INSIDE = SPORTS MENU C2 - SKEENA ANGLER. ROB BROWW N FEBRUARY sccond of this year Geel, Antgulibux, Tsii Baasa and Miluulak drew a line: a line that embodies bitter disappointment, frustration, anger bome of betrayal, as well as the pride, and an obligation to the land felt by their people, the Gitxan. It is a firm line, drawn by resolute hands in grourd 90km up the Kispiox Valley from Hazelton, at the gateway io a sacred place, the birthplace of a river. “This is the jast chapter in the abuse of the Kispiox River,’’ said Ax No’osxw speaking for the hereditary chiefs, ‘‘It’s all over, We are tak- ing this part of the forest out of the Annual Al- lowable Cut.’’ The Gitxan were not alone as they stood, in full ceremonial regalia, next to the Nangeese River on that wet, wintry day, Beside them, in {ull support, were residents of the Kispiox Val- ley, their resolve as stiff as their native neigh- bours. “This is an anti-stupidity inovement,”’ said Jack Wertz, one of a group of valley residents that has coalesced to defend what remains of the Kispiox Valley from the ravages of hard-core, industrial logging. Margaret Clay, whose lodge depends on ihe fishers, outdoors enthusiasts aud tourisis who come to celebrate the river every year, agrecs that the removal of Jarge chunks of forest cover from. the upper floors of the Kispiox, for company profits and some forestry jobs at the expense of everyone else _ downstream, is irrational. Margaret, like many _of the Kispiox Protection Coalition members, has spent over twenty yeas fighting for a sensible, sustainable development plan for the " valley. In 1972, alarmed at the amount of logging and the plans to cut the upper watershed spurred Margaret and other valley residents to form the Kispiox Valley Community Associalion Zoning Committee. Over the next two years the com- mittee assembled a brief that set out the com- . munity views on logging in general. The brief was sent to the government of (be day. The document’s main recommendation was a halt on any further developnient in the upper watershed until further studies could be con- ducted. And, the committee wrote, they suspected the salvation of the upper Kispiox was the salvation of the entire valley, The struggle continued. One meeting followed upon the heels of another. By 1980 public ad- visary groups were mecting with the Ministry of Forests. Integrated Resource Management Plan Mcctings were being held as well. Stewardship plans, charters of rights, economic plans, and Management plans were spawned. Logging con- tinued all the while. The residents realized ma- chinery was being marshaled for an assault on the upper river once again. When hydrologists and fisheries scientists confirmed the residents’ fear that excessive sed- imentation and bank erosion would result from logging in the upper watershed, the residents convened the largest meeting yet. It was 1987, On a cold, starkly beautiful winter day friends of the valley assembled in the community hall in the Kispiox Village, Iwas there on behalf the ‘Steelhead Sociely. I was struck - and moved - by the energy and determination of the assemb- ly. Here were loggers, ranchers, fishers, guides, business people, retirees, farmers and natives, as diverse a group as I could imagine - and one whose constituents didn’t always see cye to cye - knit together by a sense of community and common purpose. One by one the people of the valley rose and spoke with eloquence and passion for their val- ley and the river that nurtures it, Consensus was quickly reached, a blockade went up, lobbying activity accelerated with the xesult that three years later 45 per cent of the upper watershed, including the land adjacent to Swan Lake was set aside, And, that wasn’t all; a promise was made to the residents to the effect that no roads would be punched into the remaining arca pending detailed study and consultation with them. Yet, in 1994 Repap Carnaby declared they would construct a road at Footsore Lake in preparation for logging the upper Kispiox. This was the unilateral aclion. that prompted’ the unilateral reaction of the Gltxan, Repap’s plans were hatched without public participation. The company’s reasons for scalping the upper watershed were that the lower Kispiox has been “exhausted” - a euphemism for over cut, Portralts of the older residents of the Kispiox Valley took down from the walls of Margaret Clay’s Lodge in Kispiox, hung there and ad- mired by people who live in a community that is still small enough 10 be healthy and vital, and still knows what strength can be derived from _ mutual support and a strong semse of place. My money's on them in theiz battle against the in- sensitive corporate giant with an ‘insatiable