-SKEENA-ANGLER ©
ROB BROWN

Everyone loses
in this war

t’s not surprising that man’s most

hideous invention brings out the

worst in him. Flag waving, in-

oo tolerance, suspicion, fierce compe-
tition and the suspension of reason are some of
the key ingredients in recipes for such bar-

_ barisms as ethnic cleansing and concentration

” earaps. There is obviously a great difference be-

tween a fish war and war between men, but this
latest so called fish war has inspired the same

- kind of repulsive reactions from many people
that man wars-do.

“This is not a domestic issue of civil dis-
obedience,’ says Premier Clark in defense of
the commercial fishers who erected the ferry
blockade. ‘‘This is a foreign power stealing
from British Columbia, robbing fish from Brit-
ish Columbia, and using the court system to go
after Canadian citizens.’ With this burst of
jingoistic nonsense, the Premier shows a
breathtaking ignorance of the fishing resource

and an astounding lack of political common -

sense.

This kind of chauvinist grandstanding appeals
to the nationalistic impulses of the uninformed
and it condones the worst possible response to
Alaskan over fishing. Taking a page from Brian
Tobin’s strategy book from the Turbot War may

~ stir patriotic sentiments and carn a few percent-

‘age points in the opinion polls for the Premier,
but ultimately it will cost all of us milliou; and
do nothing for a beleaguered resource.

Let’s put down the flags and placards
‘and take a hard look at what is actual-
ly happening in this war over fish.

Let’s put down the flags and placards and take
a hard look at what is actually happening in this
war over fish. The first question that needs to be
answered before we set out is one of ownership.
Do the salmon belong to us or to Alaska? This
is not an easy puzzle, Pacific salmon are highly
mobile animals whose life cycles are lived over
great distances. AJ salmon spend part of their
lives in fresh water and part of their existence in

the sea. Further complicating matters is the fact

hat some salmon spend most of their lives in
fresh water while others live out most of their
days in the ocean.

If, for example, a pink salmon is spawned in a
river watering some valley in northem B.C.
hatches from the gravel then quickly migrates to
the sea and fattens up off some island in Alaska,
is ita B.C. salmon? When you come right down
to il, the Pacific salmon belong to no one coun-
try; they are part of a world resource, one of the
natural wonders in creation. Neither B.C, nor
the state of Alaska own the salmon resource.
What they own is a responsibility to lake care of
the resource, to act as its responsible stewards
and to ensure that it continues in perpetuity.

Unfortunately, neither the Alaskans or us have
done this, The fishers blockading the Malaspina
want more fish - more pieces as they call them -
and more money, For them, the overall health of
the resource is at best a peripheral concem.
While environmentalists and natives continue to
fight for fish habitat and for more responsible
methods of harvesting salmon, commercial
fishers have fought any suggestion thal the fish
may be in decline. When they have been forced
to admit that stocks like coho are dwindling

they have pushed for environmentally unsound °

solutions like hatcheries.

The path of over exploitation that has reduced
the greatest runs of wild salmon in the world to
the point of extinction and wiped out some runs
completely, can be followed across a field
statistics kept for almost a century. The foot-
prints are large and clear. The demise of the sal-
mon is a result of over fishing.

The only way to negotiate successfully with
the Americans is to take the moral high ground.
First we must get our own house in order. As
suggested in the recent Art May report, the Fed-
eral Government should start issuing licenses
for selective, inland fisheries. Next, in-
discriminate, non-sclective fisheries should be
phased out. Seiners and trollers must fish selec-
tively. These things done, the low-impact, high

-yalue, unsubsidized sport fisheries need to be

_ encouraged.

Last, but not least, the power of the Fisheries
Act must be used fo protect, and in some cases
mitigate, fish habitat destruction. The economic
benefit of these meastires will, in the long mn,
be enormous, When the Alaskans see the

“benefit accruing to an exviroumentally sound

fishing regime they will move In the same

J direction and the days of fish wars will be over.

TERRACE SENT 82? athletes to the BC Sum-
mer Games, and only two came home with
medals.

