HIGH PRAIRE, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Jan. 31, 2012) – On January 26, 2012 in the Provincial Court of Alberta, R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. pled guilty to one count of a violation of subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act for “the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat“. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine and penalties totaling $90,000. The charge related to a project proposal by Shadow Creek Resort Inc. (owned and directed by Mr. R.J. Williscroft) to construct and connect an inland marina and approaches in the community of Joussard, Alberta to Lesser Slave Lake, via a dredged channel.

The Court heard that on September 15, 2008, an environmental consultant sent applications on behalf of “Shadow Creek Resort Inc. c/o R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd.” to various federal and Alberta government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for approvals related to the construction of a proposed inland marina development on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Fisheries and Oceans Canada concluded that the proposed works would likely result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, thus an authorization and environmental assessment would be necessary. The environmental assessment began in October 2009. Aboriginal consultations with potentially affected First Nations and Métis groups began in December 2009. In the spring of 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was notified of alleged works being conducted in the lake by the defendants prior to the environmental assessment and consultation process being complete, and prior to a Fisheries Act authorization being issued. The excavation of the lakebed removed aquatic vegetation and lakebed substrate and damaged spawning and rearing habitat for many Lesser Slave Lake species of fish, including Northern Pike, Walleye and Yellow Perch. Lesser Slave Lake sustains a valuable commercial, recreational and Aboriginal subsistence fishery.

At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Court ordered a fine of $8,500 to be paid under subsection 40(1) of the Fisheries Act. Two penalties were also ordered by the Court. An amount of $500 will be paid to the Alberta Conservation Association for the creation and installation of a sign to educate the public about the fish species in Lesser Slave Lake. A total of $81,000 will be paid into Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will be used to hire an environmental consultant to consider ways to enhance fish habitat in the inland marina and to conduct a monitoring project in the inland marina. The remainder of the penalty will be used to conserve and protect fish and fish habitat in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Prior to undertaking work in or around water, Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to avoid the potential for any harmful impacts to Canada’s fisheries by ensuring they have obtained and are in compliance with all necessary permits, approvals or authorizations from municipal, provincial, and federal agencies and authorities.

FOR BROADCAST:

Fines were handed out in provincial court today after R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. of Alberta pled guilty to damaging fish habitat in Lesser Slave Lake. The defendant was ordered to pay a total of $90,000 in fines and penalties for violating the federal Fisheries Act. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has requested that $81,000.00 of the penalties be directed to Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund for fish habitat enhancement and monitoring in the inland marina and area.

Nightmare mosaic photo from a raid in the King Range National Conservation Area. Photo courtesy Brad Job

I’ve been fascinated by water and the organisms that live in it since I was a child. When three years of sea duty made me fall in love with the ocean, I decided to pursue a degree from HSU in Environmental Resources Engineering, which I completed in 1993.

Since then, my career has focused on water quality and water resources. For the past 10 years I have had the honor and privilege of being part of a team of professionals that steward some of our nations’ most spectacular public land. In this occupation I have also been witness to many environmental sins that have occurred as a result of marijuana cultivation.

As a pragmatic environmentalist, it is not my job to deride marijuana or its use. But, similar to the environmental effects of logging, the problem is not necessarily that one grows pot, it’s about how one grows pot.

Regardless of how one feels about marijuana and its legal status, anybody that understands just a little about aquatic ecosystems has to admit that widespread cultivation has bad consequences for fish. It degrades the quality of our rivers and streams, which to me, are the core of what makes northwest California special. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

In reference to one of last week’s cover stories about illegal excavation and un-engineered fill(‘Shocking’ environmental damage from outdoor grows, Eye, Jan. 18) I can attest that the additional input of sediment eroded from grow-related excavations permanently damages habitat for imperiled salmon and trout populations and undoes the benefits of millions of dollars’ worth of watershed restoration work.

However, increased sedimentation is not the only or necessarily the worst environmental consequence of rapacious pot growing out in the hills.

