Volume 19, No. 1 Winter 2013

Working through the phases:Nile Creek Qualicum BayFlagship Project Updateby Jack Imhof, National Biologist,Director of Conservation Ecology

Pic

ture

sque

Nil

e C

reek

. Ch

ris

Bre

aky

phot

o.T uesday September 22, 2009 marked the

official launch of the Nile Creek Qua-

licum Bay Flagship Project fueled by an

initial RBC Blue Water Leadership Grant of

$75,000. In September of 2011 Trout Unlimited

Canada and its project partners, the Nile Creek

Enhancement Society (NCES) and Vancouver

Island University (VIU) were once again proud

recipients of a second RBC Blue Water Leader-

ship Grant as part of a $225,000 award for both

the Nile Creek Qualicum Bay and Alberta’s

Drywood Creek Flagship Projects.

The Nile Creek Qualicum Bay Flagship Proj-

ect focuses on six creeks: Nile, Nash, Thames,

Annie, Ridgwil, Black Brook and Westglade.

These project creeks flow into Georgia Strait,

in the Bowser to Qualicum Bay area of east

central Vancouver Island. At one time the

region was famous for its angling opportuni-

ties, including Pacific salmon, steelhead, Dolly

Varden char and cutthroat trout. Today the

fish resources in this area are not what they

used to be, a key environmental alarm. Each

of the streams within this Flagship Project has

been directly and indirectly affected by land

development, including construction along the

coast highway.

Phase I of the project focused on two small

watersheds, Nash and Thames Creeks. Phase

II saw expansion to Annie Creek. Ridgwil,

Black Brook and Westglade are slated for fu-

ture phases of this project.

It is important to note that the six water-

sheds are part of a significant groundwater

source for the area, providing water for both

private and municipal uses. The six water-

sheds offer numerous restoration opportuni-

ties and untapped enhancement potential.

The three major objectives of the Nile Creek

Qualicum Bay Flagship Project are:

• Re-build sea-run cutthroat trout popula-

tions in creeks and streams flowing into

Qualicum Bay on Vancouver Island by re-

storing degraded habitat, re-establishing

Continued on Page 3

BOW RIVER MALLARD POINT PROJECT • POLICEMAN & STAUFFER CREEK UPDATES • NEWS FROM NATIONAL

Trout Unlimited Canada’s National Newsletter 1

Currents: Volume 19, No. 1 • Winter 20122

What is TUC’s policy on… ?

the federal budget, omnibus rides, canoe

transportation laws, a National Conservation

Strategy, pipelines, mines, fracking, invasive

species, mega-quarries, fish kills from pesti-

cide runoff, government reorganization, fish-

ing regulations, groundwater contamination,

logging, ecological flows, what fish should

be allowed where, the declining numbers of

anglers, too many anglers, didymo, land use

planning, sale of water by irrigation districts

and global warming.

These are just some of the things that I have

been asked to state TUC’s policy or position on

in the last year. My dad used to say that where

you end up often depends on where you start.

Where we start at TUC has four inter-related

components:

Our membership: We are membership

based, organized around volunteer chapters

formed to do actual on the ground habitat work

in their own area. Each adult member has a

vote for the twelve members on our board of

directors. Each member has the opportunity to

become one of those directors. The tricky part

is that sometimes our members have differing

views. We have members who believe the best

thing that could happen for Canada would be

that the Northern Gateway pipeline be built.

We have members who I think would stake

their lives on the opposite proposition.

Our status as a charity: Because we are a

charity everything we do must be guided by our

mission statement: To conserve, protect and restore

Canada’s freshwater ecosystems and their cold water

resources for current and future generations. Being

a charity puts limits on the amount of pure ad-

vocacy work we are allowed to do. We meet with

government officials when we are given the op-

portunity to inform and educate them regarding

our members’ concerns and what we believe to

be best for the fisheries resource. Because our

biologists are respected and we are seen as a

positive organization that is trying to help, we

get asked for advice fairly often.

