Volunteer mourned The death last week of Gert | Bus stop gone Royal scare A Thornhill bus stop has been vandalism\NEWS AQ take out because of noise and Grundmann leaves a big hole in the city\COMMUNITY B1 King of the Mountain racer ran vu -into more than bargained for on oe the weekend\SPORTS B6 WEDNESDAY JULY 30, 1997 N 93¢ PLUS 7¢ GST VOL, 10 NO. 16 Fish war claims upriver victims By DAVID TAYLOR THE INTERNATIONAL war for sal- mon in the commercial fishing industry has taken a huge tol] on some of B.C.’s most valued sportsfish. Those involved in the sportsfishing in- dustry say that while public attention has been focussed on ferry blockades and political rhetoric, some of the province’s ° most threatened species have nearly dis- appeared. Sporisfish advisory board chair Jim Culp says fish and those who catch them for recreation aren't represented in a war that has focussed almost entirely on Premier Glen Clark and the commercial fleet. “The value of sportsfishing in this pro- vince is greater than the entire commer- cial fishery,’? he says. ‘‘And there has week old black bear, tries to bite off on her front leg. She was brought into the Skeena jast week after she was found on the seemed malnourished,’’ Matheson tho the bear cub’s mother had died. “We got an IV and some fluids in so we dewormed her.” BARELY STANDING ON wobbly legs, Toni, a. 10- been a dramatic downward slide in the: fish that represent the bread and butter of the sportsfishing industry.”” According to a federal test fishery, Skeena runs of summer steelhead, coho and Kalum chinook are at some of -their lowest levels in recorded history. The steelhead return index is showing the third-lowest return ever recorded — less than one ninth of the previous ten- year average. If the returns continue at this rate, only 13,000 steelhead will probably make their way upstream. That's far below the estimated 25,000-34,000 fish needed to replenish the stacks. “It’s terrible,” says DFO biologist Les Janz. ‘“You can only hope the runs are coming in late for so long before you push the panic button.” t The commercial fishery is scheduled to coniinue until Aug. 4. But Janz says return numbers are so low that the DFO will likely have to cut back some of the remaining commercial fishing days to prevent any further damage to the runs. And he says he’s well aware of a potential for backlash from commercial fishers, who are still fuming over Alas- kan overcatch of Skeena-bound sockeye, “They’re already warmed up,” Janz notes. “This won’t be an casy decision to make,”’ ' This year was especially bad for the salmon because the Alaskan fleet inter- cepted massive numbers of Skeena- bound sockeye (steelhead as well since the fish travel together) off the southeast coast of the state. And while Canadian commercial boats are gunning for sockeye, a large number of coho and steelhead are still caught and killed in their nets, “It’s a double-edged sword,’’ Janz notes. Steelhead Society vice president Bruce Hill thinks the DFO’s decision should be an easy one. He argues the reason why steelhead and coho numbers have been depleted so badly is because of poor fisheries management. “They (DFO) say they will shut down in August, but that’s too Jate,”’ Hill says. ‘We're getting really frustrated with them and if they don’t do better we'll sce (hem in court, If they can’t take care of the fish, maybe the courts can.”’ Hill agrees the DFO will be under pressure from the commercial fleet to give them more fishing time, but he says the department cannot allow that to hap- pen if they want to protect the threatened coho and steelhead runs, ; Meanwhile, provincial biologist Bob Hooton says there is still time for steel- head numbers to bounce back. , “It's a roulette game,” he says, ‘‘But the carly numbers aren’t good. There’s, Strong evidence io suggest the Alaskan fishery has been really tough on Skeena steethead.”” , Hooton also notes that overall catch success rates by sports fishers on the Skeena have been quite poor this year. - Asurvey he did last week of 38 anglers downstream from Terrace tumed up jus five catches —-all chinook. **There’s a lot of disappointed peopl out there,” he says. . Many groups form — MLA recall coalition — the blue bandage band aid on her leg. Animal Hospital side of the high- VETERINARIAN Heather Matheson cuddles a 10-week-old black bear named To Toni finds new home As soon as she smells the fresh air Toni perks up — trying to wander around until she gets distracted by the ni. But by the time Toni left on Friday morning, she was doing much better, and cating well. Staff was feeding - the issue?’” Last week the locai restructure committee A COALITION of diverse people and groups is coming together here with one purpose — ousting Skeena NDP MLA Hel- mut Giesbrecht from office. The coalition hopes to gather enough sig- natures to force a by-election\*for Gies- brecht’s seat, : _ Those close to the recall movement say gathering the signatures will require a lot of organization but says it’s possible. The coalition already includes the Cana- dian Taxpayers Federation, a business lobby group which focuses on government spending, the local chapter of Active Citizens of B.C., formed to combat what it says is increasing state control of