Neil Waugh

Hi Guys, My son Colin is working on a South Ram River Fishing video for a contest that Telus is running. Top prize is 10 Grand which isn't bad. But it's being run as a popularity contest, so that's where the help comes in. Here's the pitch video he did when we were down at the Crow recently. If you like it log onto this site to vote. http://yycyeg.storyhive.com/project/show/id/166 As you will see it's the only fishing video in the contest, and some of the other topics are pretty brutal. The one downside is that they are asking for an email address which I'm sure is going to put a few guys off. But if you're ok with it give Colin a vote (or five) and help him to win this thing. Just a reminder the window on this closes in 2 days. Much appreciated. Neil

This just in from Redford Central "August 9, 2013 New support to communities for flood erosion damage Alberta is providing dedicated funding to help restore damaged lands in flood-affected communities. “While some communities have already done good work to re-contour creeks and stabilize channels, we need to better ensure the long-term stability of the banks and the safety of residents," said Diana McQueen, Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. “This is a significant milestone in flood recovery and future mitigation, and we will be working together with local municipalities as we move forward.” The province will provide this new funding directly to municipalities - details will be finalized in the coming weeks. This funding is in addition to assistance provided through the Disaster Recovery Program. Disaster Recovery Program funding helps communities, homeowners, and small businesses rebuild to a functional and safe state and covers damages to buildings and structures caused by uninsurable events. However, outside of this minimum replacement and restoration of land for structural safety, additional work is not covered. This new funding will help address this additional erosion control work. Physical barriers, such as rocks or boulders, are often used as erosion controls as they armor a river or stream bed against water or ice erosion. Bridge abutments and pilings are other techniques used for erosion control. “Time is of the essence,” said Kyle Fawcett, Associate Minister for Recovery and Reconstruction of Southwest Alberta. “That’s why we’re providing additional funding immediately for the restoration of highly-eroded sites in these communities." In total, the government will provide approximately $20 million in immediate financial support. The province will continue to work with flood-affected municipalities to determine which communities need additional funding for erosion control work. Areas already identified include: Canmore (Cougar Creek); Calgary (Bow River); Sheep River (Black Diamond to Okotoks - including Threepoint Creek); Exshaw (Exshaw Creek and Jura Creek); Lac des Arcs (Bow River); Crowsnest Pass (Lyons Creek); Highwood River (upstream of High River); and Bragg Creek (Elbow River). Costs of individual projects are still to be determined. Our government was elected to keep building Alberta, to live within its means and to fight to open new markets for Alberta’s resources. We will continue to deliver the responsible change Albertans voted for." How many miles of riprapped Bow River trout habitat do you reckon this buys. No environmental impact study, no critical habitat assessment, "time is of the essence", let the rock trucks roll. All so Redford (who was rockin' at 29% popularity before the flood) gets to look good before the PC leadership review on Nov. 22.

Before you guys get to far down the road redesigning government - and something that no longer exists called ASRD - you may want to check out this alarming press release: No mention made of Fish & Wildlife in ESRD re-structuring! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - (Edmonton July 4, 2012)... Alberta's largest conservation group, the Alberta Fish & Game Association (AFGA), is concerned that the newly formed Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development department has created seven internal divisions none of which directly include any reference to fish or wildlife. In an internal document received by AFGA, Deputy Minister Dana Woodworth outlined the divisions as follows: Strategy Division Policy Division Operations Division Corporate Division Integrated Resource Management Planning Division Forestry Division Transformation and Integration Division The document continues stating"...this move has an impact on people, all of us. Old relationships will change or be redefined, and new ones will be built". This undoubtedly a euphemism for career-ending lay-offs which can potentially further damage wildlife management as experts in their fields may be let out to pasture. This re-structuring creates many unanswered questions such as who looks after fish and wildlife, who enforces the Wildlife Act, how and who will monitor populations, will each of the divisions have a small part of fish and wildlife management and if so how well will they communicate with each other? The list goes on. "We, as the Alberta Fish and Game Association, hope with all sincerity that these changes will keep fish and wildlife in the forefront and that it will be a better way of doing business, however at this point in time the fact that no mention is made of these two important resources provides us reason for grave concern", said AFGA President Conrad Fennema. The Alberta Fish and Game Association is a not-for-profit volunteer organization proud to serve Albertans in the promotion of the wise use of our fish and wildlife resources and the conservation of their habitats. The AFGA has been active since 1908 in working towards these goals and has a province-wide membership of more than 21,500 individuals spread among 90+ Clubs. -30- CONTACT: Conrad Fennema, President, (780) 986-5845 Martin Sharren, Executive Vice President, (780) 437-2342 More bad news apparently coming Friday from Team REDford.