Science: It may sound clichéd but we are

guided by science. Our advisors and biologists

tell us that the greatest gains can be made first

by ensuring there is a sufficient quantity of wa-

ter in a system, second by ensuring the quality

of that water, third from directly working on

fish habitat and fourth from working directly

with fish populations and species distribution.

It’s not always that simple and linear but in gen-

eral that is the way we approach a problem.

Funding and capacity: Donors generally

give TUC funding to do habitat or education

work. If someone says to me that TUC should

mount an advertising campaign to do this or

stop that, my first response may simply be, “We

don’t have funding or capacity for that sort of

activity.” No matter how desirable it is or how

badly it might be needed. The bulk of our fund-

ing goes into habitat or education. And that is

the way it should be.

To guide the actions of the organization

TUC’s Board of Directors have passed policies

on Water Quality, Water Quantity, Habitat

Management and Fish Species and Stocking as

a Management Tool. These can be found on our

website under the “Who We Are” dropdown

menu and then by clicking “What We Believe.”

I don’t believe we need to have published

policies on things like chemical fish kills, in-

vasive species and global warming. Take it as a

given. We are against them.

What’s Going On?by Jeff Surtees

The harder cases for us as an organization

have always been the highly divisive and po-

liticized debates. Issues such as pipeline, mine

and quarry construction, fracking in the Sacred

Headwaters of the Skeena, Nass and Stikine

Rivers in BC and the recent national discussion

over the massive changes being made to federal

environmental legislation including the Fisher-

ies Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act, the

Canadian Environmental Assessment Act amongst

others. Because we want to focus on physical

habitat work, because there can be a divergence

of viewpoints amongst our members, because

we are not funded or legally able to be an ad-

vocacy group, because often things are not as

simple from a scientific perspective as “common

sense” would have you believe — we have tradi-

tionally limited our involvement on these issues

to trying to inform the powers of the day as to

what we believe the correct course of action to

be. Sometimes we are effective in taking that ap-

proach, other times not as effective.

For instance, we have not been effective in

our attempts to influence the current round of

changes to federal environmental legislation

and cuts to the inland offices of the Depart-

ment of Fisheries and Oceans. Nor has anyone

else. All of the changes that were planned and

included in Bill C-38 and Bill C-45 have been

passed unchanged, with some provisions yet to

come into force. We have expressed the views

of our members during meetings and phone

calls with federal officials. I won’t describe the

details of the changes here because plenty has

already been written. For a good summary, see

the Ecojustice website by searching for “Enviro-

law Watch” on your web browser. The changes

are profound, far-reaching, complex and long-

lasting. Not every change that is being made is

bad. No reasonable person is against increased

efficiency in environmental assessments or bet-

ter rules for dealing with invasive species.

But taken as a whole, the view of our mem-

bers is that by narrowing the focus of the fed-

eral Fisheries Act to fisheries of “recreational,

commercial and Aboriginal value” and focus-

ing on “serious harm”, by removing most of the

protections available under the former Navigable

REBUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF OUR RIVERS AND STREAMSTUC NEWS FROM NATIONAL

TUC CEO Jeff Surtees. TUC photo.

Continued on Page 8

Trout Unlimited Canada’s National Newsletter 3

NILE CREEK QUALICUM BAY FLAGSHIP PROJECT UPDATE (cont’d from P.1)

and improving access to restored, pro-

ductive cutthroat trout habitat from the

inter-tidal area to the headwaters of the

six streams;

• Build and test a model for engaging the

local community and a post-secondary

education institution in the planning and

delivery of a broader area conservation

program with five components: conserva-

tion, youth engagement, science develop-

ment/project management, communica-

tion, and fund-raising;

• Provide technical information on water

resources in the target watersheds to help

the community protect their watersheds

and groundwater resources.

Phase II ActivitiesIn 2011-2012 numerous priority items were

addressed. Since the RBC Bluewater Proj-

ect™ grant announcement in 2011 several

community and team meetings took place.

