A couple days later, I'm on the front page of the local newspaper and mum and I were both quoted. Yuck, no where I want to be.
This is the resulting letter.
I recently
attended the Caribou Recovery meeting in Williams Lake (along with several
hundred other people), but have found myself quoted and on the front page of
the Tribune. I’m generally a low profile
kind of person and public speaking is not my forte. I’d prefer to tell my own story however,
rather than be quoted without the context maybe being clear.
I first want
to comment about the poor prior notice of both the meeting and intentions of
the meeting. Having two businesses that
we run out of the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park (guide outfitting and trail riding),
having range tenure in the immediate area, being a director of the Anahim Lake
Community Association, member of the Anahim Lake Round Table and secretary of
the Anahim Lake Cattlemens, one might think that a notice of meeting might have
made it my way. But no, I found out on
Facebook. Along with the frantically “shared”
announcement of the meeting were many comments, mainly the general public
panicking about what kind of new restrictions and closures were going to be
announced and what that would mean for both recreation and industry. People were (and are) spooked and angry, and rightfully
so.
Needless to
say the cliché talk at the meeting of “collaboration with local government and
stakeholders” was not well received and there was more than one horse type
snort in the crowd. Perhaps the meeting
was better announced on government websites…..oh but never mind….our own Caribou
Chilcotin Park Supervisor didn’t know about the meeting until the Friday before. Clearly there needs to be some more work on
the whole “collaboration and transparency” piece.
I also want
to clearly point out the wealth of knowledge available from people who have or
currently are living on the land. (And
not everyone has Facebook.) I realize
the information is ‘anecdotal’, but it is very relevant. The history that has been passed down and
been lived is interesting and important, especially since any official studies
and statistics from this area (and much of Canada) are relatively recent. This cannot be stressed enough. Local knowledge should be sought out, not
brushed by or ignored all together.
What I write
now is in regard to my own experiences in the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park region as a third
generation rancher, mountain trail riding guide/packer and big game guide
outfitter. I cannot speak of other
places where the herds are threatened and I would hope the government will look
at each area individually, and LISTEN to the residents, rather than blanket us
all with new policy.
When I was a
kid growing up out here, there were 120 plus students in the school. There were many small holdings in the area,
just big enough to support a family. Most
everyone, including First Nations people, had a few cows, plenty of horses to
get around and make hay with, trapped through the winter and often guided in
the fall. People lived off the land because
there was no choice, and made do with what they had (which often wasn’t
much). Everyone ate moose meat and
caribou. And there were plenty of
them. It was usual to see 40 to 60 moose
and that was just in our main hay yard, not even the neighbors. In the mountains, we got so used to seeing
hundreds of caribou as we rode through, we’d hardly bother to stop. What there wasn’t lots of, was wolves. A wolf control program was in place. And to a trapper or hunter, wolf pelts were
prized and was worth good money. There
were still wolves around but they were shy and rarely made a presence.
So now our
human population is way down, with less than 40 kids in the school. Although we have our share of ‘feral horses’,
the numbers are actually down from the working herds that once were
common. Very few people live ‘out in the
bush’. Bigger ranches have taken over
the smaller holdings, but the actual cattle numbers are similar. There is next to no trapping done anymore and
of course the guiding outfitting is essentially gone too. Caribou hunting has recently been shut down
all together (although even the experts agree that harvesting the mature bulls
per regulated guidelines makes zero impact to the larger herd). Moose are becoming a rarity and many people
having given up hunting all together. We
have fewer snowmobilers than ever before and these days we can ride endlessly
in the Itcha Ilgatchuz Park and area and not see another human or horse
track. Increased human presence is not
one of the local challenges.
What we have
seen is a steady increase in wolf sign, remains of wolf kills and literally
wolves everywhere, including in my back yard.
At the meeting, someone made some very interesting comments about humans
hunting wolves throughout history and thereby helping to control numbers. He is correct. As human pressure on them has decreased, so
their numbers have increased, and quickly. They are a very efficient and
effective killer, and are thriving in this new world where they are king. The same can be said for the grizzly bear,
but we are not going there this time.
So in the
near past, with the wolves under control via a program and human pressure, the moose
and caribou flourished. With no control
program, easier access and little human pressure, the wolves have thrived and
moose and caribou numbers have dropped accordingly and alarmingly. I’m sorry folks, but it’s hard not to
understand that math. I’m well aware
that there are other underlying issues, some we may not even know about
yet. But the basic facts ring loud and
true.
Now don’t
get me wrong in this, trust me, I’m the original bleeding heart, often to the
disgust of my family. Who else do you
know that nurses coyotes back to health, or relocates baby beavers? But even I can figure out that the cold hard
reality means reducing wolf numbers and regulating predators in general.
Because what
other “changes, restrictions or closures” can be done out here, with already a
smaller population and much less individual human activity on the land for both
recreation and living? Certainly there
is local impact from the pine beetle epidemic and fires. Certainly, logging and
subsequent lack of road closures have made big changes in many areas,
increasing access where there was once none.
Thoughtful land use planning is essential for multiple reasons. However, there is still plenty of excellent
habitat and protected areas here, and our numbers continue to drop.
Controlling the
wolf population DOES make a difference for the caribou and moose populations. This has been proven by both history and
science. While I realize and appreciate
that it is unpopular and may not be the ideal single long term plan, it is
what needs to be followed up on first, while we still have something to
protect.
And that is
the point I was trying to get across with my bumbling and mumbling at the
meeting. :)
Terra
Hatch
So there you have it. My opinion, for what it is worth.
On the homefront, we are looking at the tail end (no pun intended...) of our calving season. Overall (knock on wood), it has been a good one. Cows and calves are healthy and happy and we have had good luck in general. I'll get back to you with a story or two in the near future.
The best to you all,
Punky
