On Wednesday, Oct. 3, RDNO directors voted on a motion brought forth by director Halverson to regulate motorboats on the Lower Shuswap River.
Since lakes have become too crowded for comfort, jet and motor boats have swarmed to the river treating it as a highway instead of the fragile ecosystems that it is.
Years ago RDNO realized that regulations were needed to reduce the danger, pollution, and further degradation of the river system so they hired a consultant to facilitate negotiations among all stakeholders. This included people representing the river ecosystems, swimmers, tubers, paddlers, canoeists and kayakers, fishers, riverside residents, businesses, and motorboat users. There was one group established to address management on the Upper River, from Greenbush to Mabel Lake, and one to address management of the lower river, from Mabel to Mara Lake. Each group was told to negotiate until they reached consensus, subsequent to which RDNO would consult with First Nations prior to sending information to Transport Canada so that regulations would be enforced.
The Upper River group reached consensus in June 2017. The Lower River group did not. If you read the letter from Ken McKay posted in the Vernon Morning Star of Oct. 3, you might understand the reason why.
Representatives of motorboat owners, users or businesses took the stance of Mr. McKay during the process which is: “If the RDNO passes this discriminatory resolution, a legal action will be initiated against the RDNO board as a whole and the individual members who endorsed it. It will be well-funded and well represented. This legal action will be expensive for the RDNO to defend, time-consuming and not in the best interests of the RDNO’s residents.”
How can you negotiate with bullies whose ignorance is so shameless as to pretend that fish, aquatic birds and mammals are not affected by motor noise or pollution when the severe impacts of noise alone on fish and all aquatic animals are well known: tissue damage, stress leading to starvation and low reproduction and death?
When neither the plea from residents to reduce noise, from non-motorized river users to allow some access to a quiet river or from swimmers and kayakers to enjoy the river safely at times result in any change in their vision?
The answer is that you can’t negotiate because you can’t educate since the only thing that really matters to them is to do what they feel like when they feel like it despite the impact on others or the environment. Their feeling of entitlement turns them into bullies who openly threaten politicians.
So what’s the answer? We need to elect leaders rather than followers. People who understand that protecting water, air, soil and reducing carbon emission is what must come first.
Sure there would be disgruntled people, but in these days of climate emergency and soon to be shortages of resources, most will start feeling a little shameful at recreating using fossil fuel and those of us who understand would go a long way towards supporting courageous elected officials. And I bet that having one or two such individuals who wouldn’t be afraid to speak out for the environment would change the whole conversation around council tables.
Then perhaps we could start addressing reforestation, infrastructure restoration, fire suppression, and all the rest of the work that needs to be done if we are to have a chance.
Huguette Allen