DonAndersen

Just got this from a friend fishing in South America. It was quite the trip from El Calafate! The photos don’t do it justice. Vast expanses of Patagonia emptiness and “lumpy” barely describes it. Immediately upon arrival our waders and boots were disinfected and then it was time to string up rods and fish! Are we not yet embarrassed that we don’t require visiting or returning anglers to clean their gear and the best part, please find me a guide or guiding service who asked their clients not to drag their diseased stuff into A,berta, we deserve what we got. respect the resource,, nope we crap on it. Don

order Paving meeting held Nov. 28 saw a audience of perhaps 75. The audience was composed of most of the landowners within close proximity of the proposed wet gravel pit, several downstream landowners, business owners located along the stream, Trout Unlimited representatives from Calgary, Red Deer, Edmonton, Alberta F&G, Alberta Conservation Association, Red Deer Watershed Alliance & Butte Action Committee, plus a number of interested Anglers, landowners and county residents. Border Paving had their Hydrologist Consultants, fisheries consultant, plus in-house staff presenting info. 1) As expected, water and how to protect the North Raven River from potential effects on the stream was the major focus of the audience. The Hydrologist presented his findings which the audience felt meager at best. Many expressed the view of why risk the stream. This section of the meeting used perhaps 70% of the 2 hour session. 2) Border provided “story boards” showing pit locations, exactions, end pit lakes and the like 3) Border outlined a desire to combine applications for both pits as requested by Dept. of Environment. 4) Road use, anticipated use of the pit, operating hours were all detailed. 5) As part of the application process, attendees could sign in for further info sent to them, use a response sheet provided by Border. All responses sent or recorded become part of tbe package provided to the County . For those who wished to comment on the application, please see previous post for letters addresses. Regards, Don

Folks,Adjoining the lands of Border Paving, the proponent of the gravel pit, and within 50 yards on both the east side and north side are lands held under title by the Alberta Conservation Assoc., Trout Unlimited Canada, Alberta Fish and Game Assoc.. These lands were purchased by the above authorities with additional contributions of Central Alberta Trout unlimited Chapter.If you purchased a fishing or hunting license and or are dues paying members of one or more of those organizations, these lands belong to you and you must have standing in any decision rendered. These lands held by the above groups have management plans developed by the owners whose decisions reflect any similar owner decisions. Examples of these decisions include land use, access, grazing and the like. Please address all comments about the application of Border Paving to:Planning Dept.Country of Clearwater,4340 47 Ave, Rocky Mountain House, AB T4T 1A4Please write a letter as letters have much more “weight” than emails or online petitions. Regards,Don

But there is hope. Some WD rainbows exist. http://www.leadvilleherald.com/free_content/article_57b4eee4-0d69-11e9-98f7-7756a0c5b312.html but.... how are we to deal with Asian Crap, Zebra Mussels, New Zealand Mud Snails? Don

I’ve fished Whiteswan a number of times. Nearly every day near noon the wind comes up from the west which translates to 2’+ waves in the east end severely limiting where you can fish. The west end is not nearly as effected. For that reason I camp at Packrat. While there is road traffic by, it drops off in the evening. and overnight.. The flats at Packrat can readily accommodate a lot of boats with water depths from 2>20’. Chironomids, small leeches and pheasant tail nymphs all have been successful in the past. Don

Border Paving Application Many of the folks who had read the Facebook or web site pages may not be aware of the steps that are taken for a Development Permit to be issued for the construction of the Gravel Pit. To aid in the understanding of what happens and when it happens I contacted Eleanor Pengelly, Development Officer, Planning & Development Department of Clearwater County where the proposed Gravel Pit will be located. Here are some general guidelines for the process regarding gravel (aggregate) pit applications in Clearwater County and timelines in the process. 1] The applicants hold a pre-application meeting with the County's planning department 2] The County provides the applicants with mailing information for adjacent landowners 3 The applicants schedule an open house to inform adjacent landowners of the proposal – this is to take place at the Butte Community Hall November 28/19. 4] The applicants invite adjacent landowners to the open house and advertise the open house in a local newspaper 5] The applicants hold their open house and present their proposal to the public, gathering feedback and answering questions (up to this point, the County directs inquiries to the applicants and encourages the public to attend the open house) 6] After the open house, as part of their development permit application, the applicants submit an open house report to the County, including who attended, what the concerns are and how the applicants will mitigate those concerns 7] Once the County deems the development permit application complete, the County sends out a referral package to adjacent landowners and affected parties such as Alberta Environment, to solicit comments regarding the proposal. 8] The County gives 30 days for referral comments to be received (all written comments received are compiled to be presented to the Planning Authority) 9] At this point, the applicants may provide additional information or amend their application 10] Once the final application information is complete, the County schedules the application to go to the Planning Authority (the Municipal Planning Commission) for a decision (this board meets once a month) 11] Once a decision is made, copies of the decision are sent out to the adjacent landowners. Municipal development permits are subject to appeal for three weeks from the date of decision 12] If appealed, a Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) public hearing is held. The SDAB can approve, change or refuse the permit 13] If a municipal approval is granted, the applicants provide a copy of their development permit to Alberta Environment so that the provincial applications can go forward (such as Water Act approvals, Code of Practice Registration, Reclamation etc.) 14] As far as municipal timelines go, these can vary anywhere from three to six months, depending on the complexity of the application and sequence of events. OK – now you have the process, I will add some personal comments about the process 1] If you want additional information about the Proposal, contact Bobbi Medin at Border Paving at 403 343 1177. 2] If you wish more clarification please contact Holly Bily (lead development officer) or Eleanor Pengelly at the Clearwater County Office. 3] In addition to provincial approvals, gravel pits are subject to municipal development permit approval. If you wish to comment on the Proposed Gravel Pit, you should: 1] Attend the public information session hosted by Border Paving November 28/19 at the Butte Community Hall from 5>8 pm. Your attendance and comments will be reflected in the Border Paving Development Permit Application to Clearwater County. 2] Letters to the Dept. of Environment regarding the application. I would write the Minister, Jason Nixon detailing your concerns. 3] My understanding, if the development permit is issued by Clearwater County, a Water Act Approval is required. This application triggers an another process where advertisements and public comments can be made. At this point, The Dept. of Environment Approval Officer Terrina Perley in the Red Deer Office should be where you write to express your concerns. 4] It must be understood that your concerns may not be considered as you do not fall within the guidelines of the Dept. of Environment for the directly effected. To be directly effected you generally must live within a short distance of the proposed development. Over the last near 30 years, the "directly effected concept" has virtually stymied may citizens who have concerns of how their province is managed. However, loud voices scare politicians. Make yours heard. Regards, Don Andersen