The giant hunk of failing fill is located right above Bear Creek where it exits the King Range NCA could not be in a worse spot as far as fish habitat goes (notice the clear creek in the upper right corner).

Recent research has shown that 80 to 90 percent of the nitrogen in coastal watersheds historically came from the ocean, much of it in the form of return runs of salmon and steelhead. However, dwindling fish populations and environmentally oblivious pot growers have turned that dynamic on its head.

Now, growers dump hundreds of tons of excess fertilizer into these watersheds annually. The most obvious consequence of fertilizer overuse is increased algal growth, which is most likely why toxic concentrations of blue-green algae have been observed in the Eel River in recent summers. Excessive algal growth kills fish and the organisms that they feed upon.

In addition, outdoor grows frequently discharge rodenticides, insecticides and fungicides into the environment; divert springs and creeks for long distances; and leave vast quantities of trash and black poly-pipe behind.

And then there are the diesel dope grows. These operations often improperly and illegally store large quantities of diesel in plastic tanks that are prone to failure. And those that do use metal tanks almost never have secondary containment and often have leaks and spills.

A pile of dumped cannabis root balls, surely laden with fertilizers and other soil amendments, cascades down the banks of Liscom Slough into sensitive marine habitat last week. Photo courtesy Ted Halstead

It is worth noting that fuel distributors that dispense fuel into such tanks are also committing a felony. If anyone wants to observe the environmental consequences of petroleum spills in aquatic ecosystems, they need only to travel to an urban stream to witness the reduced abundance and diversity of invertebrate species, which are the base of most aquatic food webs.

Then consider the water diversions, air and noise pollution from inefficient generators, and the random dumping of fertilizer-laden potting soil. And I can hardly bear to ponder the sad irony of burning fossil fuel to make light to grow plants in a manner that is literally 99 percent inefficient, all while it is warm and sunny outside.

As long as the marijuana status quo and large profit margins remain, it appears inevitable that some of the worst crimes at marijuana gardens will be environmental ones.

The citizen’s suit provision in the Clean Water Act might be a big enough hammer to change some landowners’ behavior if a motivated team of attorneys and environmental scientists were to respond to a specific incident.

However, the sad fact remains that the underground economy is creating really bad consequences for the increasingly fragile ecology of our rivers and streams. But, if this letter makes only one grower reduce their fertilizer and agricultural chemical use or cause less erosion, the time it took to write it will have been well spent.

Sincerely,

Brad Job, P.E.

Environmental Engineer

Arcata

By DOUG WARNOCK

For the Capital Press

Forest resources, arid lands habitat and Puget Sound health were the areas selected as priorities for the Washington State Coordinated Resource Management program.

Washington’s CRM Executive Committee and CRM Task Group met together to establish program priorities. Reduced funding and loss of a full-time program coordinator precipitated the need to streamline activities and focus on high-priority needs.

The three areas deemed of greatest need were:

* Forest resources, emphasizing water issues.

* Arid lands habitat, focusing on sage grouse and endangered fish.

* Puget Sound health, emphasizing improved water quality.

The CRM Task Group is implementing a plan to assist new groups organized to address issues in the three priority areas, while continuing to support existing CRM groups across the state. The Task Group is led by Kevin Guinn, Natural Resources Conservation Service range management specialist, and facilitated by Ray Ledgerwood, Washington Conservation Commission Program Facilitator.

Coordinated resource management is a collaborative approach to resolving issues and improving management of land and water resources. The approach has been in existence in Washington state for over 50 years and has resulted in improved health of soil and water resources across the state.

A group in the Tenmile Watershed of Whatcom County stabilized stream banks and improved fish habitat. It involved local dairies, poultry producers, fruit and vegetable farmers and many community members.

A program in Klickitat County resulted in the development of 30 springs as water sources for wildlife and livestock, installation of 50 miles of fence to protect riparian areas and trees planted on 100,000 acres for forest renewal.

These are just two examples of successful programs. See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Planning for any program is done by the local people who are responsible for managing the land and who have the best knowledge of the situation. Resources of the State CRM Executive Committee and the state CRM Task Group are available to support local groups as needed.

