Flathead Wild: the real story February 1, 2011
Posted by admin in : Wildsight , comments closedFlathead Wild is a coalition of six environmental groups with a conservation vision for BC’s Flathead River Valley and southern Rockies.
The vision includes the completion of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park through the protection of one third of BC’s Flathead River Valley. As a National Park Reserve, designated as wilderness, this remote area would become a wildlife sanctuary with development limited to trails and campsites.
Parks Canada’s National Park completion strategy includes the extension of Waterton into BC’s Flathead Valley.
This wildlife sanctuary would be connected to Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks (Banff, Kootenay, Yoho, Jasper) by a new provincial Southern Rockies Wildlife Management Area (SRWMA). The SRWMA would include two thirds of BC’s Flathead, the entire Wigwam, the west side and headwaters of the Elk and the east side of the Bull River Valleys.
The SRWMA would prioritize wildlife protection and wilderness stewardship while managing continued multiple recreational and commercial uses.
The current land use plan for the southern Rockies, outside of the Flathead, prioritizes mineral and energy development over all other values.
Wildsight supports Tembec in its continued Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified operations in the region—including the two thirds of the Flathead in the SRWMA.
An independent expert panel report commissioned by the B.C. government concludes: “Grizzly bears are likely to persist in greatest numbers in such places as national parks or wilderness areas where the maintenance of naturally functioning ecosystems is given a high priority for management.”
The panel recommended “…the establishment of a Grizzly Bear Management Area within each bioclimatic region of the province. This should include provisions for maintaining connectivity between grizzly bear populations to facilitate movements.” _(Peek et al, 2003 Management of Grizzly Bears in B.C)
Right now there are no wildlife sanctuaries in BC’s southern Rockies.
Flathead Wild’s vision is supported by the majority of local residents, the best available science and more than 10,000 Friends of the Flathead from throughout the East Kootenay, BC, Canada and around the world.
As for public opinion, two statistically valid (within 3.9%) random digit dial surveys in 2008 and 2009 in the East Kootenay showed that a majority of East Kootenay (67%) and Elk Valley residents (60%) support a national park in the southeastern third of BC’s Flathead.
For more facts and to join the effort to protect and connect BC’s Flathead River Valley. Sign up as a Friend of the Flathead at www.flathead.ca
The Big Wild January 1, 2011
Posted by admin in : Wildsight , comments closedThanks to Theo and Darren for all the support from The Big Wild for Flathead Wild.
Founded by MEC and CPAWS, The Big Wild is a conservation movement that makes it easy for you to stand up for wilderness protection campaigns. Join us in calling on decision makers to protect at least half of Canada’s precious public land and water forever. Do something small to save something big.
First Nations group opposes ski resort November 16, 2010
Posted by admin in : Wildsight , comments closedThe area of the proposed ski resort is sacred to the Ktunaxa Nation.
A proposed ski resort west of Invermere. B.C. has upset a local First Nations group. Members of the Ktunaxa Nation say the area is sacred ground and should not be developed.
About 50 members of the Ktunaxa Nation are preparing to address the B.C. Provincial Government on Monday to make a declaration in the Legislature.
“The declaration which will be made public on Monday, I can’t give you too many details at this point, does pertain to the Toby Creek Jumbo Watershed. We’re looking for people to understand that Qat’muk, which is the name of the place, is a sacred area to the Ktunaxa people, with deep spiritual connection, and it is the home of the grizzly bear spirit,” said special projects coordinator Roy Sebastian
It’s also the site of a proposed $450-million ski resort that proponents want to build about 55 kilometres west of Invermere.
The Ktunaxa Nation Council says the stewardship the Nation has in connection to the land in its traditional territory is the foundation for the declaration.
“I think it’s the importance of Qat’muk, the Jumbo area, how important it is to our people, and the animals that live there, the grizzly bear, he holds everything for us,” said delegation member Herman Alpine.
The delegation to the Legislature claims that this declaration will have political significance.
“It’s an exercise in sovereignty for the Ktunaxa Nation. The government will be receiving and welcoming the Ktunaxa in the Legislature, and that in itself is why the journey is historical and significant,” added Sebastian.
The arrival of the delegation on Monday will mark the first time the Ktunaxa Nation flag has ever been brought into the B.C. Legislature.
Expert asks Province to consider new grizzly data October 14, 2010
Posted by admin in : Wildsight , comments closedShrinking habitat, fragmentation: Jumbo Glacier Resort would make it worse, says expert.
