jpinkster

Herald story here: http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/wild-things-anglers-rally-against-poaching-in-oldman-river

Folks, I had a chance to speak with the Calgary Herald this afternoon, it sounds like they are going to carry a piece on this story. Looking forward to seeing a few of you in Pincher Creek tomorrow. I can be reached at 403-651-9126. Thanks, Jordan

I'm headed up that way in 3 weeks to get into a few sturgeon with Cascade Fishing Adventures with my dad and brother. Should be a fantastic experience!

The Oldman River poaching court case is only a few days away. I had a chance to talk to a few folks that are familiar with these types of proceedings, and they wanted to pass along a few tips: -absolutely no hats in the courtroom while it is is session; you will probably be approached by CAPS if you have a hat on and will be "asked" curtly to remove it -if court is not yet in session when you enter the courtroom, respectfully rise when the judge enters and do not sit until (s)he does -if you enter after court is already in session, a little bow toward the bench as you come in is not entirely out of line; most public don't do this, but you will see lawyers and social workers do this as they enter and leave (especially if going to the the bench area); it's a little ingratiating and old school, but some folks still do it -if you are leaving the courtroom while court is in session, do so in as quiet a fashion as possible; again a little bow toward the bench as you leave doesn't hurt -any talking during the session must be to an absolute minimum, and only in whispers -no food or drink of any kind in the courtroom For security: -no knives, and would be a good idea to leave foreceps and nippers (pretty much any metal for that matter) behind in your vehicle as well; all of the larger courthouses have metal detectors now at the door... not sure about Pincher, but wouldn't be surprised if they have moved to this too -not sure they would be all that keen on studded boots; CAPS may not let you in the building with them on as they may mark up and damage tiled floor Other info for folks attending: -it sounds like this is a first appearance, so the accused might not even all be there; charges will likely be read, or the accused may waive reading of the charges; not likely they will enter pleas -typical first appearance usually ends in an adjournment for accused to get legal representation; if they already have counsel, a plea may be entered, but that would be the exception -if these guys are from Lethbridge, and they have counsel, there may be a request made to move the next hearing to Lethbridge -court docket is usually posted outside the courtroom somewhere, which will give you the proper spelling of the accused names, and charges that have been brought -if you are in the courtroom before it begins, you may be sitting amongst the accused, and you will not know who's who until their matter is called; careful what you say to the guy sitting next to you For those of you who would like to attend, or are looking for more details, please see my blog: http://www.pikepinksterab.blogspot.ca/2015/09/anglers-go-to-court.html

Whooops, I also posted this down in the S Alberta space. It's ridiculous enough for two posts, just a joke!

The appropriate hyperlink to the event has now been included in the blog article.

At the end of the month a group of six poachers from Lethbridge will be in Pincher Creek before the Provincial Court. The men are accused of poaching a number of cutthroat and bull trout from the Oldman River. This is an opportunity for anglers to come together. I address it here in my blog. In my blog you will find an opportunity to sign up to attend the court proceedings. Remember, this is meant to be a respectful process. http://pikepinksterab.blogspot.ca/2015/09/anglers-go-to-court.html

Now let's all move on and remember we are on the same team!

This is timely: While walking down the street one day a Member of Parliament is tragically hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. 'Welcome to heaven,' says St. Peter. 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you.' 'No problem, just let me in,' says the man. 'Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity.' 'Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven,' says the MP. 'I'm sorry, but we have our rules.' And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he went down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he found himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and dressed in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly & nice guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it's time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and wave whilst the elevator rises.... The elevator rises and the door opens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time to visit heaven.' So, 24 hours pass with the MP joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns. 'Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity.' The MP reflects for a minute, then he answers: 'Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell.' So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down down to hell. When the doors open he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. ' I don't understand,' stammers the MP. 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened? ' The devil looks at him, smiles and says, ' Yesterday we were campaigning. Today you voted.

I'd be a little more sympathetic towards it if it were any species other than Bulls. It has been very well document in this space about the struggle that species is currently facing and some of the sacrifices we may all need to take to ensure their longer term survival. There is a difference between what we CAN do and what we SHOULD do, and I think that is the point that some of the previous posters have tried to make. Ultimately it is a judgement call. It's a species that is in bad shape during a time of year that they are particularly vulnerable. I wouldn't go out to specifically target them at this time year, but that's me.