The purpose of these meetings was to com-

municate and finalize work plan priorities

and identify core roles and responsibilities

within the project.

On October 16, 2012 over 34 people at-

tended a highly successful community

meeting to provide an update of activities

to date and to identify additional landown-

er interest. Attendees included representa-

tives from the Qualicum First Nations, the

Regional Municipality of Nanaimo, the

Member of the Legislative Assembly for

Parksville and the local RBC branch man-

ager for Qualicum Beach.

Monitoring within the project water-

sheds has been an ongoing priority since

Phase I began in October of 2009. As part of

Phase II, temperature and water discharge

monitoring was initiated on Annie Creek

in October of 2011. Nash and Thames

Creeks have had similar monitoring for the

past two years. NCES volunteers have invest-

ed over 60 hours monitoring dissolved oxygen

levels and turbidity on Nile and Thames Creek.

In addition to the temperature and discharge

monitoring on Annie Creek a complete habitat

assessment will take place in 2013.

Fish passage remains a project priority. De-

sign work has been completed on the low flow

fish passage under the highway on Nash Creek.

Once ownership and responsibility issues have

been worked out between the region and the

province, restoration work should begin in

2013.

2012 saw a successful resolution to an old

water diversion on the headwaters of Nash

Creek through the construction of a reconnec-

tion to the creek. The next steps involve the

reconnection of off-stream ponds for nursery

and overwintering habitat. These reconnec-

tions will join Nash Creek’s headwaters to its

downstream portions, increasing stream flow

and providing connections to floodplain pools

and ponds.

On Thames Creek, three major barriers to

fish passage were identified during Phase I of

the project. The first, a highway culvert spill-

way, was redesigned and retrofitted in 2010.

The other two barriers were a perched railway

culvert spillway and culvert baffle damage.

The perched spillway created a small waterfall,

making it difficult for fish to migrate upstream.

Culvert baffles break up water flow and provide

current refuge to fish moving through the cul-

vert. The damaged baffles were repaired this

year as part of Phase II. Construction of riffles

to raise water levels adjacent to the perched

spillway will be completed in 2013.

Development of an improved working rela-

tionship with the local Water Board, who issue

water licences and oversees water supply man-

agement for the local community, was a Phase

II priority. A sound working relationship en-

sures the Water Board has the best information

regarding adequate water supply for the local

community while maintaining healthy ground-

water reserves. This priority was achieved and

the Water Board is now closely linked to the

Nile Creek Qualicum Bay Project.

The Nile Creek Qualicum Bay Project contin-

ues to enjoy strong partner and community sup-

Chris Breaky photo. Continued on Page 8

Currents: Volume 19, No. 1 • Winter 20124

TUC NEWS FROM NATIONAL

Sport fish made up 33% of all fish rescued

this year, consistent with the 30% average over

the last seven years. Mountain whitefish were

the most abundant sport fish captured, repre-

senting 28% of the total catch. Longnose dace

were the most predominant non-sport fish,

accounting for 27% of all fish rescued. The

largest fish caught during this year’s Fish Res-

cue, a brown trout, weighing 2598 grams (5.7

pounds) and measuring 58.7 cm (23 inches),

came from the Lethbridge Northern Head-

works Canal.

Trout Unlimited Canada extends a sincere

thanks to all the enthusiastic hardworking vol-

unteers and generous donors that contributed

to the 2012 Fish Rescue. TUC also wishes to

thank the Alberta Environment and Sustain-

able Resource Development for their financial

Trout Unlimited Canada’s Mallard Point Habitat Enhancement Project

M allard Point side channel is lo-

cated at the north end of Calgary’s

Fish Creek Provincial Park. Me-

andering approximately three km before re-

joining the Bow River, the channel forms the

Now our challenge is to stabilize year-round

flows in the side channel by re-designing the

channel entrance, enabling the side channel to

continue to benefit the Bow River, its aquatic

ecosystem and its shoreline habitat.