ap- petile for forests, Pub puck power | THE FINISH to the regular season was tight, but it had nothing on the Men’s Recrea- tional hockey playoff finals. Norm’s Auto and Back Eddy Pub put on a display spectators . will not soon forget, taking the showdown first to three games, then overtime in the rubber, and finally, if that wasn’t enough, a shoot out. The Back Eddy Bullies had gone into the playoffs with the Tegular season title already un- der their belt and looking for the double. Norm’s Auto had ended the TERRACE STANDARD season in third spol, eight’ points adrift of the champions. But the second season is a short, and often different one, Norm’s Auto emerged from the round robin at the head of the standings, a single point ahead of the Bullics who they’d edged 4-3 in their only meeting. The Refinishers kept the momentum going in game one of the final, although it took overtime to get a repeat 4-3 result. The Bullies rebounded in the next, beating Norm’s 4-2, a The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 19, 1995 - C1 two goal margin qualifying as a blow out in this series,. Which set up the grand finale and grand it was. After regular and overtime had left the teams tied at 3, Back Eddy clinched the double with a knuckle gnawing 3-2 victory in the shoot out. © In the Oldtimers division final — a one-game affair — the Terrace Timbermen faced Convoy Supply. Although the Timbermen had placed only third in the regular season, that was be- ‘suse they had played a dozen I SECTION c MALCOLM BAXTER 638- 7283 orevails fewer games. In terms of. points per game, the Tim- bermen had the highest aver- age of the four teams. So their 2-0-1 round robin performance was not a com- plete surprise. Convoy, however, were a bona fide upset, the regular season cellar dwellers putting together a .500 playoff run which included holding the Timbermen to a 1-1 tie. In the final though, the Tim- bermen proved too much for the challengers, taking the title 6-4, Nine + nine equals a lot of work YES, IT’S finally here. The 1995 season opens today at the Skeena Valley Golf and Country club. The snow having finally made its retreat, club manager Bruce Carruthers reports the course has come through the winter in excellent shape and all greens will be played from day one. However, he added, the wet terrain of the driving range means its opening will be a while yet, likely mid-May. While the. opening. of the season is reason enough for excitement, Carruthers said the club is even more up about progress made to date on tak- ing the course towards a full 18 holes. A week’s work cach by a donated faller buncher logging machine and a log processor has cleared the stretches for two of the nine new holes. It has also left the club with delinbed and cut-to-length logs estimated to be worth $40,000, money which will help the club with its expan- sion plans. That money, plus the donated equipment, volunteer hours and = money-raising projects the club undertakes are all key to the success of the project, Carruthers empha- sized. Although it is hoped to ab- tain a government grant, that money is a lot harder to.come by these days so it will largely be up to the club “‘to do it our- selves,’’ he added, Main objectives this year are to put in an access road — once the ground dries up enough — to allow removal of the logs, work to commence on those two holes and open up the area which will eventually become the six- teenth. . It is also-hoped to get all the necessary permits to excavate two huge ‘‘ponds” on proper- ty the club is trying to get rezoned for.a golf course. The current plan calls for six of the . final 18 holes to be located on this parcel, The ponds — one, at 300 yards in length, might better -be described as a small lake — will be the only significant alteration made to that land, ‘Carruthers said. “We want to keep it as natu-: tal as passible,’’ he explained. Given the mix of terrain. in- cluding a small swamp and prominent ridge, some of those additional holes promise to be challenging. And challenging is the only way to describe two of the proposed holes, the 571 yard 8th and 580 yard 10th. Point- ing to the par five 10th on the plan, Carruthers was adamant, ‘‘there’s no way anyone is reaching that green in two.’’ If all goes according to plan, he said club members.could:be.... playing a full size course ‘three _ years from now: hg Top flight THE ACTION was fast and furious at the Terrace “Open badminton foumar 5: ment two weekends -’ ago, where rac-: queteers from .. across the north-.+ west were compet!’ 09. That's > Mark" Flaherty of the Prince < George con-* tingent making. a return during a’ match, Look for full : tournament results . ~ in next week's Stan-. dard.