OPINION: Wildlife habitat losing every fight with forestry and agriculture
(Hon. Steve Thompson) The purpose of this newsletter is to give you facts that with few exceptions can be corroborated that illustrate why nothing less than a complete overhaul of the management of our wildlife and wildlife habitat resource can reverse the dramatic decline in many wildlife populations and the steady compromise...
Letter to Minister Thompson
(Hon. Steve Thompson) Once again Minister Thomson I urge you to review an extremely weak argument that has resulted in the Gilpin Grasslands becoming an important motorized vehicle recreation area. None of the salient points in a letter dated Dec. 30, 2014 and signed by Assistant Deputy Minister Gary Townsend will stand up...
Why New Democrats Voted Against Conservative Agriculture Bill
The Conservative government accuses MPs who voted against their new “Agriculture Growth Act” as having no understanding of farming. However, this claim does not jibe at all with the farmers that I have spoken to who seem to think otherwise. The omnibus bill C-18 makes changes to nine different pieces of legislation in which...
Nelson to join #ShutDownCanada demonstration Friday at High Noon
Vancouver is planning to join the cause. So are Calgary, Edmonton, Fredericton and Kamloops. Not lost in the #ShutDownCanada demonstration this week is the Heritage City where people are planning to march outside city halls, shut down highways, occupy high traffic areas. “We're doing this local action because Nelson is part...
Wolves and Mountain Caribou: "Between a Rock and a Hard Place"
By: John Bergenske, Conservation Director for "Wildsight" I have been involved with mountain caribou since the 1970’s and as Wildsight since the 90’s when we first sponsored caribou research in the Purcell Mountains. It has been clear since that time that there are no simple solutions or easy answers to mountain caribou...
End of an era as PNG closes Kennedy Heights printing plant
Members of Unifor Local 2000 were dealt another blow this past weekend when more than 200 workers were forced to look for a new career after the closure of the Kennedy Heights printing plant in Surrey by Pacific Newspaper Group (PNG). The last newspaper left the press at Kennedy Heights Saturday (January 31) morning, ending...
KETTLE RIVER Q&A: Hitting the ground running
It's often a concern when environmental plans are completed that they will do little more than sit on a shelf. Thanks to the leadership and dedication of the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary and many other project partners, the Kettle River Watershed Management Plan has 'hit the ground running' and has a number of...
LETTER: Open Letter to Grand Forks Mayor Frank Konrad and GF City Council
To Mayor and Council of the City of Grand Forks, I write you today as a concerned citizen of this amazing City. I am compelled to write to you about some concerns I and many other citizens have arising from the Regular City Council meeting this past Monday January 12th, 2015. I was unable to attend the meeting in person but...
KETTLE RIVER Q&A: Small fish with big importance for the Kettle River.
Unless you are really into fish, you have probably not heard of the Speckled Dace. The Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus) is a small minnow (5-9 cm) that is relatively abundant in the Kettle River watershed and in many waterways in the western United States. The Speckled Dace is a small minnow found in the Kettle River...
COLUMN: Climate change and skeptics -- part II
In Part I of this column, I attempted to present over whelming evidence that human activities are affecting global climate. The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is composed of over 2,000 atmospheric scientists from every major country. In 2001, the IPCC stated unequivocally that human activities are having...