Restoration projects such as Mallard Point

take time, effort and, of course, money. Re-

cently, Trout Unlimited Canada was awarded

a $40,000 grant from the Calgary Foundation

for the Mallard Point Fish Habitat Enhance-

ment Project. Great news, as TUC continues to

improve Calgary`s water quality, enhance and

protect fish, wildlife and waterfowl habitat.

Despite this generous award, we still need

help to realize our goal of preserving and re-

storing Mallard Point. This where you have an

opportunity to help — through Shell Canada’s

FuellingChange™ program.

Shell Canada’s

FuellingChange™

program supports

e n v i r o n m e n t a l

projects and orga-

nizations as select-

ed by voters. Trout

Unlimited Canada

and its Bow River

Chapter need

your votes to win

$100,000 for the Mal-

lard Point Habitat

Enhancement Project.

To vote, scan the QR Code at the bottom left

of this page, or register by visiting www.fuel-

lingchange.com. TUC encourages you to vote

often before voting ends on April 30, 2013.

For more information on the Mallard Point

Habitat Enhancement project and Trout Un-

limited Canada, visit www.tucanada.org.

2012 Alberta Fish Rescue – Saving Lives One Canal at a Time

T his year Trout Unlimited Canada’s

Alberta Fish Rescue saved a variety

of fish stranded in six major south-

ern Alberta irrigation canals. These canals

divert water for agricultural purposes from

the Bow, Highwood, Oldman, Belly and Wa-

terton Rivers. With the help of 358 volunteers,

37,506 fish were rescued and transported to

open water bodies.

southern border of Poplar Island, a designated

nature preserve.

Side channels play an important role in dissi-

pating energy from the main river channel dur-

ing times of high water flow, providing critical

habitat for fish and aquatic invertebrates, and

connecting rivers to their floodplains. This

delivers essential water for plant growth and

regeneration along the shoreline, creating a

healthy and functional riparian area.

In 1995, Trout Unlimited Canada improved

flow in the Mallard Point side channel by re-

moving materials that had accumulated in

its mouth over

time. However,

flood events in

2005 and 2007

re-deposited

subst ant i a l

amounts of gra-

vel and debris

in the channel.

and in-kind support, as well as A. Lassonde

Inc, Rodney Hudson in memory of Andrew

Mallard Point side channel, Bow River, Calgary. TUC photo.

Top: 2012 Fish Rescue volunteers. Above: releasing a rescued Waterton River brown trout. TUC photos.

Trout Unlimited Canada’s National Newsletter 5

Fiell, Navajo Metals and Tim Hortons (1341 –

32nd Ave NE, Cindy Anderson, proprietor).

Thanks to the following groups and orga-

nizations for volunteering their time: Airdrie

Hunting and Fishing Association, Bow Habi-

tat Station, BP Retirees, Calgary Bobcat Junior

Forest Wardens, Calgary Women Fly Fishers

Club, Calgary 219 Scouts, Calgary 401 Wood-

creek Scouts, Chestermere Scouts, Hays Mul-

tiple 4-H Club, Department of Fisheries and

Oceans Canada, Kainai Alternate Academy,

Lethbridge College, Lethbridge College Stu-

dent Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Okotoks

Scouts, Parkland Trex Girl Guides, Shell Cana-

da, Stantec, TERA Environmental Consultants

and Willow Creek Composite High School.

Special thanks go to TUC’s Fish Rescue vol-

unteer core, Karen and Chuck Johnston, Jay

Scott, Gord Murray, and Joe Neidermayer.

For more information on becoming a Trout

Unlimited Canada member, or to financially

support the Alberta Fish Rescue or any other

TUC project, please visit our website at www.

tucanada.org

Canon Evergreen Supports Policeman Creek Habitat Enhancement Project

T his fall, TUC staff along with members

of the Bow Headwaters Chapter and

the Bow Valley Stewards completed

a native tree/shrub planting event as part of

the Policeman Creek Habitat Enhancement

Project. A total of 325 shrubs were planted

on the islands that were constructed earlier in

the year. Volunteers also seeded native ripar-

ian grasses to help naturalize these previously

un-vegetated islands. The willows and grasses

planted this fall will help to stabilize the banks

of the islands, provide cover for waterfowl and

fish, and develop a functional riparian zone.

