Federal caribou closures - Paradise Valley Snowmobile Association

[zal]

Questionnare
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Not sure if this link work or not, but Tumbler Ridge Ridge Riders sent out this Questionnaire to fill out. They have until Nov 26th. At the end of the questionnaire, you will have to print it out and email it to them. They aren't going to make it easy for you to respond. Here is the rest of the email:

Hello everyone, My apologies for the short notice, but this has been all coming very fast at us. I get a lot iof emails and wanted to forward this one to all the contacts we have. It is regarding a Caribou study management questionnaire that has a deadline of Nov 26th(3days). Please fill it out and send it to the email(s) below. These are not closures, It is just information gathering to find out the areas that are most impacted by possible Caribou management decisions made in the near future.​

We have been informed on some meeting dates tentatively for Dec 4th to 6th in the region. These are information meetings and some presentations on the issues will be shown by various groups.​

We currently do not have a location, time or much more information, Just a tentative date. Once we know more we will update the members.​

If you have not Purchased a membership yet, now is a great time to become a stake holder. To those who have, thanks you very much. We need all the support we can get.​

https://trrsc-bcsf.silkstart.com/join​

Regards,​

Adam Court, President​

TR Ridge Riders Snowmobile Association.​

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Good Morning Everyone!​

The BCSF will be responding but I think that each club and your members should also respond. If you could please forward to your dealers, businesses or contacts that have potential to be impacted by caribou management. Please cc me on responses and especially marked up maps. It will help me with my response if I also know what areas that people ride. Deadline is November 26th for responses.
Thanks,​

Donegal Wilson | Executive Director
dwilson@bcsf.org | (250) 499-5117
BC Snowmobile Federation
(877) 537-8716
www.bcsf.org

Please Note: Our office has moved to Suite 1-101 7th Ave | Keremeos, BC | V0X 1N3. Mailing address and phone numbers remain the same​

Begin forwarded message:​

From: "Franko, Allison" <Allison.Franko@stantec.com>
Subject: Recreational Tourism Questionnaire - Caribou Conservation in the Peace River Regional District
Date: November 9, 2018 at 11:52:07 AM PST
To: "dwilson@bcsf.org" <dwilson@bcsf.org>
Cc: "Roberts, Stephen" <Stephen.Roberts@stantec.com>, "Bohlken, Frank" <Frank.Bohlken@stantec.com>​

Dear Donegal Wilson (of the BC Snowmobile Federation),​

The Province of BC and Federal Government are working on initiatives to conserve, protect, and recover caribou herds throughout the province. The Peace River Regional District (PPRD) Board is seeking to understand how caribou conservation efforts could affect economic development and tourism/recreation opportunities in the region and has retained Stantec Consulting Ltd. (Stantec) to undertake an economic impact assessment.​

As part of its economic impact assessment, Stantec is conducting phone interviews and/or email questionnaires with interested groups and agencies potentially affected by the proposed conservation efforts to properly understand existing local conditions related to outdoor recreation and tourism. Specifically, Stantec would like to collect information on popular areas for outdoor recreation activities (e.g. snowmobiling, back country skiing, water-based recreation activities), usage patterns, and the importance of recreational tourism to the local economy. ​

If you are interested in completing the email questionnaire, please find it attached along with a map (to assist with response to one of the questions). To indicate usage areas on the map, please use digital sticky notes in Adobe PDF or feel free to print out, and mark up a hard copy, attaching an image or scan of the marked up map. Please return the completed questionnaire and map by way of email on or before November 26, 2018. The questionnaire should take approximately 30 minutes or less. ​

If you would like to participate in a phone interview in lieu of the questionnaire, or after completing the questionnaire please respond to this email with your availability from November 19 to 23, 2018 indicating whether the morning or afternoon would best suit your schedule. The phone interview will take approximately 30 minutes or less. ​

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact:​

Frank Bohlken, Principal​

Direct: 604 412-2988​

Mobile: 604 340-8868​

Frank.Bohlken@stantec.com​

OR​

Stephen Roberts, Socio-economic Specialist​

Direct: 604 436-3014​

Mobile: 604 396-9387​

Stephen.Roberts@stantec.com​

Regards,​

Allison Franko MSc, EP​

Regulatory & Socio-Economic Specialist​

Direct: 250-655-5394
Mobile: 250-216-9133​

Stantec
11-2042 Mills Road
Sidney BC V8L 5X4 CA






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[Canuck 1]

Check these a holes out. They did not get a warm welcome in Tumbler when they showed up last year.https://y2y.net/

 

[ferniesnow]

Thanks to Tim and Dustin for adding the above pieces of information. Great job.

 

[struglin]

Not much freedom left in this free country.

So true this is so sad the worst part is it’ll happen.... we need to stand up NOW

 

[gunner3006]

There is no doubt in my mind that wolves have cleaned up on the ungulates. I know there are a couple trappers on here. With inflation over the last 15 years let’s say, has the price of wolf pelts risen with it? The answer is no. Most trappers operate now for the love and experience not the money. How about managing the predator population, make it worthwhile to harvest. The west coast like whistler, Squamish and pemberton are being absolutely hammered with wolves. How come no one wants to talk about that? It’s because they don’t know. Unfortunately the last two biologists I seen in the backcountry were out of touch with reality. That’s why they really use a helecopter. They have zero Bush skills.

 

[gunner3006]

There should be a pole taken by two groups. The two groups that spend the most time in the high country. 1. Guides and outfitters 2. Recreational vehicle users. I would say hikers but I’m not aware of any hiking clubs in my area. Guides and outfitters have eyes in the high country all year between scouting and trail cams.

 

[moyiesledhead]

There is no doubt in my mind that wolves have cleaned up on the ungulates. The west coast like whistler, Squamish and pemberton are being absolutely hammered with wolves.

