16 Terrace Review. a "Wednesday, Ji Sune 3, 1987"

Decision « on herbici

appeal expected

TERRACE — The deci-
sion on whether the Minis-

. try of Forests will be per-
mitted to use a registered
herbicide on part of a
local man’s trapline will
take at least another two
weeks, according to En-
vironmental Appeal
Board secretary Shirley
Mitchell.

In an interview May 29
Mitchell said she had not
seen any decision and in-
dicated the board is still
deliberating on the appeal.

The Skeena Society To
Oppose Pesticides (STOP)
lodged the appeal against
an application by the

Ministry. of Forests to use -

Round Up, also called Vi-
sion, on 7.5 hectares of
land near: Salvus east of
Terrace. The appeal was
given formal hearing in
Terrace May 21 by board
members James Warr,

Ron. Knight and. George ~

Reed.

The Salvus area is part
of a small-scale research
project being undertaken
by the forest service as an
attempt to determine the
relative effectiveness of
different methods. of
brush control in silvicul-
ture. A -total of 15.75

kilograms of. glyphosate, _

the active ingredient in Vi-
sion, would be applied to
7.5 hectares of backlog
bottom land on Russell
Bolton’s trapline.

The same trapline was

involved in the Canadian.

Forest Service’s proposal
in 1985 to test the unregis-
tered pesticide Garlon, a
proposal . that . was

schools get money

withdrawn after the per-

mit application drew ap-

John Pollack, represen-

ting the Ministry of For--

ests, told the board the

-current appeal was well-

intended but misguided,

- and he asked the board to

consider the size of the
area involved and the
potential benefits that
could emerge from the ex-
periment. Pollack - said
glyphosate is a registered
compound that has been
in use for several years
and he pointed out it has
been approved for use on
over 1,500 hectares of
forest land this year.

- Pollack concluded by
saying the project will be
conducted by ‘very well-
known researchers, not a
group of ‘nozzleheads’,
good team with good ob

. jectives’’. .

The project in question

~would compare standard

conversion treatments for

-logged-over coastal sites
to determine their effec-:

tiveness, Methods used in-
clude manual brush clear-
ing, ground broadcast her-
bicide application. and
hack-and-squirt -manual

‘herbicide application.

‘Terrace resident Earl
Hamilton, representing
STOP, said the- organiza-
tion is opposed to the pro-
ject because: glyphosate is
injurious - to all living
organisms, represents an
unreasonable hazards to
the. operators who use it,
and is dangerous. and des.

tructive to the” environ-

ment.

but no instructions |
for new course.

TERRACE — School
District 88 recently re-
ceived $38,864 from the
B.C. Ministry of Educa-
tion for implementing a
Family Life Program in
local schools, but no
materials are yet available
to set up the course.

The Family Life Pro-
gram is apparently the
ministry’s response to
public concern about Ac-
quired Immune Deficiency
Disease (AIDS), however,
Harold Cox, district direc-
tor of instruction, said
recently, according to the
guidelines he has been
given, only one section of
the ten-hour program
deals with sexually-
transmitted disease.

Cox said the scanty in-
formation available about
the course indicates very
little material on AIDS
and more emphasis on
subjects such as human
anatomy and family rela-
tionships. Of the ten hours
of instruction proposed
for Grades 7-12, he said,
only about three of those
hours appeat to contain
material that isn’t already

advertisement

being covered in existing
science courses. and social
studies.

“It seems to be some-
thing like the old guidance
programs we used to
have,’’ he remarked.

Cox said detailed guide-
lines for Family Life are

not expected before the

end of June, and it ap-
pears individual school
districts will have some

- latitude in setting up the

course. Instruction could
be contracted to a
specialist, or the funding

‘may be used to train

teachers in the system to

. deliver the course.

As an example Cox
pointed to School District
22 in Vernon, where a
specialist was hired. ‘‘The
listed
qualifications a mile long.
They. apparently felt they

needed someone like that
due to the specialized and
sensitive nature of the sub-
ject,’ he said.

Cox indicated it’s too
early to speculate what
form the course will take
in local schools.

In support of his argu-
ment that Vision is dan-
gerous to operators, Ham-
ilton filed a taped inter-
view with a local pesticide
applicator who indicated
contact with the chemical

was difficult to avoid, par-

ticularly in - piece-work
situations that -pay
operators by the hectare.

‘Board members seemed
surprised at one section of
the interview and a subse-
quent: statement by wit-
ness Paul Sneed that unli-
censed workers are some-
times allowed to apply
pesticides under the sup-
ervision of licensed per-
sonnel. Chairman James
Warr pointed out for the
record that- such _pro-
cedures violate regula-
tions.

Sneed ‘stated that when
he worked with pesticides
in the early 1970’s the use

of 2,4-5T was commonly

accepted as a safe practice
but the chemical was later
discovered to have long-
term hazards and conse-
quently banned. He point-
ed out that Vision could
have . undiscovered,
dangerous properties as
well.

Russell Bolton told: the
board he is concerned
about the effect of brush
destruction on the fur-
bearing animals living on
his trapline. Eliminating
the brush also eliminates a
portion of their food sup-
ply, he said, causing them
to move elsewhere.