But that’s not to say our competitors lacked
what it takes to compete with the province’s
best — far from it. Many local athletes were al-
tending their very first Games, and in some
sports, it was the first time for Zone Seven to
have ever senta {eam, ;

Such was the case with waterskiing, The Ter-

race Waterski Ciub sent ten skiers to Burnaby
for the Games — their first trip ever. They fin-
ished seventh of eight zones and none of the
skiers medalled, but the club’s Mark Poppleton
says that wasn’t the point.

“The experience and depth of skiers dawn
there is just incredible,”’ he says. ‘‘We didn’t
expect to medal, but we all had a great time and
everyone skied well. So in that way I guess we
all got gold medals.”’

Poppleton says the whole tcam was nervous
about the big event. They didu’t have much ex-
perience and in one event, jumping, they didn’t
have any experience at all. :

“We just threw on our helmets and our
jumper skis and flew at it,”” be says. ‘“That was
pretty exciling,’”

ae

OUR LOCAL mountain
bikers just can't stop win-
ning.

Two,of our racers recently
scored gold and bronze at
the BC Summer Games,
proving that the northwest is °
quickly becoming a hotbed
for this fast-growing sport.

Chris Scarborough and
Jon Lambert, both 16,
picked up the gold and
bronze in Cadet 14 to 16-
year-old Mens’ off-road
racing.

The course was a loop
through a park built over an
old landfill in Burnaby. In-
stead of a dislance, competi-
tors simply raced as far as
they could go in one hour.

And Scarborough beat
them all.

‘*T just tried to keep a pace
that was slightly faster than

638-7283

ikers two rnaby

says. “I had to keep pump-
ing myself up, telling
myself that [ had the
endurance.”

The course wasn’t very
technical, and the pace was
pretty fast with plenty of op-
portunity to pass other
riders. But both guys say
they would have done just
as well on a more technical
course,

“Up north, there’s techni-
cal stuff everywhere,” Lam-
bert notes, “We're really
used to it.””

Both riders are just start-
ing competitive cycling, but
both say they’re in it for the
long haul.

“The  sport’s grown
dramatically over the last
few years,’’ Scarborough
says. ‘There are way more
races available now.’’

“] just told myself there was no way this guy

was going to beat me.”’

-Chris Scarborough-

everyone else,’ he says.

’ “That way I slowly passed

‘everyone till I was at the
front. There was one guy
who was catching up
towards the end, but I just
told myself there was no
way he was going to beat
me,”

Lambert also had to keep
himself psyched during the
race. He watched several
racers sprint through the
first couple of laps only to
fade later on.

‘Racing involves a lot of
mental strength too,” he

Another northweat racer,
Rebecca Adams of Kitimat
took a silver in the
Women’s Senior Class. And
the guys note that they hope
to see more women at the
races, like Terrace’s Angie
McRae who also competed
in Burnaby.

For them, the woods is a
natural draw. They just
can’t get enough of it,

‘It’s a real adventure,”
Lambert says. ‘You're out
cruising with nature, You
never know what will hap-
pen.”

esented at games

Meanwhile, the Zone Seven U-17 Boys rugby
squad were tackling some of the toughest teams
around. It was only their second trip to the
Games. Last year they played with heart, but
lost every match.

This year they showed considerable improve-
ment, winning two of five matches to take sixth
place. .

Although their first match was a loss to the
Fraser Valley, 23-3, the game was much closer
than the score suggests and the boys were play-
ing well.

Then the south brought out their big guns.
Zone seven lost their next two matches 46-0 and
39-0 to the eventual gold and silver medal win-
ners from Victoria and Vancouver.

*‘The calibre down there is just phenomenal,’
says coach David Hull. ‘“They have a standard
that is just miles ahead of everyone else. It’s in-
credibly impressive.”

The boys went on to win two in a row against
the Cariboo and Koolenays, Based on their im-
pressive play, three team members including
Terrace’s Neil Hailey and Mike McMynn were
shortlisted for the Provincial all-star team. In
the end, Jan Wick of Prince Rupert was
selected,

“*That was quite an honour,’’ Hull says.” ~~

Anotlier team to receive that honour was the '
14-and-Under Girls’ soccer squad.

The girls also won two of their five games and
their play caught the attention of the provincial
scouts.

The two wins were decisive victories, bath 7-
0 blowouts. The two losses in regular play were ©
to tough Vancouver teams, both of which were
close, but the northwest just couldn’t hang on.