Any further steps by the Province to approve the Jumbo Glacier Resort would be based on dated, incomplete information about grizzly bears, say conservation groups. Wildsight and the Jumbo Creek Conservation Society say Dr. Michael Proctor’s latest studies—which warn of a ‘fracture’ in grizzly populations resulting from JGR development proposal—should be considered in the decision.
“While it has taken time to decide about the JGR resort application, state of the art science has been going on, and we have the advantage of new and compelling information”, said Dave Quinn of Wildsight. “When the Province extended JGR’s outdated 2004 Environmental Assessment in 2009, with no changes, they ignored grizzly research from 2007 that showed bear numbers in the Purcells were much lower than anyone expected. Something was wrong. Now we have insights into what. According to Proctor, human use in the backcountry Purcells has reached the point where bear numbers aren’t rebounding from their low numbers. Is this a time to approve a large all-season resort deep in the backcountry of the Purcells”?
Even more importantly, it looks like the Purcell grizzly bear is important to surrounding threatened sub-populations. The new research was summarized by Proctor in a letter to the Environmental Assessment Office and the B.C. ministers in charge of the environment, tourism and forest sectors. In the letter, Proctor asked the government to consider his comments. Beyond the limiting human-use he identified three ‘patterns of interest’ concerning the proposed resort. First, he cited extensive fragmentation of the regional bear distribution that has led to small, at-risk ‘sub-populations.’ Second, he said bears in the Purcells are part of a ‘regional anchor’ sub-population that will be essential to adjacent sub-populations’ survival. Third, he said highways, human settlement and developments are the main causes of fragmentation.
“Therein lies the risk of the Jumbo Glacier Resort to the Purcell-Selkirk anchor sub-population,” Proctor wrote. “To improve the status of the Purcell grizzly (and allow them to make their critical regional contribution) it will likely be necessary to improve the balance of human use and wildlife habitat needs. The JGR would challenge our ability to accomplish that goal.”
Quinn said Proctor’s report shows the direct link between human access and below par grizzly populations, and he (Quinn) wants to know how the information will be worked into the JGR approval process—if at all. ”Government has a duty to integrate the new (and the 2007 results) science-based information into the decision process. They claim to want to let science guide their land use policies, here is a good opportunity to do just that.”
“JGR claims it can mitigate impacts on bear populations by controlling public access in adjacent valleys,” Quinn also said. “But JGR hasn’t even been able to control public access up one road into its tenure on Farnham Creek—a road that already has two gates! If JGR goes ahead, the public will basically pay to lock itself out of other drainages. Although with recent cuts to Forestry and Environment, who will monitor and enforce these theoretical broad-scale closures? In the end, Purcell grizzlies will pay with their lives.”
Celebrate the Elk River on BC Rivers Day September 6, 2010
Posted by ryland in : Wildsight , comments closedJoin other river champions celebrate the ribbon of life that sustains our valley
Sunday, September 26, 2010 1-4 pm, Meeting at the Annex Park, Fernie
September 21, 2010 – Join millions around the world in over 30 countries as part of the 30th annual BC Rivers Day coinciding with World Rivers Day. “People love the Elk River”, says organizer Lee-Anne Walker with the Elk River Alliance. “Every year locals love to fish, float, swim, raft, tube or walk its shores. This is one day to show our appreciation of the river through an act of stewardship and celebration”.
Sunday September 26, 2010, people are asked to marshal at the Annex Park at 1 p.m. Volunteers will be assigned an area to clean up. “This year we are targeting the put in and take out locations along the Elk River for fishing and paddling. Wear work clothes, rubber boots and hiking boots. Don’t forget a rain jacket! Gloves and garbage bags will be handed out to volunteers”, reminds Walker.
All of the Elk River stewards will come back to the Annex Park by 3 p.m. for a community appreciation BBQ and other activities including river rambles/fishy tales storytelling, cutthroat trout kite making, Elk River facts and follies, and face painting.
For more information call: Lee-Anne Walker fernienature@shaw.ca (250) 423-4306 or check out our website www.elkriveralliance.ca
Classroom with Outdoors Fall Programs September 5, 2010
Posted by admin in : Wildsight , comments closedEcological field trips available this September and October; both spring and fall programs are now free of charge
One of Wildsight’s environmental education programs is offering a fall series for the first time this September. Classroom with Outdoors is now available to classes who want to enjoy the fall weather while they learn about grasslands, wetlands and forest ecosystems.
