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Landfill
delay
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by Cheryl Waugh
NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN and the ISLANDS ----The
new landfill site opening might be delayed until spring to give
the municipality more time to set operation procedures and conduct
training at the site. Public Works Chair Ron Lewis was emphatic
that no decision has been made yet about delaying the opening,
although he did admit it has been brought up as a suggestion
by staff, and that the Public Works committee will discuss a
spring opening tonight (Wednesday) at its monthly meeting. The
site is currently scheduled to be open by December 1, however,
Hydro isn't expected to be established at the site until November
20, a mere seven working days before the site is actually supposed
to be up and running. While construction was ahead of schedule
in September, rainstorms in October have slowed down the work,
while creating a very muddy work area. Still, Mr. Lewis said
construction is proceeding fairly close to schedule, and it
will probably be the municipality - with a desire to have a
smooth opening - who will put the brakes on the December 1 opening,
if it is needed. "There are things that need to be in place
so we can open in an orderly manner," he said, mentioning operating
procedures, ensuring workers are fully trained, which might
be difficult if power does not go in until late November, informing
the public of their responsibilities at the site, and providing
for safe snowplowing, something that hasn't been decided yet.
"It's quite conceivable that we could have quite a bit of snow
by December 1, and no one has considered how we will be plowing
the snow, especially around the recycling bins. We don't want
damaged concrete or curbs around the bins because of a snowplow,"
he said. He said the issue of snowplowing will also be brought
up at the Public Works meeting tonight. The decision of who
will take NEMI's recyclable goods also still has to be made,
although a package of recycling proposals was brought forward
at a meeting with staff on Tuesday. As well, at a special meeting
Monday night, council awarded the contract to do the construction
of the poleline extension into the landfill site to J.J. Poleline,
of Little Current. J.J. Poleline bid $41,500, H&C Poleline,
of Blind River, bid $42,900, and Hydro One bid $70,520 (figures
do not include GST). Hydro One will connect the line extension
to the existing line for $16,854, plus GST. That work is non-contestable,
and must be done by Hydro One. Councilor Lewis admitted there
are a lot of things that must come together for there to be
a December 1 opening. "There are some ifs and grey areas out
there," said Mr. Lewis, "and we haven't made a decision on it
yet, but we want to open in a smooth and orderly manner. If
we have to rush to have everything ready by December 1, well,
that's no way to open. Also, if we have problems with snowfall,
it might be beneficial to hold off the opening until spring."
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Council
proposes new fish limits become law
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by Neil Zacharjewicz
NORTH CHANNEL - The Eastern Georgian Bay
/ North Channel Stewardship Council has recommended the new
fish limits it proposed earlier this year become the new fishing
regulations. In July of this year, the council proposed reducing
the fish limits roughly by half on walleye, northern pike, yellow
perch and bass in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. The regulations
were proposed by the stewardship council, which is composed
of 25 people from a broad range of public interests, and from
all over Georgian Bay and the North Channel, who want to address
the apparent declines in the quality of the fish. Council members
include lodge, marina, and tackle shop owners, fish and game
club representatives, cottage association representatives, fishing
guides and a First Nations representative. Technical, scientific
and financial support was provided by the Ministry of Natural
Resources (MNR). In over 10 months of meetings, the council
reviewed extensive scientific data which showed that many fish
populations in Georgian Bay are declining, and in some cases
have been decimated. The council reportedly explored and debated
various ways of protecting the fishery through regulation changes,
such as slot size, seasons, equipment restrictions (barbless
hooks) and catch and possession limits. "We wanted to make sure
our recommendations would result in a better fishery, but we
did not want to see the regulations even more complicated than
they already are, so we took a straight forward approach with
catch and possession limits," stated Terry Crawford, Director
with the Georgian Bay Anglers and Hunters Club and co-chair
of the council. The council circulated over 7,500 copies of
an information tabloid to tackle shops, marinas, lodges and
cottage groups throughout Georgian Bay and the North Channel.
The tabloid outlined the recommendations as well as the background
of the council, scientific data and the process by which the
recommendations were developed. Attached to the tabloid was
a survey. The council reported an above average amount of the
surveys were returned, and the council members were pleased
with the results. Over 70 percent of the 300 respondents were
in favor of the recommendations. "The survey showed that the
general public supports the direction we are going in. We are
really encouraged to see that most people see this as a step
toward improving the fishery, and for lodge operators like me,
improving our business," stated Tim Kobelka, owner of Brennan
Harbour Resort and co-chair of the council. "The survey supports
the idea that nowadays people fish more for the experience than
the need to fill the freezer." The council reported the number
one objection to the recommendations revolved around the issue
of cormorants. The majority of those objecting, it indicated,
felt the government should first take steps to control the fish-eating
birds before any regulations were changed. "That is a fair objection,"
suggested Chris Skelton, a member of the council representing
the McGregor Bay Association. "The birds are a big problem in
the Manitoulin Island area. We want to see cormorants controlled
and initially had the issue higher on our agenda. We were of
the understanding that the MNR was prepared to address this
issue last summer, so it was not kept as our number one priority.