This from the Oldman Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada: Gold Creek's threatened Cutthroat Trout sadly received another blow to their recovery in Mid-July when a substantial amount of coal and other substances released from a historic coal spoils pile on the east flank of Grassy Mountain. The material moved down slope into Gold Creek via a small tributary following a major rain event and was recorded as far away as the Crowsnest River, some 12 km downstream. Early observations suggest a massive blow to Cutthroat Trout populations as a result of this release. Riversdale Resources, an Australian mining company operating as Benga Mining, purchased the abandoned Grassy Mountain open-pit coal mine in August of 2013 with an eye to redeveloping the site to produce metallurgic coal for the Asian market. Exploratory work is now underway while the full approvals process takes place. A two year environmental impact assessment of the project has been ordered by the federal environment minister, but in light of recent events, a good case for stronger protection and oversight during the exploratory phase of the project could easily be made. Gold Creek, on the east flank of the project, is listed as critical habitat for Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WSCT) above the waterfall which has kept this population genetically pure by restricting the upstream movement of non-native Rainbow Trout. Cutthroat Trout now persist in only about five percent of their historic range so every stream where they hang on is increasingly, and critically, important. On the west flank of the mountain lies Blairmore Creek, a portion of which is also listed as critical for the recovery of WSCT. To the north lies Daisy Creek, spawning grounds for our provincial fish, Bull Trout, also listed as threatened in Alberta and under consideration for an elevation of their federal status to "Threatened" in this watershed. Earlier this week, someone asked a question on this page wondering if our efforts in Hidden Creek are in vain given reports of new coal developments in the area. Well, I guess that's up to all of us now. I encourage everyone to ask questions, share this post, consider the trade-offs being asked for, talk about it with each other, contact your elected officials and others and let them know what you expect and what your vision of the Oldman Watershed looks like. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on the post. Knowledge is key; the more we share, the more we know. Action can serve to raise the quality of the mitigation solutions for all involved and insure best practice is followed. Please act. I've heard some early reports that the impact on the fishery could be substantial. The entire country blew up over the death of 30 herons at the Nexxen pipeline spill site, I'm curious what the fallout might be for this?

On this file. Tip of the cap to the NDP for giving this some needed attention after decades of neglect. That said, I need to see much more across the board before I'll label them a success.

I took the link and threw it up on the AB Fly Fisher FaceBook page as well. Here are my expanded comments: This is a unique opportunity to provide better education and understanding of these incredibly sensitive natural areas. I believe that an information centre (similar to the Icefield Centre in Jasper) could enhance the natural experience in the Castle area. The Castle is home to some of our most sensitive native species in Alberta, and some resources should be used to inform and celebrate that point. It is a shame that this area had to deteriorate this extensively before something like this could be done. That being said, I am very happy this decision has been made. We need to take every precaution necessary to ensure that irresponsible OHV cannot continue to cut a scar through this entire area. OHV use needs to be heavily regulated and enforced if this area is going to make a real difference. I envision the Castle area again becoming a world renowned trophy fishery for native Cutthroat and Bull Trout, and the only way that happens is if we protect valuable feeding and spawning grounds.

I'm going to do a little bit of work on this in the next week or two. I'm hoping we can pull together a bunch of guys and a press release, maybe in conjunction with TUC, and get some real exposure on this one. This is a fantastic way to show that we are paying attention and that we care about this stuff.

It's a head scratcher to me as well. I'm pestering F&W on their FaceBook page to get some clarification on this. It made sense when the CO was explaining it to me, but your quote from the Public Lands Act is clear as day. We issued an administrative inquiry in July asking what the City is planning to do about this. Admin works at the speed of government on some of this stuff, and I've been told we will need to await their response. If I don't have something closer to the end of the month, I'll start getting a little pissy. The City of Calgary could turn the entire area into a Loading Zone as I mentioned before. To me that would be a pretty simple solution and shouldn't actually be that difficult to do. Once we get our reply from Administration I'll push back and ask if they could turn the area into a Loading Zone with designated parking only at the lot.

She said there isn't sadly. They could charge them with a number of things, but they would never get a conviction. She did say that the City could decide to turn these areas into Loading Zones. Essentially you could drop off gear or launch a boat, but you would be forced to park up at the parking lot. Not a bad idea...

Had a lengthy chat with the CO. She confirmed that while the vehicles are certainly stradling the line of what is acceptable, but it isn't illegal. You could argue that they are disrupting/damaging the bank, but that is really hard to prove. A little frustrating that there isn't much that could be done, but it was good to understand the legislation a little better.

There are 6 or 7 trucks parked on the gravel bar this evening under Graves Bridge. I called RAP, but I know the rules around trucks on the bar are a little ambiguous. Hopefully the CO gets there.

This is always a risk.. I just think a pile of us respectfully showing up "in uniform" would send a huge message. If we could get enough confirmation ahead of time I could also draft a press release and see if it might get some media attention.

I think having folks from different areas in the province makes the biggest statement. Do we all wear waders?

Folks, Some confirmation on the court case for the Gap poachers from this thread: The Court proceedings will take place on September 29, 10:00 am in Pincher Creek. This is an opportunity for anglers to show up strong and show some solidarity against this kind of garbage.

Check out this article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fish-habitat-protection-waning-under-harper-government-analysis-finds-1.3212403 Lowering the environmental bar could have very serious consequences.

This is my huge frustration with the sling. The only thing that is readily available is forceps on the front strap, otherwise you need to constantly flip the thing around.

Just my fiance. I'm clearly not trying anymore.

I went full red neck this weekend on the Oldman and wore my sling pack with no shirt on underneath. It was a gorgeous sight.