The islands were created during the con-

struction phase of the Habitat Enhancement

Project in which five pools were excavated to

provide overwintering refugia and enhanced

summer habitat for fish within Policeman

Creek. Brook and brown trout are both known

to reside in the creek but face a shortage of suit-

able overwintering habitat as the water levels

in the creek drop during the winter months.

A spawning survey was conducted in the

fall and numerous brook trout were observed

over redds in the reach where the pools and

islands were constructed. These redds were

primarily found in areas along the shoreline,

close to hiding cover. TUC anticipates that

once the recently planted shrubs and grasses

become established on the islands, they will

also provide additional cover and enhanced

habitat for fish in Policeman Creek.

TUC biologists and volunteers will contin-

ue to monitor and evaluate the success of the

project in the coming years.

This project was made possible through

Canon’s Take Root Program, presented by Ev-

ergreen. Photos of the planting project were

taken using a Canon PowerShot camera.

Stewardship License Pilot Project

2012 marked the third year

of the Stewardship

License Pilot Project,

modelled after the successful Quirk Creek

Brook Trout Suppression Project.

Eleven supervised outings were conducted

to qualify anglers for the project authorizing

them to harvest unlimited numbers of non-

native brook trout from seven designated

streams located along Alberta’s East Slopes.

Eighty volunteer anglers were issued Fish

Research Licenses in 2012, more than twice

as many as 2011! This innovative project uses

anglers to help restore high quality native fish-

eries in selected streams, while demonstrat-

ing the importance of fish identification and

how it can be used as a management tool. The

Stewardship License Pilot Project also aims

TUC NEWS FROM NATIONAL

to emphasize the difference between native

and non-native fish and to increase awareness

about the problems that some of our native

fish face as a result of the introduction of non-

native fish.

The Stewardship License Pilot Project is a

partnership between Trout Unlimited Canada

and Alberta Environment and Sustainable Re-

source Development. Trout Unlimited Canada

also wishes to thank to the Alberta Conservation

Association and Devon Canada for their support.

Meet TUC’s New Program Manager for Ontario!

I n October, Trout Unlimited Canada

CEO Jeff Surtees announced that, Silvia

D’Amelio had become TUC’s Ontario Pro-

gram Manager. Most recently Silva’s role was

that of Ontario Biologist.

In her new role Silvia will report jointly to

the CEO and to TUC’s Director of Conserva-

tion Ecology, Jack Imhof. The responsibilities

of the position include planning and manag-

ing all aspects of TUC’s habitat conservation

and science programs in Ontario, provincial

TUC and Bow Valley Stewards volunteers seeding and planting artifical islands on Policeman Creek. The islands were created during excavation of overwintering poolslast year. TUC photos.

Currents: Volume 19, No. 1 • Winter 20126

TUC NEWS FROM NATIONAL

policy development, stakeholder and volunteer

relations as well as management of TUC’s On-

tario offices, staff and contract personnel.

Silvia has been with TUC since 2003 and

has been the principal Ontario Biologist since

2005. In that multi-faceted position Silvia suc-

cessfully led TUC’s research and habitat work,

including Bronte Creek and Duffin’s Creek

Renewal Programs, Palgrave Dam Passage

Study, Coaster Brook Trout Habitat Project,

and several dam removal projects. Silvia is

well known in the Ontario conservation com-

munity and has ably represented TUC in many

public forums throughout the province.

Silvia can be reached at sdamelio@tucana-

da.org or in our Guelph, Ontario office at (519)

824-4120 Ext 52760

TUC’s National Biologist & Director of Conservation Ecology Receives Prestigious Award

O n Thursday November 15, 2012

Jack Imhof, TUC’s National Bi-

ologist & Director of Conservation

Ecology, received the prestigious Conservation

Pioneer Award.

