Ecobytes

December 1997 - January 1998

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

A British Columbia appeal court has ruled that the province does not have exclusive control over its forests as long as aboriginal land claims have not been resolved. The decision, if applicable to all licences given out by the government, would affect about 25 per cent of the province's forests. Armed with the ruling, the Haida Nation plans to meet with government and forestry officials to discuss a reduction in the cut on the Queen Charlotte Islands and protection for some forests. MacMillan Bloedel spokesman Dennis Fitzgerald said that the logging company does not plan to stop logging since it still holds the licence.

The cause of the most massive bird kill in western Alaska history this summer has been linked to the El Niño ocean warming phenomenon. Wildlife officials say the diving seabirds died of starvation after unusually warm water in the Bering Sea forced their food supply of plankton and krill to go too deep for them to reach. As many as 300 dead short-tailed shearwaters, black-legged kittiwakes, murres, and other species could be found along each kilometre of beach not only in western Alaska, but along the coast of Siberia as well. The disappearence of the plankton and krill may also be responsible for an unusually large number of dead whales spotted in the area by fishermen.

As creeks continue to dry up from the devastation of clearcut logging around the province of BC, environmental groups are criticizing Premier Glen Clark for not employing conservation programs for salmon, as is done in Alaska. In defense of Clark, a government spokesman says the economic dynamics are different in Alaska because the fishery industry is worth twice the amount of the forestry sector.

In an article in Vancouver's Georgia Straight, Shawn Blore discusses the growth of commercial whale watching and asks how long it will be before "the incessant buzz of spinning propellers drives off the star performers" of the "circus". American animal behaviourist Bob Otis who has studied the orcas for 7 years says the whale-watching boats may not yet be bothering whales, but they are bothering other whale watchers!

The Makah of coastal Washington are asserting the right to hunt Gray Whales as their ancestors did. This proposal will result in a number of Gray whales being wounded. A five year learning period is envisaged, during which Makah hunters will presumably become more proficient at killing. But what of the consequences of injured and suffering Gray whales being left to wander in pain around an area that has been set aside in part for human recreation? Kayakers are one of the groups that might feel the retaliatory might of the "Devil Fish". This was a name accorded injured Gray whales in the early whaling days because of their inclination to attack people in boats. Attacks on the whales along their coastal migratory routes might also lead to changes in travel patterns, with consequences for existing and future whale watching businesses and coastal communities.

The Center for Marine Conservation sponsors an annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world's largest volunteer effort to collect data on the marine environment on land and underwater. Reporting the latest Cleanup, the Center notes an increase in the sources of land and water based pollution.

Worldwide 277,710 volunteers removed 4,890,914 pounds of trash from 9,128 miles of shoreline both above and below the waters. This averages out to 17.61 pounds per person. In the US alone, 144,627 volunteers picked up 2,792,864 pounds of trash from 5,799 miles of shorelines. Underwater 6,875 volunteers collected 126,866 pounds of litter from 133 miles of US waters.

The Cleanup has grown every year since its inception in 1985 and now produces and distributes the cards and data guides in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese. Even trash bags and pencils are provided to volunteers and organizations. The Center's staff assist countries and states to coordinate local efforts and provide training. After the Cleanup, the Center collects the data and then publishes reports that provide the precise information used by policy makers and environmental groups to pursue programs to protect our marine world.

Every year the Cleanup takes place on the third Saturday in September in the US and in 90 other countries. The Cleanup is endorsed by the World Conservation Union-IUCN and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. People wishing to participate can get more information by calling 1 800 CMC-BEACH.

The Center for Marine Conservation is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection, research, advocacy, and public education of marine conservation issues in the US and world-wide. It seeks to protect ocean environments and conserve the global diversity of marine life. Established in 1972 CMC has 120,000 members, with headquarters in Washington, DC.

The BC Marine Trail Association is very pleased to announce that we have a pending management agreement with MacMillan Bloedel to allow overnight camping by the public at Blackberry Point on Valdes Island in the Gulf Islands. MacMillan Bloedel will retain ownership of the land, while the BCMTA will become responsible for the site.

The specifics of the agreement include: providing signs, providing basic fire fighting equipment, enforcing a fire ban during fire season, purchasing liability insurance, paying an administration fee, and providing volunteers on site during summer weekends.

We are committed to meeting the terms of this agreement, but we will need the help of our members and the public to make this happen. Please contact us at 250/920-7424, if you would like to be a volunteer warden at Blackberry Point during the summer or if you would like to participate in the work crews to fix up the site. We will need people to: build a little fence, install a composting toilet, install an information kiosk, and install fire pits. If enough people volunteer, we should be able to do all this work in one weekend, as many hands make light work. Anyone with tools (such as a chainsaw) is especially encouraged to volunteer.

Due to the generosity of Patagonia and Ocean River Sports in Victoria, we raised $5000 during a fundraising sale on the last weekend of October. Our outhouse fund is now over $8000 and we are getting close to being able to purchase a composting toilet for 1998. Of course, additional funds are always needed, as this is only the first of several toilets we hope to purchase. We have decided that this first toilet will be installed at Blackberry Point. For those who have donated to the Outhouse Fund during the summer, we will be sending our tax receipts in the very near future. A great round of thanks to all those people who have donated to the outhouse fund.

We have also been working with the Island Paddlers and secured permission from Crown Lands to install outhouses along the shore of Saltspring Island.

The Island Paddlers already have secured several outhouses which they will install next spring. Once again, volunteers will be needed.

Our next newsletter will be out soon, so keep an eye out for it in your mailbox. Until then, take care and have a safe winter of kayaking.

John Nelson is the Executive Director of the BC Marine Trail Association.