Kootenays too. That's what took the South Selkirk Caribou herd down from 46 to 3 in 1 summer, and the South Purcell herd from 14 to 3 in 1 summer.

 

[Stg2Suby]

If this is correct with the wolves vs caribou then shutting these areas down to human activity is a total farce! Could they possibly be that stupid? Or do they know bloody well the caribou are done for and they're just using it as an excuse to shut the areas down.

 

[rknight111]

Why would there not be a cull on wolves in the area and add a bounty. This would fix that problem for several years.
Also these meetings that the government puts together seems to be secret until a day before, and there not in a convenient place so they can control the attendance. They know where there going to be, I’m sure the leaf lickers know.

 

[X-it]

Areas where the caribou population is still growing (Hart Ranges) do not change a thing. But no they closed that down to snowmobilers as well, however it was still growing when snowmobilers sledded there. Be interesting to see if the herd has stopped expanding now that they implemented snowmobile closures for several years. I cannot believe how the Elk and cougar populations have increased, where we never seen them before. Cougars love caribou as much or more than wolves do.

 

[X-it]

After checking into it, caribou numbers have fallen since introducing snowmobile closures.

 

[ferniesnow]

I posted this in another thread about shutting down the Peace River area. It has merit in this thread as well..............


Try to remember that it isn't really about Caribou. They are just a species of convenience. They are using Caribou to advance their agenda.

This is all about the Y2Y movement and building a corridor of Parks and protected areas from Yellowstone to the Yukon. With the two NDP governments in BC and Alberta, the Y2Y group has pounced on them like flies on a dung pile. I've said it before, this is going to be a battle and huge loss of riding area and back-country access taken away.

With the last NDP government in BC, there was a huge track of land in the south eastern corner that was proposed to be non-motorized (from the US border up to the parks in Kananaskis). All driven at the time by Y2Y and WildSight. The only thing that saved it was a change in government. But slowly, the Nature Conservancy of Canada has slowly picked away at purchasing small parcels of land to expedite the Y2Y agenda.

I spent 8 years on land use issues with the Southern Rocky Mountain Management board and it just sickened me with the lies and deceit of government and so called do-gooders. The outdoor enthusiasts couldn't get together as they fought amongst themselves; hunter/outfitters didn't like the motorized, fishermen didn't like the motorized, horseback riders didn't like the motorized, the hikers wanted total quiet and no hunting, the skiers just wanted their ski hills and no motorized nor any hunting, the communities generally wanted the green aspect, and it went on and on. So with the influx of big USA money, the agenda has been pushed and the government is receptive because of blinders and seemingly the right thing to do to get votes.

We have got to change the political flavour in Canada as a whole. Where does it start? With you and I voting, attending meeting, joining clubs, and voicing opinions.

 

[gunner3006]

This is correct Ron. A cull or bounty is needed. The srd tranked a grizz north of tumbler last year and put a go-pro on the boar. It was absolute carnage when they pulled the video. We’re talking about a moose every two days. Mainly calves. That’s one bear. No more season for the gizz in bc or Alberta. As for wolves, the move into an area and clean it out. There is no conservation. They clean out anything that is edible. If you have millions and millions to collar and monitor caribou and even relocate then you have money for a bounty and a culling program for wolves.

 

[ferniesnow]

This is correct Ron. A cull or bounty is needed. The srd tranked a grizz north of tumbler last year and put a go-pro on the boar. It was absolute carnage when they pulled the video. We’re talking about a moose every two days. Mainly calves. That’s one bear. No more season for the gizz in bc or Alberta. As for wolves, the move into an area and clean it out. There is no conservation. They clean out anything that is edible. If you have millions and millions to collar and monitor caribou and even relocate then you have money for a bounty and a culling program for wolves.

Chadd, I heard talk about this last spring and find it hard to believe. In our sport, there are a lot of peeps using Go-Pro's and ask yourself how many hours do people get on the battery. Unless, SRD has special batteries or a way of charging the Go-Pro, I am not a believer. Not to say wolves aren't one of the problems and very likely a big problem, it is just that running a Go-Pro for any length of time (like over a period of days) isn't feasible.

If somebody can enlighten me about the battery charging, I would be grateful.

 

[gunner3006]

I asked the exact same question. Cause I can’t keep battery’s in mine. I don’t have all the details, what I do know is going back to your previous post. It will be almost impossible to get all the major groups that enjoy these areas to agree on enough to form a partnership.

 

[zal]

Tomorrow is the deadline to send in the survey. Please fill it out, print it, scan it and email it in.
Remember, they know that if its not an easy survey to fill out, people become lazy and not complete it. By being lazy, we hurt ourselves.

 

[gunner3006]

 

[gunner3006]

So that is complete. Ron, you are correct. There are questions that are set up to deceive the person filling this survey out. I feel like they are trying to set a trap........is this about money or is it about conservation and protection.

 

[Christine Schlief]

The MD of Greenview does have a bounty program, but sadly it has to be within a few kilometers of farm land. In hopes to help farmers with loosing livestock. It would help caribou and moose numbers to have a season in Greenzone/Crownland as well. Yes I also agree there is no shortage of Grizzly at least not in our area southwest of Grande Prairie.

 

[gunner3006]

The MD of Greenview does have a bounty program, but sadly it has to be within a few kilometers of farm land. In hopes to help farmers with loosing livestock. It would help caribou and moose numbers to have a season in Greenzone/Crownland as well. Yes I also agree there is no shortage of Grizzly at least not in our area southwest of Grande Prairie.

A province wide bounty. Bc too. All ungulates would rebound. If the government can spend millions on collars and relocation they can support a bounty.