This award recognizes individuals who have

demonstrated life-long outstanding contribu-

tions to the field of conservation. Award win-

ners are recognized for their innovation, lead-

ership and dedication to the conservation field

above and beyond the call of duty.

There is no one more passionate about con-

servation and restoration — and no one more

deserving of the recognition the contribu-

tion he has made to improving our rivers and

streams over the past 30 years — than Jack.

TUC is extremely proud to have Jack as one

of our own, and for the work he has done and

continues to do on behalf of the organization

and conservation across Canada.

Fall Fundraising Summary

F all fund raising events in Octo-

ber and November continued to

fuel Trout Unlimited Canada’s

coldwater conservation efforts.

Trout Unlimited Canada’s 26th An-

nual Toronto National Banquet and Auction,

chaired by the Honourable Jim Prentice, P.C.,

Q.C., Senior Executive Vice-President and Vice

Chairman, CIBC,

was held at the

Metro Toronto

Convention Center

on October 30th. A

smashing success

with 500 guests in

attendance, the VIP

reception and the

dinner were hosted

by three-time Sum-

mer Olympic Gold

medalist Marnie

McBean, who kept

the evening mov-

ing with grace and wit. Dinner sponsors hit an

all-time high with forty-two companies signing

on for a combined total of $325,000 in sponsor-

ships. At the end of the night, TUC had grossed

over 440,000 was raised towards TUC’s coldwater

conservation efforts in Ontario.

Trout Unlimited Canada wishes to extend

a special thanks to Dinner Chair Jim Prentice

and presenting sponsor, CIBC, for the great

work they did to take our Toronto National

Conservation Dinner to a whole new level.

One month later in Calgary 200 people

joined the Bow River Chapter and TUC for the

21st Annual “Fall Splash” dinner and auction on

November 29th at the Coast Plaza Hotel in north-

east Calgary. The “Splash”, as it is affectionately

known, has a hard core of supporters who come

out for an evening of fun, frivolity and festivities.

Over $96,000 was raised over the course of the

evening through the live and silent auctions and

the always popular bucket raffle.

During dinner a presentation was made by

Bow River Director Craig Cooper about “Fuel-

lingChange” — a new and exciting program

from Shell Canada — and TUC’s Mallard Point

side channel project on the Bow River. He em-

phasized the importance of our supporters be-

coming involved in the “FuellingChange” ini-

tiative, which allows members of the public to

vote in support of their project of choice from

among seven projects valued at $100,000. Shell

will grant a total of $2 million annually to proj-

ects that improve and restore Canada’s environ-

ment. [To find out more about how to vote for our

Mallard Point project, see the news article on page 4,

or visit http://goo.gl/bwyXO.]

TUC wishes to express their thanks to all who

attended and supported both events along with

the legion of volunteers. Without the volunteer

assistance and support events such as the Fall

Splash and the Toronto National Conservation

Banquet and Auction would not be possible.

Summer Restoration Work Yields Immediate Results

The Fall 2012 issue of Currents featured an

article detailing restoration work com-

pleted on one of the main tributaries of

central Alberta’s Stauffer Creek. The goal of the

restoration work this past summer was improv-

ing existing trout habitat for spawning trout and

their offspring.

Silvia D’Amelio, Ontario Program Manager. TUC photo.

2012 Toronto Dinner Chair, the Honorable Dave Prentice and dinner host, Olympian Marnie McBean. TUC photo.

Trout Unlimited Canada’s National Newsletter 7

TUC NEWS FROM NATIONAL

Long-time Central Alberta Chapter member

Don Andersen checked out the August restora-

tion work for evidence of spawning trout. Don

was pleased to see about 20 brook trout within

the spring area.

Don discovered lots of spawning activity in

the area, counting some 25 redds along the

spring length. Many of the redds Don ob-

served were located along the willow bundles

installed this past summer. Don found there

were multiple redds in the same area. From a

one year count, it looks like the August resto-

ration work was a success.

If you would like to check out the Fall 2012

article please visit the Trout Unlimited Canada

website: www.tucanada.org.

