Splitting conventional wisdoms and inspecting for rot. Wrestling with the status quo. Weighing environmental and economic absurdities. Disentangling metaphors.
As in previous reports, the patterns show that E.coli counts are almost entirely related to range-cattle presence or absence and that E.coli counts that could be attributable to wildlife (in the absence of cattle) are negligible or frequently nil.
The multi-year, multi-month scope of this study is unusual in that most studies monitor over shorter periods.
Our 2015-2016 results together with our other reports going back to 2007 provide compelling evidence that
E. coli contamination in streams relates directly to the presence or absence of range-cows.
Testing in 2015-2016 is a continuation of earlier studies, reported in earlier articles:
The 2013 Report has a full discussion of factors affecting stream contamination (in addition to tenure holders) including the roles of Ministry of Forests and Range, Forest & Range Evaluation Program, BC Cattlemen's Association.
For all E.coli & Cattle related articles see our web page:
Timelapse is a global, zoomable, view on Google Earth showing how the Earth has changed over 32 years. Navigate to areas of interest as usual within Google Earth, mosaics can be viewed at various speeds.
Navigate to the Boundary area BC, for a startling view of the extent of logging in the area. Although the Timelapse video indicates it covers the period 1984 to 2016 it appears that their info is taken from 2 year old source views, so the last couple of years of active logging in the Boundary don't show. Sustainable?
2017: New Zealand passed a bill recognizing the Whanganui River as a legal entity. A world first.
Ruling means the river will be entitled to representation in court proceedings.
The New Zealand Parliament passed the bill making it the first natural resource to be given a legal personality.
I know the initial inclination of some people will say it's pretty strange to give a natural resource a legal personality, " said New Zealand's Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson. "But it is no stranger than family trusts, or companies or incorporated societies."
With extracts from BBC and Daily Mail Our comment: Good to think about the possibility of legal status for rivers here. Locally the Kettle River was given Heritage Status years ago, but Heritage Status and the recent Kettle River Watershed Management Plan, have failed to protect the Kettle River system from past, present and future threats.
A few days later: An Indian Court, acknowledging the New Zealand action, has given similar protection to the Ganges and Yamuna Rivers, "meaning that if anyone harms or pollutes either river, the law would view it as no different from harming a person." See more:
At the end of April 2014 a group of public minded citizens
replaced a section of fence around Lost Lake in the Gilpin Grasslands to better
protect the area from off-road vehicles and range cow damage. The new fence was
constructed as fully wildlife friendly fencing.
In spring 2015 Range Branch and Ministry of Forests Lands
and Natural Resources (MFLNRO) and Ministry of Environment, installed signage
and a seating bench at Lost Lake, some six years after their original fence construction.The major message on that signage appears to
have been prompted by the concerns raised in our original Nov 2014 article: see
section on “Waterer Not Activated.” Incredibly
the major message on the Governments new signage in 2015:
tried to justify the original placement of the fence as bounding existing riparian vegetation.
introduced a long winded and misleading rationale for why there was no water in the waterer.
Regarding
(1) it became apparent over time that the older fence failed to protect
existing riparianvegetation which
showed up outside that fence and also failed to provide any worthwhile setback
from such vegetation. The original fence placement also did not prevent a
throughway for off-road vehicles.The
new wildlife friendly fence installed by public minded citizens in 2014 fixed
those problems.
Regarding
(2) the claim on the new signage blaming the City of Grand Forks for not
providing water for the waterer, is contrary to what was claimed by MFLNRO in
extended conversations with the writerJune
20 2014. See more detail on those discussions in our Nov 2014 article:
Crucially
however, the Government’s claim on the sign, that the City of Grand Forks would
not provide water for the waterer, is according to the City of Grand Forks, not
true.
In
addition to the misleading (or worse) information provided on the sign, the
sign is placed looking down the length of the new fence installed in 2014 by
volunteers. Viewers of the sign might expect that this new wildlife friendly
fence was the work of Government. On the contrary, Range Branch and MFLNRO have
resisted such installations despite public concerns and the advice of the
Forest Practices Board. MFLNRO was in fact engaged in “investigating who was
responsible” for the “unauthorized” new fence while placing this misleading
signage that suggests it is their work.
In
addition to the serial misrepresentations of the signage, it was installed
together with a bench and sign celebrating off-road vehicle usage in the area.