Our next meeting in November of 2001 is focusing almost entirely
on cormorants, and we will likely follow this with a position
on the issue." As a result of the level of support for the proposed
regulations, the council has forwarded its recommendation to
the MNR, who is moving it through consultation with senior staff,
with the ultimate decision being made by the Minister of Natural
Resources John Snobelen sometime this month. Following his decision,
the recommendations must go to the Federal Department of Fisheries
and Oceans for approval. The earliest the changes could be in
effect would be for the year 2002. "It is a slow process, but
a necessary one to ensure the public is consulted," stated Arunas
Liskauskas, the MNR biologist who facilitates the operation
of the council. "Any change, even a clearly positive step forward
like this one, takes time and effort. But it's worth it for
the sake of a much stronger fishery." Mr. Liskauskas indicated
the council received no formal statement from the United Fish
and Game Clubs of Manitoulin (UFGCM). However, he did note the
Island was represented by Bill Strain, owner and operator of
Whitehaven Cottages in Sheguiandah, who served as a member of
the council. Mr. Liskauskas did indicate he had heard unofficially
that UFGCM had been expressing some concern, but noted the MNR
is uncertain as to which of the fish regulation proposals the
organization is concerned with. He pointed out in addition to
the proposal from the council, there was also a proposal put
forward by the MNR dealing with the inland lakes this summer,
but noted the two proposals are separate issues. He suggested
there appears to be some confusion as to which proposal the
UFGCM is opposed to. Concern was expressed by lodge operators
in the Bay of Islands area shortly after the public input deadline,
he indicated, and a special meeting was held, which included
the Northern Ontario Tourism Outfitters (NOTO) representative
for Division 17. As a result of that meeting, he pointed out,
the Bay of Islands was granted an additional representative
on the council.
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Bears
get a free ride back to the North Shore
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by Diana Smith
MANITOWANING ---This past Saturday the Elliotts, who live on
Napier Street, awoke to find they had a young black bear visiting
a tree in their yard. The bear had come in search of food and
was surprised to find that the dog food it was sniffing, and
looking for in the little house below the tree, belonged to
a Husky named Tundra, who was at home. The bear being a bit
shy decided to climb the tree and settled there for the duration
of his stay. The Ontario Provincial Police and Ministry of Natural
Resources were notified, and local MNR Officer John Diebolt
arrived shortly afterward. Meanwhile, various neighbours dropped
by to give the visitor the once over and take a quick snapshot
of the celebrity. Tundra was moved a short distance away as
the MNR had asked the Elliotts to see if they could possibly
keep the bear up the tree until they got there. This black bear
is one of many that have been spotted on the Island this year.
The town of Little Current has had so many, the MNR have contacted
a private contractor who is bringing in a couple traps to help
move a few out of the area. According to Officer Diebolt, the
past summer was too dry, and it produced a poor year for the
berry crops on the Island. Although bears will eat plants or
animals when natural foods are not in abundance, they look for
alternate food sources, especially just prior to hibernation
when they need to double their body weight. The Manitowaning
visitor was born in the year 2000, and was probably a year-and-a-half-old,
out on his own for the first time. Officer Diebolt had called
for the MNR Officer, Dennis Lefebvre, from the Espanola office,
whose job it would be to tranquilize and transport the treed
bear. While everyone waited Officer Diebolt answered questions
for those present, explaining the black bear usually had a territory
of about 34 kilometers. Males, especially young ones, roam until
they find a territory not occupied by another larger dominant
male. This bear in the Elliotts tree was only about 50 pounds,
and because of poor diet was on the small side. What amazes
Officer Diebolt is although we have plenty of salmon on the
Manitou River, he has never seen a bear trying to catch them,
like the black bear in British Columbia. "The Island is a perfect
area for bears, with all the abandoned farms, and small orchards
off the beaten track. They have always been here, but in earlier
years when there was more population and more cleared farmlands
on the Manitoulin, there wasn't as many bears." He commented,
"We had one trapped here four years ago that had a Michigan
tag on it. It had routinely swam across from Drummond Island
to Colburn Island during the mating season." Officer Lefebvre
arrived for his twelfth call this year, most of them have been
in Espanola. He used a combination of two drugs, one is a stimulant
that paralyzes the muscles so it can't move and the other is
a relaxant, so their internal organs don't react to the stress.
The bear never lost consciousness was aware of everything that
was happening. After the bear exited the tree, he was monitored
and was transported about 40 kilometers north of Espanola. Because
of the drugs, some systems such as tear ducts won't function
for awhile. As a safety precaution, Officer Lefebvre applies
Visine and Vaseline to the bear's eyes, so that they do not
dry out and become damaged during transport. "We don't usually
tranquilize. If we get a report of a roaming bear, especially
at night, we don't want a grumpy bear waking up in someone's
yard the next morning. If they are roaming, we monitor them
until a situation like this one presents itself, where they
are treed," said Officer Lefebvre. Everything was professionally
handled and went as smooth as clockwork, the visiting bear was
on his way to his new home approximately 15 minutes after being
tranquilized.
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