ‘And we need to commend the steering committee which is made up of elected officials.’

Shuswap Water Action Team (SWAT) president Ray Nadeau and Shuswap Environmental Action Society’s Jim Cooperman were also ecstatic following the meeting.

Nadeau made a presentation to the board at the outset of the meeting, providing results of a watershed survey on behalf of the Shuswap Watershed Alliance.

The survey, which was conducted online and in communities throughout the watershed, drew 641 responses ‘ 611 in favour of contributing to the cost of water quality-monitoring to the tune of about $11 per household per year.

‘We’re very pleased we’re getting a decision made,’ said Nadeau after the meeting. ‘All the comments we’ve been hearing are ‘Just get on with it.’ Kudos to Ted for stepping up to the plate and breaking the logjam.’

Proposed West Beach RV and condo project heading to foreclosure…

Developer faces legal action
Salmon Arm Observer
By Barb Brouwer
Published: September 14, 2010 6:00 PM

The developer of a controversial North Shuswap resort development is facing at least one lien and a lawsuit over alleged unpaid bills.

West Beach developer Mike Rink has received strong opposition to his project since he first presented his proposal for a 218 residential unit/commercial facility in 2008.

More than 500 people attended a meeting to protest a development of that size near the mouth of the Adams River and the world-renowned sockeye salmon run.

Based, in part, on the strength of public opposition, Columbia Shuswap Regional District directors turned down Rink’s proposal.

Rink meanwhile, continued to develop the property by installing new electrical, water and sewage systems, as well as landscaping and road improvements.

But problems with the project have continued. Kamloops lawyer David McMillan alleges several contractors were never paid, and he says he will launch a lawsuit within the next week to 10 days.

‘I act for five of the contractors who were retained by the developer in the construction of the resort ‘ electrical, power line, sand and gravel, general building supplier, and a land surveying firm,’ he says. ‘In addition to that, a large plumbing supply company filed a lien with another lawyer and there are at least two others not represented by lawyers.’

Collectively, McMillan alleges the lien claims amount to about $750,000.

Rink confirmed only one lawsuit related to a mechanic’s lien to the Observer and says he is working with the lien holder to pay it out of sale proceeds.

‘I’ve got 18 contracts written now. I had them written last year but lost them,’ he says, noting that his plans to sell 99-year leases on 165 West Beach RV lots were held up by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District.

‘We’ve been writing contracts every day now, which is why we can transfer sales.’

Because an electrical building on the north side of the property is located in a floodplain, Rink was required to sign a covenant with the Land Registry that says if there’s a flood the building won’t be damaged and people won’t be hurt, says CSRD senior planner Scott Beeching.

The covenant was signed a few weeks ago and Beeching says Rink is indeed able to go ahead with the sale of his leases. But while Rink believes he can move ahead with the rest of his plans for West Beach, Beeching says CSRD will not yet grant a development permit for a second electrical building on the south side of the property.

‘There are two issues: it’s in a riparian development permit area and the Foreshore and Aquatic development Area,’ says Beeching. ‘They have to meet requirements, that’s what we’re waiting for.’

But Rink argues that what the CSRD considers to be a natural watercourse is a man-made pond that should not be subject to either of the OCP requirements.

‘Two years ago they issued a permit to build for our first condo building and that building was right on the edge of the pond, and they didn’t take the position that that building was in RAR,’ Rink says. ‘Now we’re trying to get a permit for a tiny little utility building that’s several hundred feet from the lake and 85 feet from what they’re now calling a watercourse.’

Michael Crowe, habitat management section head BC Southern Interior, says there has been no change in DFO’s development review.

‘We need to understand what the project description is before we determine what kind of environmental impact assessments will be required,’ he says.

And part of that could hinge on the pond which MOE officials describe as a modified remnant river channel where recent fish sampling found juvenile chinook, something that indicates a seasonal connection to Shuswap Lake.

Keith Weir, a senior land officer with Integrated Land Management Bureau says his office’s work with Rink ended when the developer withdrew plans for a marina ‘ that is until some old West Beach docks were spotted at the mouth of the Adams River in July.

Rink says the docks were being used as wave protection for the new docks and broke away in a storm a couple of weeks ago.

‘I didn’t even know they were gone,’ he says, noting he had hired a firm to remove them Monday.

Meanwhile, Shuswap Environmental Action Society president and Lee Creek resident Jim Cooperman calls the resort an ‘ill-conceived development.’

‘There is now a better chance for adding the property to Roderick Haig-Brown (Park), which is what the public is insisting,’ he says, adding the property is not suited for development because of its rich ecological values.