The declining fish population is an action that already is past. We haven't stopped WD and recruitment is shabby, we are losing bugs all over as evidenced by a 50% reduction in aviary insect feeders. we haven’t done anything but increase destruction of the landscape. And your trying to convince me C&R is the issue. really? Don

Fishtech, I read this report years ago. It was about retention fishing. killing ‘em and they are gone. What a concept. Don

Folks, Contrary to what Border Paving executive told us at the first public meeting, they wish to expand their gravel extraction below the water table according to ACA mouthpiece, Let’s Go Outdoors. A public meeting hosted by Border Paving will make a presentation at the Butte Community Hall November 28/19 5>8 pm. Below is what arrived via the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers From Let's Go Outdoors: Breaking story: Millions of conservation dollars and countless hours of work to improve stream bank and fish habitat along the North Raven River could go out the window. Border Paving Ltd is proposing changes to their operation permit seeking to mine gravel below the water line. Why is this significant? The North Raven River is a spring fed river, it's soul source of water is provided by underground aquifers. The request by Border Paving to mine below the water line could have a significant impact on the under-ground water way, potentially cutting off the water source that provides the water to the river. Open House Border Paving will be hosting an open house Thursday November 28 at the Butte Hall from 5 to 8pm. If you are concerned about this proposal and the threat it poses to one of the top Brown Trout rivers in Alberta, I would encourage you to attend.

I get a real kick outta these type of articles. Rather than deal with the much larger issues, these articles go back to blaming the angler.When are Anglers going to get their head around the big items. - habitat loss - silt, dams, roads, cows etc. -invasive species like carp - disease - WD and the like. All of the above are the result of our actions. Mind you, none of them buy a license. Don

https://www.whooshh.com/ Don

Dan, try Calgary Tent aind Awning at http://www.calgarytent.com/ they may be able to supply glue. Don

Some years ago on CBC I learned that damsels have two colours which can be either male or female. The researcher believed it was a defensive move to confuse predators. Females are better groceries due to egg mass. Don

Monger, lib that case, there are a lot of gay ones particularly in southern Alberta. Don

Dan, ive seen the same thing. Lots of colours but mostly on the light green colour. I wonder if it related to the adults. There are dark olive and bright blue. They seem to be of either sex if using “who is on top” criteria. Don

Jauhad, Rain getting to you. An argument with yourself is kinda scary Don

Uber, it appears the correction maybe different than link originally posted. Spent the last hour looking for the original link. No luck. Don

I drifted several sections of the Clearwater this year and you don’t want to bring s drift boat down it from Highway 22>Highway 752. It is thin in many places. I bottomed out my pontoon boat many times. Tbe river is in runoff right now and this will help the situation. Launching a drift boat is tough. There maybe only two spots in 12 miles. North Sask is even tougher to get boats in and out within a reasonable distance. Downstream of Highway 11 there is a take out at Drayton. Catch ya’ Don

Folks, here is a Conference Board of Canada survey on hunting , fishing & trapping. this stuff is important. only what is measured matters. https://na1se.voxco.com/SE/default.aspx Don

Folks, The Wild Alberta website used to have a link to Fisheries Management that detailed the Quality Lake Policy, the Perch Policy And Stocking Policy. They have disappeared. Are the policies still in place? i am looking for where they went. Don

I’ve seen the missing gill plates on Staffer for well over 20 years. WD kills <10” fish. Don

FishnChips says “ I have a Hardy JET 9WT that I collected a few years ago. The glass blanks are identical in colour to fibreglass Hardy Mooching Rods which were popular in the '70s on the BC coast.” The rod blank was made by J. Kennedy Fisher who built blanks for Winston & Hardy as well as a number of smaller companies. I have owned a number of blanks built by them. Wonderful rods. Don

Taco, The Islander is Canadian after all. It is expected to be low key even apologetic. Don

Peasant! Hardys are meant to be heard. Please send it to me, I appreciate quality. Don

Taco, That is one rare critter. As far as I know only two have been captured in Alberta. Both by biologists. Lucky guy. Don