The scars on the land from such activities will be apparent in upcoming
articles. We wonder if those supporting or sponsoring the signage including the
Trails signage are fully aware of the damage done to public land by
range-cattle and off road activities.
youtube video 3.14 min
if your devices and download speed allow, available at up to 1080 HD
Our
November 2014 article on installation of the new wildlife friendly fence:
made a
number of complaints and suggestions regarding Government oversight of public
resources and faulty installation of fences and waterers in the Gilpin
Grasslands and elsewhere.
The misleading
signage installed by Government in 2015 further demonstrates their lack of
competence and inability to honestly deal with the damaging realities of Range
use and oversight.
Extended pdf version with additional pictures, background and transcript of message on signage, available at:
A portion of damaged Nature Trust property in the Gilpin Grasslands has
been fenced by volunteers to protect a spring and riparian area. This will be
the first time since the property was acquired by Nature Trust in 1973, that
this piece, approximately 6 acres, will be protected from range cows and
off-roaders.
The fence was proposed at
meetings of the Committee for the Enhancement of the Gilpin. Work began late
2014 and was completed June 2015.
Approximately 6 acres of Nature Trust land is now protected
by wildlife friendly fencing as per recommendations of Montana State
Wildlife Friendly Fencing Brochure. See details on
www.dryrotjournal.blogspot.ca Lost Lake blog of Nov 2014.
For more on that story see the link above.
Volunteers returned to the newly fenced area Oct 2015 to
remove the dysfunctional fence installed a few years earlier by Range Branch,
Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
That Range Branch fence deserves further comment as it was a non-wildlife friendly
fence installed too close to a spring and seasonal flow to provide any
worthwhile setback or protection from range cows. The Range Branch fence was
constructed in a U shape, open at the North end where it was apparently assumed
that dense brush would prevent cattle access. The assumption was wrong, cattle
pushed into the supposed enclosure and having done so, exited through the wire,
damaging the fence. The fence did not extend into the headwaters area of the spring
which remained open to cattle damage. In order to construct that fence, Range
Branch or designates felled numerous trees in the area and left them where they
fell. That fence and the damage were done on Nature Trust property without
permission or notice to Nature Trust.
Other examples of Range Branch’s work can be found in the
Gilpin and elsewhere in the Boundary. Poorly planned, poorly executed, non-wildlife
friendly fencing and fencing along the edge of riparian zones that are
hazardous to wildlife. See more on that in our Nov 2014 article: http://www.boundaryalliance.org/lostlake.pdf
The following YouTube video shows the new fence construction and the
take down of the older Range Branch dysfunctional fence.
If your device and download speed allow, select up to 1080 high definition video.
It is our hope that this initiative will:
Allow recovery of the Nature Trust Spring and surrounding area.
Demonstrate improved natural values in the absence of cattle grazing and off-roading.
Demonstrate the effectiveness of wildlife friendly fencing in the face of Range Branch’s reluctance to use same.
On the latter point we are less than optimistic. Range
Branch has shown no ability or inclination to change their practices for the
benefit of anything other than cattle grazing.
The following is a guest article,
Declaration of Support…….produced and signed by 26 scientists. The article is a
response to the B.C. Gov’ts recent request for comments for reactivated
proposals for a South Okanagan Park.
Boundary Alliance made its own separate submission
online and in the format requested by Gov’t. That online process made no
provision for identifying whether the submission came from an individual or
group/organization. Unlike similar processes, e.g. submission of comments re
Water Act changes, comments/submissions are not being published online. This
lack of transparency can hide any public awareness of “stacking” of responses
by so called stakeholders.
While we largely support the following Declaration by
scientists we do have concerns over a “balanced” approach to cattle grazing in
any Park unless that “balanced” approach incorporates an honest assessment of
the public and environmental costs of cattle grazing on public land. The
absence of any honest “costs” assessment to date has resulted in misleading
claims of positive economic values to grazing. See our articles covering this
topic at: www.boundaryalliance.org/ba_008.htm
DECLARATION of SUPPORT for NEGOTIATIONS LEADING to a NEW FRAMEWORK for PROTECTING the SOUTH OKANAGAN LOWER SIMILKAMEEN
We the undersigned, as members of BC's scientific community, join with Parks Canada, the Province of BC, the Okanagan Nation Alliance, and a majority of local residents in supporting enhanced protection for the ecosystems of the South Okanagan and Lower Similkameen. We encourage the government of British Columbia. Parks Canada and the Okanagan Nation Alliance to initiate formal negotiations to finalize boundaries, relationships, and commitments for the creation of a National Park Reserve (NPR) and for the long term protection and management of this remarkable area....