education, key local members of the Reform Party of B.C. and those affected by the Skeena Cel- lulose financial crisis. If there isa common thread connecting the groups, it’s the opinion that the provin- cial government is neither democratic nor representative of the voters nor honest. The taxpayers federation keys on Premier Glen Clark saying there was a balanced budget before the 1996 provincial election and then stating it was in deficit after the vote. “We know from the documents released under freedom of information that they knew there was a deficit,’’ said federation executive director Troy Lanigan. Key people involved say each group will bring its own expertise in raising money or in organizing people to the coalition. Giesbrecht’s Skeena riding has been targeled because of the interest shown here, said Lanigan. ‘First and foremost there has Put up your dukes, says MLA. For that, see Page A2. to be a local organization in place. We see our role as a support where there Is the potential for success,”" he said. , Skeena is also attractive because people here are less mobile than in urban settings, Lanigan added, That's important because _ organizers have to sign up at least 40 per cent of the number of people who were on the voters list in the 1996 election. And those that sign up must be still be on a valid voters list someplace in the pro- vince, Based on the nearly 19,000 people on the 1996 List, organizers will need just under 7,600 signatures. “T think army is the right word to use. IUll need a lot of discipline,’ said Lanigan.. A taste of what that army might look like came July 16 when 130 people signed up to work on a recall campaign. ‘ That took place at an Active Citizens of B.C. rally at the arena featuring Kari Simp- son who spoke against the teaching in pub- lic schools of tolerance toward homosexuality. More than 500 people turned up and that kind of organizational ability on the part of Active Citizens of B.C. will be nceded fora successful recall campaign. But Mike Rosenau, the pastor of the Full, Gospel Christian Fellowship church bere and a representative for Active Citizens, said other commitments prevent bim from taking a direct, key leddership role in recall. Merge vote this fall RESIDENTS OF Terrace and Thomhill go to the polls Oct. 18 to answer one ques- tion: do you favour the amalyamation of the two conumunilies? “It's simple and it’s direct,”” Thornhill regional district director Les Wat- mough says of the question on the ballot. “Why confuse recommended the municipal affairs ministry held the referendum. “Historically I'd say the odds are against it,’’ he says. ‘‘But things change. People will have to make up their own minds,” Watmough himseif docsn't like a deal negotia- ted with the province be- cause means Terrace resi- dents will get a small tax bresk and Thornhill resi- dents will see their taxes go up — especially businesses. ‘Some of the tax numbers are a bit funny,’’ he says. To help lessen the impact of the taxes, the committee way between Prince Rupert and Terrace. “She was pretty non-responsive when she came in,”’ said vet Heather Matheson. “She was very thin and said Matheson. Matheson is new to Terrace and this is the first time she’s ever treated a bear. One of the first things she did was feed Toni a glucose solution, in or- der to stabilize her. ‘‘She was chock full of worms too, Staff at the clinic began taking Ton oviside as soon as possible, The cub weighs just 15lbs, so they picked her up like a baby then placed her on the grass. her a diluted milk replacement for puppies. : Toni’s vet bill was paid for by the vet clinic. The clinic treats injured wildlife at no charge. Toni is now at a rehab shelter for wildlife in Smithers, called the Northern Lights Animal Shelter. It’s run by trained animal keepers Angelika and Peter Langen. The shelier often takes animals such moose and bears, “She'll stay with us ull next spring, and then she’ll be released,”’ said Angelika Langen. The Langen’s have released 37 beats back into the wilderness. Most are baby bears — somelimes brought into the shelter when they’re not even old enough to see. Cont'd Page A2 ught It was likely her right away,”’ Two separate votes will be held — one in Terrace, the otter in Thornhill and the affected rutal areas. A ma- jority vote must carry in both sreas for the referenduno to pass, If it does pass, a larger Terrace will include Braun’s Island, Thornhill and the airport bench. Terrace city council will also be enlarged by three seats for Thornhill council- lors. Watmough will be one, Les Watmough the other two will be elected by Thormhill residents. “Thomhill will have to get on their horse and elect some people,” Watmough says. ‘'They could have a big influence on city council — If the vote goes that direction.”’ But Watmough says he’s not especially confident the vote will go that direction. has recommended a five- year tax phase-in plan for Thornhill businesses and property owners on Braun’s Island, It also wants a guaf- antee that the approximately $1.5 million in per capiie grant money coming from the province will be used only for projects in the areag added to Terrace. Watmough says there will be plenty of opportunity for residents to be heard before the vote.