In addition, the field-trip-based Classroom with Outdoors is now offered free of charge to Grade 4 to 7 classrooms in the Columbia Basin—a wonderful development, according to Monica Nissen, Wildsight’s Education program manager.
“This is such good news,” Nissen said. “We’re delighted to offer fall field trips—and we’re very pleased to be able to offer both fall and spring field trips free of charge.”
Nissen said more funding means Wildsight can offer the programs and busing for free. “Thanks to our funders, these excellent programs are now more attainable by schools in the Columbia Basin.”
Teachers requested a fall series of Classroom with Outdoors, Nissen said, because they were finding their spring calendars crammed with other year-end events. As well, “We’ve had requests to offer the trips in fall to give teachers more time to connect the learning from the trip to the science units they do during the school year,” Nissen said.
“And some teachers wanted a field trip at the beginning of the school year to help the kids get to know each other and to bond as a group. Well—we’re trying it out!”
Teachers can book field trips starting September 7; the dates of delivery are between September 13 and October 22. Teachers can contact Wildsight at 250-427-9325 to book a trip for their classes.
Classroom with Outdoors has been offered to school kids throughout the Columbia Basin for a decade. “It’s become an important part of the regional science curriculum.” Nissen said. “It helps kids learn about plants and animals and other ecosystem components—and how important healthy ecosystems are to healthy human communities.”
Nissen said this year the curriculum focuses on biodiversity in honour of the United Nations’ International Year of Biodiversity.
UNESCO Warns of Threats to Wildlife Connectivity July 30, 2010
Posted by ryland in : Wildsight , comments closedNational Park in lower Flathead would help address World Heritage Committee concerns
Brasilia, Brazil — Work still needs to be done to protect wildlife in the Flathead and surrounding areas, and to ensure that Rocky Mountain wildlife connectivity is not compromised by forestry practices and other development, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said today in a “state of conservation” report.
The state of conservation report recommends “development of a pro-active plan for enhancing connectivity” in the Flathead River Valley and adjoining areas. It also raises concerns about proposed mine expansions in southeastern British Columbia, adjacent to the Flathead, “in a corridor providing vital habitat connectivity to the Rocky Mountains World Heritage property in Alberta” [the Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks].
“Establishing a Wildlife Management Area in the B.C. Flathead and along the spine of B.C.’s southern Rocky Mountains would go a long way towards addressing the committee’s concerns,” said Wildsight spokesperson Ryland Nelson, who is attending the committee meeting in Brazil.
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society are calling for a national park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead, to complete the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, and a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat that would preserve a wildlife corridor between two World Heritage sites (Waterton-Glacier and the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.)
At its annual meeting, the committee requested that Canada and the U.S. pay particular attention to the results and recommendations of a World Heritage Centre mission report, released on Monday. The mission was dispatched to the Flathead and adjoining Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site last September, following a petition by Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other conservation groups.
In summarizing the UNESCO mission report, the World Heritage Committee noted “that the entire Flathead basin, in Canada and the United States of America, is important for protecting, maintaining and buffering” the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site. It also reiterated the UNESCO mission recommendation that a “single conservation and wildlife management plan be developed for the transboundary Flathead.”
“The World Heritage Committee has said that more needs to be done, and we have the solution, “ said Sarah Cox of Sierra Club BC. “A national park in the southeastern one-third of the flathead is needed to protect Rocky Mountain wildlife.“
The committee took note “of the ongoing threats” to Waterton-Glacier from outside activities, including in B.C.s Flathead River Valley, and requested that Canada and the U.S. “jointly ensure that connectivity is considered as a key factor” in planning and environmental assessment of any development, including forestry.
Notably, at the June G-20 meeting in Toronto, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama discussed how relevant authorities, including Environment Canada and the U.S. Department of the Interior, could help ensure the sustained protection of the Flathead River Basin.
The World Heritage Committee welcomed the February 2010 ban on Flathead mining and energy development, and also encouraged Canada and the U.S. to share their experiences in the development of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies with other World Heritage properties.
“Permanently protecting B.C.’s Flathead will give this Noah’s Ark for wildlife a fighting chance to adapt to climate change,” said CPAWS-BC Executive Director Chloe O’Loughlin. “A Flathead national park and Wildlife Management Area will be a priority if B.C. is truly serious about addressing climate change.”
