BC Conservation Officer Service Access Management Compliance
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BC Conservation Officer Service Access Management Compliance and Enforcement Program (AMCEP) 2013 Report Compiled by Conservation Officer Patricia Burley May 15‐Nov15, 2013 Wigwam Flats AMA – View of Purple Canyon Page 1 of 38 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3 Maps ........................................................................................................................ 4 Contact Information ................................................................................................. 4 2013 Results – Tables/Charts ................................................................................... 5 Access Management Areas ...................................................................................... 9 Alexander Creek .................................................................................................... 9 Barnes Lake ......................................................................................................... 11 Chauncey Todhunter ........................................................................................... 12 Corbin ................................................................................................................. 14 East Flathead ....................................................................................................... 15 Galton Range ...................................................................................................... 17 Grave Prairie ....................................................................................................... 19 Sheep Mountain ................................................................................................. 21 Upper Elk Valley .................................................................................................. 22 Upper Flathead ................................................................................................... 24 Upper Wigwam ................................................................................................... 25 Weigert Creek ..................................................................................................... 27 Wigwam Flats ...................................................................................................... 28 Education and Outreach ........................................................................................ 30 Other Work Projects .............................................................................................. 31 2014 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 33 Summary ................................................................................................................ 33 Appendix ................................................................................................................ 34 Pictures ............................................................................................................... 34 Survey ................................................................................................................ 37 Page 2 of 38 Introduction The 2013 Access Management Compliance and Enforcement Program (AMCEP) Report is the sixth and final report for the sixth month Access Guardian position. 2013 was the third year that the Elk Valley has had a dedicated Conservation Officer (CO) working as an Access Guardian for a commitment of 5 years. The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) worked in partnership with the Conservation Officer Service, District of Elkford, District of Sparwood, City of Fernie and the Columbia Basin Trust to provide funding and support to continue with a designated CO as the Access Guardian. The Letter of Agreement between the RDEK and the Conservation Officer Service was signed in January 2012. In the following results section, results are broken down in charts explaining where, when and how much time was spent in each Access Management Area (AMA) within Electoral Area A in 2013. The Access Guardians (CO Burley) primary goals were to spend most of her time providing outreach and enforcement in the AMA’s from May 15‐November 15. For the remainder of the year, CO Burley continued her regular full time duties as a CO stationed in Fernie. Some office time was committed to raising money, redesigning, ordering and widely distributing the free Outdoor Access Guide. This guide was funded by a variety of industrial and stakeholder groups in 2013 such as Tembec, Elkford ATV Club, Fernie Trails Alliance, Sparwood Fish and Wildlife Club and Teck Coal Operations. In addition, educational presentations and stakeholder meetings were conducted throughout the year to open the doors to communication between the recreating groups and the Access Guardian, including groups from Alberta. Aside from the committed AMA compliance and enforcement work, CO Burley had other responsibilities to conduct when working in the East Kootenay’s. Responsibilities such as; assist with problem wildlife, public safety concerns and environmental protection issues including the extensive mud bogging in the Koocanusa area during particular weekends. “The Conservation Officer Service is a public safety provider focussed on natural resource law enforcement and human wildlife conflicts prevention and response. Our Vision: To be a progressive and respected leader in environmental compliance and enforcement, shared stewardship and public safety. The Conservation Officer Service Motto is: Integrity, Service and Protection.” Page 3 of 38 Maps To reduce this document size, AMA maps have not been included in this report. If required, maps of individual AMAs are available from two sources, the Ministry of Environment website: www.env.gov.bc.ca/kootenay/eco/accessmaps.htm and the Hunting Regulations Synopsis. The hunting synopsis is available in print and online: www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/ the maps available from the MOE website are in colour and contain much greater detail. As per the Letter of Agreement, CO Burley provided monthly AMCEP Reports to the RDEK for review. The reports from May to November 2012‐2013 are now available for the public to view and read at the following website: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/kootenay/eco/accessmaps.htm Please see the attached Excel 2013 Stats for more detail of the Access Guardian’s patrols and outreach efforts from January to December 2013. Contact Information Questions and concern can be forwarded to CO Burley at the following information: RAPP 1‐877‐952‐7277 Desk 250‐423‐4264 Cell 250‐423‐1888 [email protected] 1621A 10th Avenue P.O Box 2877, Fernie, BC, V0B1M0 Page 4 of 38 2013 Results Table 1: Overall results of the 2013 Access Program. Total number of patrols and time spent within each AMA was recorded along with the number of persons contacted, number of charges, warnings and education delivered. Table 2: Overall outreach results provided to the public for the 2013 Access Program. Page 5 of 38 Table 3: Estimated time spent travelling to various AMAs. Travel time calculated by multiplying travel distance by the number of patrols conducted. (ex: Alexander Creek: Travel distance (1) x Patrols (6) = 6 hrs. of travel time). This is time over and above time spent in the AMA Table 4: Summary of 2013 statistics. Filtered numbers are for the months of Oct‐Dec. It should be noted that Officer Presence is calculated as the time Officer(s) were physically present in an AMA and the outreach time provided for presentations, it does not account for travel to or from the areas. People that are educated are those defined as being encountered by a CO and discussing specific AMA facts and requirements for which the person in question was previously unaware. It should be noted that the AMCEP and general AMA facts are discussed with more than 80% of contacts. The above tables include the time spent on the preparation of the slide show presentation, Outdoor Access Guide, follow up paper work, media articles, brochures Page 6 of 38 and phone conversations with questions regarding AMA’s. Investigation time on AMA violations has been incorporated in the charts for 2013. From January to December 2013 the COS conducted 146 patrols within the Electoral Area “A” AMAs. These patrols did not only include the Access Guardian, but other CO’s from around the East Kootenay Zone and elsewhere in the Province. Officers spent 549 hours within the AMA boundaries alone. The travel time on top of that was 135.64 hours to get to and from the AMAs. An additional 279.75 hours were spent providing education to the public and follow up time on investigations. Patrols that took place within the AMA’s were by truck, ATV, snowmobile or foot. A total of approximately 970 hours were committed to the AMCEP. The public had reported many AMA activity/violation reports to the COS, which takes additional time to investigate. In 2013 a total of 59 AMA files were investigated by the East Kootenay CO’s in Electoral Area A. These violations involve the illegal vehicle operation within the closed boundaries of an AMA. Other violations that were found while in the AMA’s were; loaded firearms, improper documentation (hunting licences), missing Firearm licences, hunting out of season, fishing during closed time, illegal possession of wildlife/fish, hunting/fishing without a licence, fishing with prohibited gear/bait etc. Page 7 of 38 Table 5: Summary of statistics of