So when Gary, who I suspect is a C&R, leave-nothing-but-his footprints asks a pretty decent question about Bow access he gets this kind of response. There may be a reason why there are a colossal 67 members and lurkers on this board right now while the other Alberta magazine-sponsored forum has 884 logged on.

Comes in the mail a letter from TUC CEO Jeff Surtees informing me of our annual general meeting on June 18. Not a lot of fireworks. Just audited statements and re-appointment of the external bean counters. Clearly no rousing discussion about expansion and more effective government lobbying appears to be scheduled for the invited general membership to join in on. Plus a "slate" of directors put forward from an unspecified "Nominating Committee" to be voted on. These include: David Byler - Calgary Fred Calverley- Calgary Glen Rumpel - Calgary Rafi Tahmazian - Calgary Brian Pyra - Calgary The only other nominee for this "national" board for the two year stint is Dave Williamson of Toronto. I'm sure these are all fine, dedicated fellows who will do an incredible job managing the money I help raise and promote cold water conservation. This is not in anyway meant to question anyone's skills, ability and commitment to the cause. But surely there's a perception problem of balance here. Especially if you are presenting yourself as a national conservation organization, which, sad to say beyond it's Alberta and southern Ontario power bases, is not exactly expanding and flourishing. Couldn't this committee have found one qualified person with a 780 area code?

Here's my e-mail: Hi Terry I’m totally in favour of the Police Outpost regs remaining as they are and to continue managing the lake as a quality trout fishery. As you are well aware the quality trout fishery concept was adopted as a policy of the Fish and Wildlife Division following lengthy discussion at the Fisheries Roundtable to allow Alberta anglers a choice of still water trout fishing experiences. There was also an agreement by regional fisheries managers to locate quality trout fisheries in all areas of the province. Since Police Outpost is the only designated QTF in the southwest it would be a clear violation of that policy and a serious step backwards in Alberta trout management to reverse the decision and revert back to the typical put and take trout management concept. Not only are these fisheries much in demand for resident anglers they provide destination angling opportunities for tourism anglers and a source of diversified economic activity for rural areas of the province. There are several other stillwater trout fisheries in the area where 5 trout/no size limit fisheries are available to service that sector of Alberta’s angling community. Cheers Neil Waugh Hope it helps.

Here's an excerpt from the proposed regulatory changes in the Public Land Stewardship Act. Waste disposal 4 219 A person shall not dispose of any waste matter in a public 5 land recreation area except in a receptacle or area provided for the 6 proper disposal the particular waste and, if no such receptacle or 7 area is provided, the person shall take the waste matter outside the 8 public land recreation area for proper disposal. 9 Vacating campsite 10 220(1) An officer directing a person camping at a campsite to 11 vacate the campsite must do so in writing. 12 (2) A person to whom a written direction referred to in subsection 13 (1) is given shall vacate the campsite within one hour after being 14 directed to do so. 15 (3) A person who vacates a campsite shall ensure that all personal 16 property belonging to him is removed. 17 Nuisances 18 221 If, in the opinion of an officer, a nuisance exists at any 19 campsite, the officer may, by order, direct a person responsible to 20 eliminate the nuisance and restore the campsite to the condition 21 described in the order, and which condition is satisfactory to the 22 officer. Seems like they Stelmachistas either have or are about to have the problem covered. It's just that they don't have the boots on the ground to enforce it. BECAUSE THE F&W BUDGET GOT CUT BY 15% IN THE LAST 2 YEARS!!!

Re: Smitty. Wouldn't you agree that there are a lot of arm chair politicians on this board. Basically preaching to the converted but seldom heard outside this charmed circle. Now is the time for the tribe to pull together. Just like when there was a subversive move underway to hijack the "quality" fishery regs at Bullshead or the Oldman River Chapter's showdown with some AFGA elements over the trophy lake designation at Police Outpost. FILL OUT THE SURVEY!!!