“They were too powerful,” coach Nick Kol-
lias says of the Vancouver teams. ‘‘And it was
really hot. ] think that might have made a dif-
ference tao.’”

Lavra Conton of Terrace and Angela Inhof
obviously didn’t mind the beat too much. They
were chosen to be on the Provincial team, which
will play in the Western Canada finals, then on
to the Nalionals if they win.

“J’ve coached Laura for three years,” Kollias
says. ‘‘She's one of the best.”’

Terrace athletes also helped represent Zone
Seven in boys’ baseball and basketball — both
teams finished eighth. And our Zone played
well in tenuis too, including a fifth-place finish
by the Terrace senior mixed doubles team.

YOUR HORSE strains for-
ward as you gallop along
the wooded trail, trying to

grab more rein from your -
hands, You round a comer :

and pull back — there's a
Jog jump ahead, It’s on 4
downward slope and you
don’t know what's on the
other side.

What's even scaricr is that
your horse doesn’! know el-
ther — will he stop right be-
fore the jump and send you
tumbling forward painfully?
You lean back slightly, sink
your weight into your heels
to help balance you in the
gaddie, then give your geld-
ing more rein as you urge
him over the jump.

Cross-country jumping, or
eventing, takes a Jot of guls
for both horse and rider.
And the top place win for
Terrace’s new pony club in
their first-ever competition
makes the event even more
special.

The competition, or sally,
was held in Smithers July
25-27, Il attracted 13 teams
from as far away as Ques-
nel. Nearly 40 horses look
part, as well as their riders,
grooms and team caplains.

Pony Club js for children

and teens interested ~ in

horses, As well as riding ©

skills, club members learn
aboul horse anatomy, how
to care for, feed and clean
their horses. There’s also a

large emphasis on safety. ~

This is the first time Terrace
has ever had a Pony Club.

- The rally in Smithers had

three componcnis — a dres-
sage test (where horses do
controlled figures in a ring
at different gaits), stadium
jumping and cross country
jumping. -

There were a number of
different divisions in the
competition and nine of the
teams, including the oae
from. Terrace, competed at
the beginner level.

Only six of the 14 girls in

the Terrace club travelled to
Smithers for the rally. They

ranged in age from 12-15.

+ The girls. were tested on

more than riding. Horses,
stalls -and tack (such ~ as

. saddies and bridles) had to
. be spotless, That part of the
_competition is referred to as

stable management. -

“It was pretty mind bend-
ing,’”? said parent ‘and
orgatiizer Cathy Gavronsky.
Every piece of tack had to

-be hung up in a separate

tack stall and labelled. And
each horse ad to have a
chart which .showed bow
much it was fed and when,

New club wins first t

‘There was stuff every-
where,’” said Gavronsky.
“Tt took ten of us three

,, hours to set up three stalls.”

"? Gavronsky’s daughter Pam,
Ashley Baxter and Meghan
Janes, Their horses were or-

. dinary mounts and included
one 21-year-old Morgan
who had to be whipped into
shape for the event.

“She was a total chuak,’” fe
said Margaret Baxter, one of §

ihe other parent organizers.

Janes, who rode the older
Morgan named Mom, said
the horse lost about 150
pounds before the competi-
tion. ‘

‘The girls conditioned their

U

aT

There were three riders — |

rne

7 phe

PIETY

PT ie

_ horses for a month or two §

“beforchand by galloping
them in the field,

And ‘they all loved the
crosscountry portion of the
competition.

‘There was one part in
_the course where you go

Deena et
Gorey Wed

down a hill and around @ HE NEW Terrace Pany Club Is riding high after a
successful rally in Smithers.

light corner to the right

- Then there’s this yellow

wagoll right in front of you.

So ] kicked her and she just
flew over it,’’ said Janes.

She bad a elcan round at

the ctoss-country event — a

- surprising feat since both

_ she and the horse had never

competed in a cross-country
course before.

The riders competed al
more than just the rally dur-
ing the weekend, Another
competition —- overlapped
theirs -— the Bulkicy. Valley

Horse Trials. That involved
another twenty or so riders.
The Terrace team com-
peted in the Junior Green
division, doing very well,
taking home a 2nd, 4th and
~ Sth place finish,