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Contact:
Ryland Nelson, Wildsight: (250) 531-0445 cell (if unreachable call Casey Brennan – 250.423.0402)
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS: (604) 685-7445 × 23
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1862 cell
UNESCO Recommends Increased Flathead Protection July 27, 2010
Posted by ryland in : Wildsight , comments closedWorld Heritage Committee mission report calls for new measures to protect Flathead wildlife, plants and water
A report commissioned by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is calling for a “conservation and wildlife management plan” for the transboundary Flathead and a new management plan for the Flathead River Valley that “gives priority to natural ecological values and wildlife conservation.”
“This report re-affirms what we already knew, that the Flathead’s remarkable diversity of wildlife needs increased protection,” said Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies Program Manager for Wildsight.
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other conservation groups petitioned the World Heritage Committee to draw attention to threats posed to the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site by proposed energy and mining development in the adjacent Flathead.
“We’re delighted with these recommendations,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “Now it’s time for B.C. to agree to a national park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead, so that our share of this magnificent ecosystem has the same level of protection already granted by Alberta and Montana.”
The 50-page report, released today at the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, recommends:
• a new B.C. Southern Rocky Mountains Management Plan “that gives priority to natural ecological values and wildlife conservation.”
• Taking steps to minimize barriers to wildlife connectivity, including a long-term moratorium on further mining developments in south eastern B.C., including in the Elk Valley, “in the corridor of natural terrain that creates vital habitat connectivity and allows the unimpeded movement of carnivores and ungulates” between Waterton-Glacier and Canada’s Rocky Mountains national parks.
•A single conservation and wildlife management plan for the transboundary Flathead.
• Inscription of Waterton-Glacier on the list of World Heritage in Danger if development of the proposed Lodgepole coal strip mine had proceeded (the B.C. government banned Flathead mining and energy development in February 2010 after receiving a draft copy of the mission report).
The report recognizes that B.C.’s Flathead “plays a crucial role in maintaining north-south connectivity in the Rockies” It also notes that the “huge area of intact nature” in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem, which includes B.C.’s Flathead, offers “the best available environment to allow resilience and adaptation for plants and animals faced with climate-induced challenges to their survival.”
“The Waterton-Glacier World Heritage property forms the core protected area in this regional ecosystem, and its natural integrity is inextricably linked with the neighbouring transboundary Flathead watershed,” says the report.
“B.C.’s Flathead is an exceptional wildlife nursery, and it has the highest density of inland grizzly bears in North America,” said Chloe O’Loughlin, Executive Director of CPAWS-BC. “This special place deserves permanent protection.”
Conservation groups are calling for a National Park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead River Valley, as an expansion of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, and a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat, to ensure wildlife connectivity between Waterton-Glacier and Canada’s Rocky Mountain parks.
Contact:
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS -BC: (604) 685-7445 × 23
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762 cell
Casey Brennan, Wildsight: (250) 423-0402 cell
UNESCO World Heritage Committee to Release Flathead Valley Report July 22, 2010
Posted by ryland in : Wildsight , comments closedFlathead Still Under Threat from Clear-Cut Logging and Quarrying, Say Conservation Groups
Impending clear-cut logging, mining, expanded road access and trophy hunting all threaten B.C.’s Flathead River Valley and will impact the adjoining Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site, conservation groups said today.
“The B.C. government continues to allow the extraction of 20,000 tonnes of Flathead rock a year, without environmental oversight, from a quarry just outside the World Heritage Site,” said Casey Brennan, Southern Rockies Program Manager for Wildsight. “The Flathead River Valley remains under threat and is far from protected.”
Wildsight, Sierra Club BC, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and eight other groups successfully petitioned the World Heritage Committee last year to draw attention to energy and mining threats in the Flathead, leading to the February 2010 ban on mining and energy development. A long-awaited World Heritage Committee mission report on the Flathead will be made public during the committee’s meeting in Brasilia, which starts tomorrow.
NOTE: Ryland Nelson of Wildsight will be attending this years UNESCO World Heritage Committee session in Brasilia, Brazil. Check www.savewatertonglacier.com for live updates.
“We hope the World Heritage mission will agree that a comprehensive transboundary wildlife management plan is urgently needed for the Flathead and adjoining habitat,” said CPAWS-BC Executive Director Chloe O’Loughlin. “B.C.’s Flathead is an exceptional wildlife nursery, and it has the highest density of inland grizzly bears in North America.”