Yellow Fish Road™ Fall 2012 Events

T rout Unlimited Canada’s Director of

Conservation Education, Lynn Robb

was busy once again this past fall.

Since January, 2012, Lynn, has been volun-

teering as a scientist with the Calgary Science

Network (CSN) providing workshops to Grade

2 classes on “Exploring Liquids”. As part of

Lynn’s presentations, students learn about their

local watershed, stormwater pollution and how

to protect their local water bodies.

On October 18, working in partnership with

Trinity Ayres, Elementary Science Consultant,

Calgary Board of Education, Lynn presented a

teachers workshop for the CSN on the “Needs

of Plants & Animals” at the Forest Lawn High

School. This presentation was part of an eve-

ning ‘Science Symposium’ of planned work-

shops on a range of topics, organized to quick-

start teacher professional development.

To learn more about CSN please visit their web-

site at www.calgarysciencenetwork.ca/workshops.htm.

On November 7, Trout Unlimited Canada

and the Yellow Fish Road™ program was part

of the annual Centre for Affordable Water

Sanitation Technology Wavemakers Youth

Summit, hosted at Calgary Zoo’s Safari Lodge.

The goal of the Youth Summit was to inform,

engage and encourage community action and

celebrate the impact youth are having on local/

global water sanitation issues. Each year teams

of students from Calgary junior and senior high

schools meet for this day-long event to learn and

plan on how they can make a difference for water.

At this year’s summit,

Lynn represented Trout Un-

limited Canada as one of the

water experts in a student

scavenger hunt. Lynn, along

with other local Calgary wa-

ter experts, posed questions

to students and provided an-

swers on local water issues.

For more information on

the Wavemakers Youth Sum-

mit, visit www.wavemakers.

cawst.org/index.php/action-

projects/youth-summit

For the past two years, Trout

Unlimited Canada has pro-

vided teacher workshops at the

annual Alberta Teachers Association Confer-

ence in Banff National Park. This year’s work-

shop, “Cutting Edge Science”, joined with TUC’s

Yellow fish Road™ program as it looked for new

methods of teaching about water protection.

On November 16, the Banff Centre pro-

vided a spectacular backdrop for this year’s

conference, featuring keynote speakers Bill

Nye, the Science Guy, and George Kourouis

of Storm Chasers fame. This world class con-

ference offers local, national and international

exposure while providing an opportunity to

exchange information on curriculum trends

and resources with top educators across the

province of Alberta. Visit the Alberta Teach-

ers Association website for additional details:

www.sc.teachers.ab.ca/Annual%20Conference/Pages/

About%20the%20Conferences.aspx

Renowned researcher, consultant, author,

and speaker, Etienne Wenger, stated, “Com-

munities of Practice are groups of people who

share a passion for something, and learn how

to do it better as they interact regularly.”

On November 21, the Alberta Council for

Environmental Educators (ACEE) held the

first meeting of environmental educators from

across the province at the Kerry Wood Nature

Centre in Red Deer, to develop a Community

of Practise (CoP) for water educators to help

them deliver on their mission and advance

water education in the province of Aberta. Ac-

cording to the ACEE, a CoP for water educa-

tors will help achieve the following:

• Meet our needs for community and net-

working;

• Learn more about other organizations and programs in our CoP;

• Work together to identify common barriers to our work — and build bridges over these barriers;

• Identify our professional learning needs, and meet those needs;

• See where programs are complementary to — or in competition to — one another, and identify ‘gaps’;

• Provide better support to teachers and other audiences;

• Create efficiencies and synergies in our work;

• Develop coordinated approaches to the funding community.

For more about ACEE and Communities of

Practice in Environmental Education see www.

abcee.org/cop.

OUR MISSION: To conserve, protect and restore Canada’s freshwater ecosystems and their coldwater resources for current and future generations.

