Skeena Quality Waters Strategy

On the weekend of April 19-20, the three Angling Management Plan Working Groups held their first meeting in Terrace. The meeting focused on a number of things:

• Roles and responsibilities – Members of the Working Groups were chosen in part for their intimate knowledge of the waters in question, but they must ensure that all interests in the community are represented
• Scope – Angling Management Plans address angling-use issues on priority waters
• Task – The job of the Working Groups is to develop management approaches that balance resident angler priority with the guiding industry and the local economy

Members heard presentations on the Quality Waters Strategy and Angling Management Plan framework, AMPs that have been developed on the Dean and Horsefly Rivers, and angler-use data that the ministry has collected and analyzed.

Facilitator Alan Dolan presented a summary of stakeholder and public consultation that was conducted between January and March 2008. The Consultation Report is a key information piece for the Working Groups. They will use this document to gain a perspective on community interests in relation to the development of Angling Management Plans. The Consultation Report is now available.

If you feel there are some interests or points-of-view not represented in the Consultation Report, the Working Groups have set aside a block of time at their next meetings so members of the public can come and give a very brief presentation (3-5 minutes). If you feel that you have some additional information for the Working Groups, which is not captured in the Consultation Report:

• Send an e-mail to Alan Dolan
• Indicate which Working Group you want to address
• Explain very briefly what you want to say.

The Working Groups will meet together again on June 7-8, 2008. The draft Angling Management Plans will be prepared and will be available for comments at public and stakeholder meetings in the fall of 2008.

On the weekend of May 10-11, the Working Groups held separate meetings in Terrace, Hazelton and Smithers. The meetings focused on a number of things:

• Assembling and discussing background information
• Drawing on the personal knowledge and experience of Working Group members
• Developing management alternatives

The groups met together for a final meeting on the weekend of June 7-8 in Smithers. This meeting focused exclusively on evaluating management alternatives and developing recommended management alternatives for each of the waters. These management alternatives are the critical part of the draft Management Plan that will be released for public review in the fall.

Tom Ethier, Director of Fish and Wildlife for the Ministry of Environment, spent a day with Working Group members, getting a good sense of the hard work and commitment that was involved.  Ethier addressed the groups briefly, reflecting on his time with them and thanking them for their volunteer efforts.

The draft Angling Management Plan is now being prepared and it will be available for comments at public and stakeholder meetings and on the website in the fall of 2008.

The tireless dedication of the members of the Working Groups has been incredible. The members put in many hours of their personal time including meeting informally between the three formal two-day weekend meetings.

As in other regions of B.C., Angling Management Plans will be developed by local Working Groups. These Working Groups will be composed of local resident anglers and angling guides. The groups will also consider the interests of others with a stake in recreational steelhead angling.

To be eligible, group members must show:

• knowledge of the waters under discussion
• endorsement by their angling peers
• ability to focus on local-level planning
• agreement with the principles, goals, rules of engagement and timeline for the process

If you would like to apply for a vacant Working Group position, please download and complete the Application Backgrounder [PDF 77KB]. Please submit your application by e-mail or fax to the Ministry of Environment by May 8th, 2008.

Angling Management Plan Working Groups will be organized based in the following geographical areas:

• Smithers Working Group (EAST group)
  which will create AMPs for the Babine, Bulkley and Morice Rivers
• Hazelton Working Group (CENTRAL group)
  which will create AMPs for the Kispiox, Kitseguecla, Kitwanga, Skeena IV (upstream of Kitwanga bridge) and Suskwa Rivers
• Terrace Working Group (WEST group)
  which will create AMPs for the Kitsumkalum, Lakelse, Skeena IV (downstream of Kitwanga bridge), Zymoetz I and Zymoetz II

The schedule for Working Group meetings will be as follows:

Over the coming months, Working Group members will follow a well-defined process assisted by an independent facilitator. They’ll work with the Ministry of Environment, examining angler use data from the waters selected for priority planning and considering input from the stakeholders and public engagement process.

Local Working Groups will draft Angling Management Plans using the following framework:

Vision

Steelhead fishing in the Skeena watershed will provide opportunities for a world-class angling experience in balance with the needs of resident anglers, angling guides and local businesses.

Guiding Principles

Skeena watershed Angling Management Plans must create a desirable angling experience that is regarded as world-class maintain a range of angling opportunities recognize the economic value of this public resource recognize the role of steelhead angling in local business interests recognize the priority and interests of B.C. resident anglers wherever angling opportunities become oversubscribed

Scope

Angling Management Plans will focus on angler use. They will complement, but not duplicate or revisit, work of other government agencies on: commercial fishing aboriginal fishing rights uses of land adjacent to the waters conservation goals for steelhead and other species mode of transport used to access fishing opportunities management of fishing methods (fly versus gear, etc.)

Challenges

Working Group members will face many challenges. Anglers vary widely in their definitions of a high quality fishing experience, and those definitions are coloured by individual experience and preconceptions about steelhead fishing in the Skeena watershed. Every decision will require careful consideration of implications for angling opportunity, cost and enforcement. Available data about angler use will require critical evaluation.