Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Do you feel safe in the Bridge River Valley?

Personal and Property Safety in the upper Bridge River Valley

In 2016 , through a number of phone calls and at meetings, concerns were expressed to me regarding personal and property safety.  The concerns cover a variety of areas and issues with varying degrees of seriousness.

In order to more accurately gauge the level of concern and in what areas,  valley-wide, I have put together a short survey.  It is anonymous.  I will publish the results so everyone can see.

If you could please complete this survey it would be much appreciated.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WSLHSSV


Sledding on the Hurley - Survey

See my previous blog with information on Hurley FSR re sledding:
 http://www.debbiedemare.com/2017/01/sledding-on-hurley-and-more.html

Link to survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/3FVZX25

Please complete by end of February.  We have had good response so far.

I will be publishing the results and also forwarding on to Rec. Sites and Trails for their consideration of how to proceed.


Invasive Mussels Move Closer to BC Borders.

On November 30, 2016, the Governor for Montana declared a state of emergency for Montana's water bodies because invasive mussel larvae had been detected in the Tiber and Canyon Ferry Reservoirs.  An Incident Command Team was set up for this emergency and has been working on the situation.  As the crow flies, this means that mussels have been found 50 miles from the Columbia River watershed that flows from Alberta into BC and Washington.

Two, back to back, emergency meetings were held on December 9th to inform BC partners about the situation in Montana and to discuss plans for the western provinces and US states.  It was co-hosted by the Pacific Northwest Economic region (pnwer.org), the Invasive Species Council of BC and the Alberta Invasive Species Council. Each meeting had a call to action as a response to the Montana situation:
·         Western Canada Meeting: With invasive mussels closer to Western Canada, there is a clear call for increased diligence on prevention and readiness for immediate response. This meeting will review what worked in 2016 and what more is needed to avoid invasive mussels arriving in Western Canada. 

·         BC Partners Meeting: With invasive mussels closer to BC, there is a clear need for immediate action. This meeting will review what worked in 2016 and suggest what more is needed to avoid invasive mussels arriving in BC. 

Over 50 people participated in these meetings and recommendations were developed based on the calls to action.

There were recommendations as a result of both meetings. The BC Partner recommendations are summarized generally below:
  • ·         A call for the Provincial and Federal Governments work together to ensure 100% of high-risk watercraft entering BC are inspected.
  • ·         Review and update regulatory tools to enable invasive mussels to trigger an environmental emergency.
  • ·         Host an emergency response scenario with partners to rehearse a response and identify gaps.
  • ·         Establish a monitoring and sampling plan for water bodies in BC that includes Government and non-government organizations.
  • ·         Increase voluntary compliance-certification of boaters and fresh water users.
  • ·         Undertake immediate research to determine the impact of invasive mussels on salmon and salmon fishery.
  • ·         Review regulatory framework to consider boat registration on BC waters.
  • ·         Increase funding support.

LRISS is keeping abreast of the Montana situation as well as the Provincial response.  We are on email lists for updates from Montana and BC.  The LRISS Board will also be discussion our Aquatics program in the coming months and how we can continue to do our part to prevent Aquatic Invasive Species from establishing in our region and BC.  Our partnerships with the Bridge River Community Association and the SLRD are key to our 

New Downloadable Graphics To Help Citizens Navigate Their Trash