OUR GOALS:• to conserve and protect Canada’s freshwater

fish and their ecosystems and restore their coldwater resources to a healthy and produc-tive state;

• to develop and apply effective, science-based and measurable coldwater conservation solu-tions in the field;

• to inform the public about coldwater conserva-tion issues and educate communities about their watersheds;

• to build and sustain a healthy organization.

Help us help the trout! Visit tucanada.org

Attendees at the Alberta Council for Environmental Educators “Commu-nity of Practice” for Water Educators held in Red Deer earlier this year. TUC photo.

Currents: Volume 19, No. 1 • Winter 20128

Help us help the trout — join today! Visit us at tucanada.org

TROUT UNLIMITED CANADA

Jeff Surtees Chief Executive Officer jsurtees@tucanada.org

Kimberly Davidson Director of Member and Chapter Relations membership@tucanada.org

Dean Orlando Director, Finance and Administration dorlando@tucanada.org

Jack Imhof National Biologist and Director of Conservation Programs jimhof@tucanada.org

Don Pike Director, Special Events dpike@tucanada.org

Lynn Robb Director of Conservation Education lrobb@tucanada.org

Amanda Graham Director of Development agraham@tucanada.org

Phil Rowley Marketing & Communications prowley@tucanada.org

Brian Meagher Alberta Provincial Biologist bmeagher@tucanada.org

Silvia D’Amelio Ontario Program Manager sdamelio@tucanada.org

Lesley Peterson Project Biologist lpeterson@tucanada.org

Stacey Stevens Ontario Office Coordinator sstevens@tucanada.org

Mary Finch Bronte Creek Watershed Project Biologist mfinch@tucanada.org

National Office: Ste. 160, 6712 Fisher St. SE Calgary, AB T2H 2A7 Tel: 403-221-8360 Fax: 403-221-8368 1-800-909-6040

Ontario Office: Rm. 273, Axelrod Building, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Tel: 519-824-4120 ext. 56588 Fax: 519-780-1696

tuc@tucanada.org tucanada.org

Currents layout: David Soltess, dsdesign@shaw.ca

NILE CREEK QUALICUM BAY PROJECT (cont’d from P.3)

port. A substantial amount

of the work identified in

Phase II has been complet-

ed in 2012. All remaining

work should be completed

in 2013 as weather and con-

tractor availability allows.

The success of the proj-

ect to date would not have

been possible without the

financial support of the

RBC through its Blue Wa-

ter Project™ Leadership

Grants. Additional fund-

ing was provided through

grants from the Pacific

Salmon Foundation’s Com-

munity Salmon Program

and the Habitat Conserva-

tion Trust Fund of British

Columbia.

Trout Unlimited Can-

ada wishes to express its

sincere gratitude to our

project partners, NCES

and VIU, for their ongoing

support for the Nile Creek

Waters Protection Act, by requiring fewer envi-

ronmental assessments and by allowing greater

ministerial discretion for projects that could

damage fish habitat. Combined, all of these is-

sues are a massive step backwards for the pro-

tection of fish communities, their habitats and

aquatic systems that sustain them.

Our view at Trout Unlimited Canada is that

our members, and we believe the majority of

Canadians, place a high value on laws that pro-

tect the environment. The view of our members

is that Canadians want stronger environmental

laws, not weaker ones. We have expressed this

view. The answer we have received is the cur-

rent massive round of changes is intended to

improve things and we should have faith and

trust the process. I guess we shall see.

As always, if you have a view on these issues

please email me at jsurtees@tucanada.org or call

me at 1-800- 909-6040.

What’s Going On?by Jeff Surtees

Qualicum Bay initiative. Project such as this

are enriched by people. TUC wishes to spe-

cifically thank Diane Sampson, Ken Kirkby

and Ian Birtwell from the NCES, Frank Dal-

ziel from TUC’s Vancouver Island Chapter, Dr.

Steve Earl, Dan Fox and students from VIU,

and our restoration biologist, Marc

Gaboury of LGL Limited.

Continued from Page 2

Repairing culvert baffles on Thames Creek (top). Above, attendees at the highly successful community information meeting last November. TUC photos.