The program planning process empowers local people to solve land use and natural resource issues through collaboration. It brings people together, enhancing communications and reducing conflicts, to help find common ground while working toward the achievement of mutual goals.

Consensus is the basis for success in planning. The approach works because planning together across ownership lines and management boundaries results in better resource health, helps people meet their objectives and minimizes conflict among participants. While there may be a difference in how individuals view a problem or situation, all have an interest in the land’s well-being and can find mutual objectives for its benefit.

The CRM Executive Committee is composed of the heads of the state and federal agencies associated with land and water resources. The CRM Task Group includes representatives of the same state and federal agencies involved in the Executive Committee, as well as several members at large. All are dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of natural resources in the state.

Doug Warnock, retired from Washington State University Extension, now lives on a ranch in the Touchet River Valley where he consults and writes on ranch management.

Information

The lengthy period without fishing at the popular park adversely impacted attendance, said Kent Newcomb, the senior manager of the park south of Plant City and east of Valrico.

“These people want to go fishing,” Newcomb said. “A couple of years of no fishing is not what people want.

Now it’s time to get the word out: Anglers can cast a line again at Medard Park.

“It’s been stocked with bass bluegills, specs and catfish; we’re talking hundreds of thousands,” Newcomb said.

One change for anglers: The reservoir’s fish management plan allows catch-and-release fishing only, at least for now. Newcomb said he thinks the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may rescind that in a year or so, once the new fish population has stabilized.

Boat ramps, of course, have reopened. The daily launch fee is $5 per boat, and annual passes are available.

New at the park are canoe and kayak rentals, $25 for as much as four hours.

Additionally, the observation tower and boardwalk leading to it — popular vantage points for bird-watchers have been rebuilt — Newcomb said.

More than 30 years had passed since water of any magnitude had been drained from the enormous reservoir at the park off Turkey Creek Road. But deteriorating sandbags along the banks signaled it was time, and water levels began dropping after the dam was removed in November 2009.

Construction, begun in January 2010, was by a contractor for the Southwest Florida Water Management District.

“They just about drained it all the way out,” leaving only isolated pockets of shallow water, Newcomb said.

Then, 3,000 feet of concrete mats were strung across a berm to help form the shoreline. The rocks that previously lined the shoreline will become fish habitat — artificial reefs to help transform the manmade lake into a more natural habitat.

Keeping the shoreline intact ensures residents to the south will not get flooded if the berm breaches.

The project was intended to fortify reservoir embankments to protect against erosion and provide flood control, said Amy Harroun, a spokeswoman for the Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the reservoir.

Medard Reservoir provides flood control, as well as groundwater recharge and recreational benefits, she said.

“The project was a success; construction was complete in June 2010, and then we waited for rainfall to raise the water level,” Harroun said.

The project provided additional benefits.

At the urging of state Sen. Ronda Storms, the tons of tilapia and catfish removed from the reservoir were filleted and distributed to America’s Second Harvest, which provided it to local food banks to feed the hungry.

Additionally, fisheries biologists from the University of Florida removed and tagged large bass, which were relocated to other Florida lakes.

Newcomb, who has managed the park for 20 years and lives onsite, is as happy as anyone to have the reservoir reopened, as it attracts more than those who want to fish or boat.

“The water reflects on everything else,” including attendance by campers and picnickers, Newcomb said.

After the reservoir was drained, the park saw a sharp drop in attendance, which normally is close to 500,000 visitors a year.

“It’s still not back to what we hope it will be,” Newcomb said. “(But) I’m sure it will come back.”

Edward Medard Park and Reservoir

WHERE: 6140 Turkey Creek Road, Plant City

HOURS: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (winter hours)

ADMISSION: $2 per vehicle (eight people or fewer)

BOAT RAMP: $5 per launch

CAMPING: 42 sites with electricity, $24 nightly; $18 for ages 55 and older

CANOE/KAYAK RENTAL: $25 for four hours

INFORMATION: (813) 757-3802

gwilkens@tampatrib.com (813) 259-7124