Bolton, a member of
the Kitsumkalum Indian
Band, said the entire pop-
ulation of his village sup-

ports: him in the appeal.

He pointed out that Salvus
is still used by band
members as a fruit-picking
area and it is becoming in-

‘creasingly. difficult. for
~ people to determine which

areas have been sprayed
with chemicals and which
have not. Concern was

also expressed on behalf

of hunters because game
animals browse on brush
species and could become
contaminated. .

_ Kitsumkalum Band

_ Chief Cliff Bolton, also

called as. a witness, said

the band’s concern is the

same as it has been in
numerous . previous ap-

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pact of chemicals in the
environment. He called
2,4-D, Vision and Garlon
“dangerous “poisons’’,

and called on the govern- .

ment to halt the Salvus

project immediately, -
al

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the sublethal ‘and genetic ©

effects of Vision have not -

been adequately — tested.

“Just because you don’t
drop dead when you touch’

it doesn’t mean there isn’t
any danger,”’ he said. —
In addressing the board -
Bolton expressed regret
that. he was. unable to.call
on the. same scientific
resources available to the -
government, ‘“We cannot,
like the government, | af-
ford technical experts to
give. the board our side. I
am saddened we are not

a Our. people: ave lived”
here for countless genera-
tions. ‘We should not be .

the subject of chemical ex- - IR

periments,’’ he said. -

Bolton. concluded by
urging. the board to con-
sider not only scientific .
' arguments

i. maintained: hag

but also the

al. a
“MmeOr as: ‘implications - of.

their decision.

Earl Hamilton. recently

‘indicated STOP will be fil-

ing appeals against: cight

other permits issued to the

Kalum Forest District -for _

the use of Vision on about

650 hectares in the Terrace .

area. -

Due to recent changes in
_the Environmental Appeal
Board procedures it is not

-known if the appeals: will
be given public hearings or
accepted by the board as
written briefs and ruled on
without hearings. °

Terrace -resident Teena Devost —

reads an information sheet

handed out at the ROMP ©

display booth set up at the

Skeena Mall during . Police
- Week. -

NOREDCO supports

northern projects |

- During the year North-
west people are in a cons-
tant search to better the
environment and . them-
selves. Environmental

projects like fish hat-.-
cheries and farming. help

the. province and create
further. development
which will lead.to worldly
competition and eventual-

ly. better industrial ' ‘stan- |

dards.

‘by Philip Musselman _
The Northern Econom-.

ic Development Corpor-_

ation is supporting North-

west. projects including -

Aquaculture and Green-

‘housing in the area, Many.

~ Disaster Drill ©
meeting held

continued from page 4

the assisting Thornhill
Fire Department. Watch.
for the results of the
Disaster Drill in an up-
coming issue of the Ter-
race Review.

RCMP report

-, Routine road checks on
May 29 by Terrace RCMP
resulted in two impaired
driving charges,

charge of driving with a |

suspended license,’ and
three 24-hour roadside
suspensions of driving

peals - the long-term im privileges against drinking

~~No vehicle?
Do you have problems with picking up prescrip-

tions, groceries, appliances or anything else? For -
all your moving and delivery needs, phone for ax-

drivers,

-perlanced and speedy:
; Service.

one |

‘applications ° ‘are ‘received
‘each year, and several pro-

jects - are ‘given the © go

ahead; but others are

‘found to have need for .

further investigation. .

: The latest effort for the
northern based company
has been the establishing —
of Hydroponic Green- -
housing. Through * this..
growing method the high .
cost of: transporting
vegetables from the lower

_ mainland could be cut
enormously. Hydroponic -
Greenhousing would:
allow local farmers to ac-..

cess:a good local demand
for vegetables, tomatoes
and cucumbers, while also -

giving them the opportun-

ity to create a market in
other areas.

- According to NORED-
CO studies locally grown

vegetables would result in

a savings for Northwest
consumers. High energy.
costs are a bit of a pro-
blem, admittedly, but they
are much lower than the
expenses concerned when
‘such products are shipped
to the area. With some
study and. consideration,

industry, and would bring
the area. strength. Ade
gree. of. self ‘sufficiency
would be a. definite factor
‘in the potential of : ‘the:

region, . .
‘Shipped produce gener

“ally: results. in losses to'a

business, because of
. shrinkage or other factors.

_ Losses to the business.are

then trarisferred to: the’
consumer who’ pays more
for. food.. Fresh. produce
being supplied to grocery

stores would benefit both —

the. businesses: and the
consumers.

. Although conditions
may not be ideal for grow-
-jng, adjustments may be
made so‘ that’ the industry
would still. be. more than
feasible. .

Trucking companies
have expressed concern
over the potential loss of.
business, but the size of a
greenhousing industry in
the area would not be of
any major consequence to
trucking firms. —

Basically the concept
calls for quality and pric-
ing com petition which will

eventually give the con- -

Hydroponic Greenhous- sumer an upper hand .
ing could become a viable when it comes to produce. .
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