In a June 2010 letter to the World Heritage Committee, the groups said they “remained concerned” by the lack of a binding Flathead agreement at the federal level, since either B.C. or Montana can at any time revoke commitments made in the February 2010 Memorandum of Understanding. The groups say they are also concerned by “insufficient monitoring and reporting by the state parties” of continuing threats to the World Heritage Site, as requested last year by the World Heritage Committee.
In addition to the on-going mining threat, the Flathead remains under threat from large clear-cut logging operations with extensive road building that are planned in the Flathead starting this summer, and motorized road access in the Flathead that was recently increased next to the World Heritage Site. On-going concerns also remain about the long-term viability of regional grizzly bear populations.
At the regional scale, two new coal strip mines in the adjoining Elk Valley and new coal exploration in the proposed Wildlife Management Area also pose a serious threat to wildlife connectivity.
“We’re alarmed that it’s business as usual in the Flathead, with the exception of some mining and energy development,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “It’s time for B.C. to agree to a National Park in the south eastern one-third of the Flathead.”
Sierra Club BC, Wildsight and CPAWS-BC are calling for the completion of the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site with a National Park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead River Valley. The groups also urge establishment of a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the Flathead and adjoining habitat, to preserve a vital wildlife corridor stretching from the Waterton-Glacier World Heritage Site to Canada’s Rocky Mountain Parks.
Contact:
Casey Brennan, Wildsight: (250) 423-0402
Sarah Cox, Sierra Club BC: (250) 812-1762
Chloe O’Loughlin, CPAWS-BC: (604) 685-7445 x 23
Fernie Rallies against BP’s CBM drilling July 21, 2010
Posted by ryland in : Wildsight , comments closedResidents of the idyllic Rocky Mountain town of Fernie, B.C. demonstrated against BP’s Mist Mountain coalbed methane project today. Nearly 200 people turned out for a rally against the contentious project, which could cover 320 square kilometres of B.C.’s southern Rockies.
Click here for more photos from the rally by Todd Weselake – Raven Eye Photography
Chanting slogans like “Tell the Government of BC, We are Coalbed Methane FREE!” the crowd assembled at the Fernie Arts Station and then walked through downtown to the office BP occupied before closing it earlier this year.
“The day has arrived,” said Ryland Nelson, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies program coordinator. “BP is drilling in the Elk Valley. It is a landscape-level project but it’s assessed well by well for impacts—that isn’t fair to wilderness, wildlife or water, and it is definitely unfair to the people of the Elk Valley who have opposed this project from the beginning.”
Ted Ralfe, speaking on behalf of East Kootenay Citizens Concerned About Coalbed Methane, said, “The City of Fernie, community groups, and the British Columbia First Nations Summit have all said ‘no’ to coalbed methane in the Elk Valley.”
“This is the third time Fernie residents have demonstrated against this project,” Ralfe added. “If this is what it takes to be heard, this is what we’ll do until the B.C. government hears us.”
Nelson said that problems with BP in the Elk Valley go back further than the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill disaster this April. “This is not a reaction to the disaster that happened,” he said. “This is a caution against what could happen right here. We have serious concerns about anyone drilling for coalbed methane in the Elk Valley at this point, because we haven’t seen any meaningful impact assessments being done. We don’t see communities being listened to. We don’t see independent environmental research that shows the impact of the whole project, not just the impact of one well, then another, then another, up to a hundred or so.”
Nelson said he and other groups in the province who are concerned about coalbed methane have three basic ‘asks’ of the Province before they are prepared to accept projects like Mist Mountain. “We want all CBM projects to undergo mandatory B.C. Environmental Assessments that address them as a whole—with cumulative effects factored in—not just well-by-well-by-well. We want the B.C. government to provide sufficient funds for independent baseline research—so licensees, such as BP, for example, are not left to conduct their own environmental research. “And we want communities to have a meaningful and clear say in how these projects proceed. Mist Mountain should not be allowed to proceed until these three things happen.”
Nelson said it was unfortunate the B.C. government issued drilling permits and awarded tenure to BP despite the community opposition that has been evident since the Mist Mountain project was proposed in 2007
“Wilderness, wildlife and water aren’t things to give away. We want to make sure that the southern Rockies aren’t gutted by this project. We want better impact assessments before the drilling continues.”
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About Wildsight • www.Wildsight.ca Wildsight works locally, regionally and globally to protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable communities in Canada’s Columbia and southern Rocky Mountain region. This area is internationally recognized as a keystone to conservation in western North America.
Contact:
Ryland Nelson, Wildsight Southern Rockies program coordinator
250.531.0445
ryland@wildsight.ca