For all you folks who have been beaking off about about quads/random campers for all these read this: News Release August 5, 2010 Province seeks input on proposed regulation changes Updated regulation a better tool to deal with abuse of public land Edmonton... Albertans are asked for their input into proposed regulation changes being made to strengthen the management of public lands. The changes under the Public Lands Act will allow the Alberta government to better manage general access to vacant public land, allow for stronger compliance and enforcement, and provide for appeals to ensure fairness and consistency in decision-making. The changes provide the government with more ability to deal with the offenders who abuse public land. For example, government may be able to temporarily close an area to prevent loss or damage to public land from off-highway vehicle riders who drive through sensitive wet areas. Public consultation is a key step in the process to develop the new regulations. Albertans are invited to complete an online survey regarding the proposed regulation changes at http://www.srd.alberta.ca/Newsroom/SRDSurveys/Default.aspx or mail in a completed survey to: Legislative Services Unit, Sustainable Resource Development 2nd Floor South Petroleum Plaza 9915-108 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2G8 Feedback must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on September 17, 2010, to allow time to evaluate the submissions. Public comments will be reviewed and considered as the regulations are developed. Then click on the web address and fill out the survey. If you snooze you loose because you can bet the maverick quad-zidiots will be doing their best to stop or water down the legislation which will hopefully go a long way to spoiling their fun. I must point out this is not in any meant to offend or tarnish the thousands of responsible Alberta OHVers who respect nature, share the landscape and stay on the trails. Now let's see if the Stelmachistas have the stomach to follow through with this pretty tough regulatory change.

Here's an interesting quote from Stelmach's great TILMA treaty with BC. Standards & Regulations TILMA requires the Governments of Alberta and British Columbia to: * Mutually recognize or reconcile existing standards and regulations that restrict or impair trade, investment or labour mobility. * Not establish new standards or regulations that could restrict or impair trade, investment or labour mobility. * Reduce differences in standards or regulations that achieve legitimate objectives. * Notify each other of standards and regulations that may affect interprovincial trade, investment and labour mobility. In addition to tackling differences, TILMA specifically calls on the provincial governments to work together to enhance sustainable development, consumer protection, environmental protection, health and safety standards and labour standards. Surely these are new standards that "restrict or impair trade". So is the Alberta government going to do anything about it? Don't hold your breath.

Your best bet would be to talk to Barry or Ann at the mag in Red Deer. Nice folks and I'm sure they will help you out.

Taco, I feel your pain. Broke my heart when I had to let go of the Cream Cruiser. When the kiddies come everything changes. Before anyone reports me to Herr Monitor, this was a recognized ford. No Cutthroat Trout were injured in the filming of this stream crossing. So please, nobody get your shirt in a knot. The license plate may also give you a clue when this snap was taken. I still lie awake at nights dreaming on my little diesel baby.

I guess the best way to find out what's going on is get hold of the above-mentioned Kevin van Tighem and ask him "what up?" There's some kind of public review process underway until the end of the month but it's unclear from the website how you tap into it. Of course the parkies have all let their buddies with the anti outfits in on the deal and are getting it spun their way. The trouble with broad policies like the two I highlighted they sound vague an innocuous until the park-o-crats slide them through and start applying them. Elsewhere in the document both bull trout and Westslope cutthroat are described as "threatened" even though neither has been listed. If you apply this to the Bow below the falls to the east boundary (and maybe beyond) catching bulls and cutties while angling for browns could be seen as a threat to a threatened species. And all angling could be banned. This is what happened in Jasper when the fall Athabasca River fishery was taken away because it was seen as a "threat" to the mountain whitefish spawn. Even though rockies in the Atha-B are hardly in short supply. The irony is that Kevin is one of us and used to post on a now defunct board as Corner Pool. He's also a "field editor" for Outdoor Canada, which is a good old hook and bullet mag. Heck it even runs (are you sitting down for this) fish recipes. Sadly he's also carrying the can from a lot of the Jasper guys for closing the Athabasca because he was part of the panel that changed the regs. He will argue that there was a trade off by extending the season on Medicine Lake. If you like to play in the mud Medicine in October is where it's at. Whatever the outcome, it kind of makes Calgary Environment Minister Jim Prentice look like a mutt. Again.

Banff National Park superintendent Kevin van Tighem (AKA Corner Pool) has recently released his management plan update. Here are a couple of action items that caught my eye: # to restore native fish and invertebrate populations on an experimental basis by reducing or eliminating non-native fish species and introducing native species; # to eliminate fishing where human use threatens native species or genetic diversity; Any idea what fisheries the parkies want to close? There are a lot of non-native brown trout in the Bow that may be competing with the bulls and cutthroat. Let's hope this is not where he's going. The plan is up for public discussion right now. Maybe some of you Calgary guys should start asking a few questions. Although I do like the idea of reintroducing wild buffs.

Cheers Darren. It's also my understanding that my deer hunting host Bob Scammell is on the verge of acquiring a box of his out-of-print classic "The Phenological Fly." John Gierach devotes an entire chapter in "Fool's Paradise" to Bob's book which he described in one of his earlier Fly Rod and Reel pieces as one of the few new fly fishing innovations in decades. Matching hatches with wild flower blossoms. Which Trout Bum does with a blue winged olive hatch in Colorado and the same bug on Prairie Creek when the aspen poplars are blooming. Another potential stocking stuffer, fer sure.