Help save the Kettle River

[btree]

Hi there all,

First, watch this video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7BzLbyUOVM

I grew up fishing for trout on the Kettle river.

This river has been listed as one of the top 10 most endangered rivers in B.C. Back in my pre-teen and teenage days it used to be full of trout, but in the 90's trout populations fell dramatically due to a number of factors: water use; ranching, agriculture and logging practices; climate change; over fishing and lack of regulation and monitoring. The biggest factor that has is being looked at these days is water use, particularly at the headwater areas.

At the top of the drainage is Big White ski hill...

What follows is the wording of the petition from this website:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/266711985

If this link to the petition doesnt work, then you can go to it through the boundaryalliance website.
www.boundaryalliance.org

petition overview | letter
Protect the endangered Kettle River, B.C. CanadaTarget:B.C. Ministry of the EnvironmentSponsored by: boundaryalliance.orgIn Nov of 2007 Big White Ski Resort applied to the Ministry of Environment for a 256% increase in present water licences. The new licences would see the removal of a further 488 million gallons (2.2 billion litres) of water from the Kettle River watershed, taking water from Trapping Creek, Hallam Creek and Whitefoot Creek and storing water in two reservoirs. In recent years the Kettle River has seen record low flows and is already ranked 6th on the 2008 Endangered Rivers List due in part to excessive water extraction.

We call on the Ministry of Environment to DENY the application.

Not sure who at the MoE we could loby to, but I'd appreciate some help with this.

Some more info from boundaryalliance.org:

Heritage River Status
**designation as an Endangered River in 2006, and now again in 2008
**record low flows in 2006 and 2007 (according to records kept for over 70 years)
**increasing stream temperatures affecting fish & aquatic organisms
**Water Branch's knowledge that the low flows could have been substantally worse if all licence holders had withdrawn authorized amounts

[SalaR]

It's constantly amazing to me how F>>>U> our society really is...here on the Island we had 15 major golf course applications denied ...the reason,and wisely so...there simply was not enough water on this Rock to sustain both Human habitation and so many golf courses...not to mention the devastating impact to the local fish populations. These morons keep pushing that envelope...the Kettle River is another System that needs to be protected, the developements must find a way to be much greater citizens, re-use/recycle and to re-think.
This recent world economic situation had the potential to begin a change in western thought and activities..but will it.
Letters will go out
C