Slocan Lake Stewardship Society Newsletter Box 322, , BC V0G 1S0 Web: www.slocanlakess.com July, 2013

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE LAKE Before the end of the year, we expect the Did you know…. KLP to release a Guidance Document--which MANAGEMENT PLAN?  Jeremy Baxter, fisheries lays out the relationship between the science consultant and local resident has Since SLSS began, one of our primary goals has and the current law--for our lake. This is a received funds from the Fish and been to obtain a lake management plan for necessary next step before a plan can be Wildlife Compensation program Slocan Lake. All of our baseline science studies drafted. SLSS has strongly advocated that to research and conduct a on water, foreshore and fish habitat were this document be open to amendment, as designed to provide the necessary starting the science to date is limited and we have no spawning assessment of bull trout information for this plan. With the completion archeological or cultural studies from First in Slocan Lake. of our community values study, (the Imagine! Nations.  The Redfish students interviewed project) the Regional District has allocated time and money for this important process, and After the Guidance Document is complete, and recorded 38 stories of Slocan steps into its appropriate role coordinating the the KLP will begin work on the lake Lake from guests at their May development of the Slocan Lake Management management plan. This is the point in the Days booth in New Denver Plan. The villages of New Denver, Silverton, and process that community input is important. Slocan City have all strongly supported a lake We can't change the science or necessarily  Riparian areas are often called the management plan. the federal law, but we can argue for what is ribbon of life; they are the appropriate for the health of our watershed. portions of land adjacent to water RDCK already has in place a working group of bodies-lakes, wetlands, creeks, First Nations, federal, provincial, and local The SLSS role in the coming months will be to and rivers-that are influenced by, governments who are developing a plan for monitor the progress of the Slocan Lake and have an influence on, the (The Kootenay Lake Partnership, Management Plan and to advocate for the aquatic environment. Riparian or KLP). That same group of people will be incorporation of more in-depth research on areas provide critical habitat for working on the Slocan Lake plan. SLSS "sits at blue and red listed species, cultural and wildlife, particularly for species the table" as an observer but has no vote, as archeological sites, and community values that depend on the aquatic this is a government to government task force. that preserve, protect, and enhance the environment: invertebrates, health of Slocan Lake. amphibians, mammals, and birds (otter, kingfisher, merganser, HAVE YOU READ THE LATEST FACTOID IN THE VALLEY VOICE? great blue heron). Riparian areas are also crucial for maintaining Tucked away in a small box in every edition of the Valley Voice lies interesting information healthy fish habitat. about Slocan Lake and its tributaries. These small bits have included facts on sturgeon studies, the history of train wrecks in the lake plus research on water quality, ecology,  The Vision Statement of the Fish aquatic invasive species and our various fish species. Future topics include geological and Wildlife Compensation information on how our lake was formed, the habits and habitats of Slocan Lake fish, the life Program: Columbia Basin cycle of aquatic insects and the intricacies of our wetland systems. (FWCP:CB): "Thriving fish and wildlife populations in watersheds Look for the small fish graphic to find the SLSS Factoid and become better informed about that are functioning and your own aquatic backyard. Read it to your grandkids, share it over coffee, allow yourself be sustainable" (2013). amazed.  The Villages of New Denver, Silverton, and Slocan plus the RDCK are sharing the costs of completing a Guidance Document, the first stage towards a Lake Management Plan (LMP) Slocan Lake Stewardship Society for Slocan Lake. Slocan Lake Stewardship Society Newsletter July 2013

WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT pike, bass, perch, and other spiny INVASIVE SPECIES? ray species), in order to increase fishing opportunities. “INVASIVE SPECIES ARE THE BIGGEST  Often, residents empty aquariums SINGLE THREAT TO OUR NATURAL and garden plants into waterways.

BIODIVERSITY”, states a Federal Department of the Environment report. An invasive species is a plant, animal or HERE’S WHY ALL OF THE FUSS: other organism that has been introduced COSTS OF INVASIVES to an ecosystem where it does not  Aquatic invasive species destroy or Didymo in Wilson Creek (Photo by Margaret Hartley) historically occur. Invasive species often reduce fish and wildlife habitat, whitish streamers. Rock snot is spread rapidly and extensively. Many threaten ‘species at risk’ and can spread on recreational and fishing invasives are successful “generalists”; cause extinctions. gear, felt soled waders and boats. they are able to survive under varied  Rivers and lakes lose their conditions, can tolerate disturbance or commercial value. proximity to human activity, have a wide WHAT’S NEXT TO ARRIVE? range of food sources, and have very high  Tourism, business opportunities, 1. Plants: Eurasian watermilfoil is NOT reproduction rates.In their new homes and property values are lowered. found in either Summit or Slocan they do not have their normal predators  There are dramatic increases in Lakes. Hundreds of thousands of or pathogens. Some invasives can be so infrastructure costs to bridges, dollars are being spent attempting to successful they cause the collapse of canals, hydroelectric facilities, control milfoil in Kootenay, Christina, ecosystems, and are called “ecosystem municipal water intakes, etc. Champion, Okanagan, and Shuswap engineers”. Lakes.  Aesthetic values are lost due to Most native species cannot compete with diminished ecosystems; fouled Flowering Rush currently infests the newcomers. Native species have beaches, algae blooms, weed some Idaho waterways. It is almost a evolved for their specific niche and do not clogged lakes and fishing streams. Sci-fi plant which can flower and tolerate changes well. Food sources and seed from a 6m stalk. reproduction cycles are vulnerable to 2. Molluscs: Zebra and Quagga mussels. invasive species. INVASIVES THAT ARE HERE There are no invasive mussels in B.C., 1. Plants: Yellow flag iris, Japanese but they are advancing across the HOW DO AQUATIC INVASIVE knotweed, Giant hogweed, Purple U.S. north and from Ontario. SPECIES (AIS) GET HERE? loosestrife and Policeman’s helmet Individually smaller than fingernail  Most aquatic invasive species are (Himalayan Balsam) which often this Eurasian import will cover any transported and travel with humans. start as garden or pond firm surface, even other living ornamentals and spread by seed organisms. They are carried on the  Global trade and recreational travel dispersion or root fragments. hulls and engine water intakes of routes are the pathways for their recreational boats and industrial spread. 2. Algae: ‘Rock snot’, Didymo, or Didymosphenia geminate, now equipment. Since their introduction  Aquatic invasive species hitchhike on appears in Wilson, Silverton, and to the Great Lakes in the 1980’s, they the bottom of vessels, both Bonanza Creeks and in the Slocan, have caused extinctions of various commercial and recreational. Kootenay, and Columbia Rivers. native species, dramatically changed water quality. As outlined in COSTS,  AIS are carried from waterway to Rock snot can change the the Great Lakes have suffered ALL of waterway by recreational gear and invertebrate population and those listed in this article. The costs tools, such as: fishing and scuba smother fish eggs. These single have been enormous. Mussels have equipment, jet skis, canoes, kayaks, celled algae will cover the substrate clogged hydro electric facilities and sea planes, industrial equipment. of a clean, fast flowing stream in a recreational sites and beaches have thick brown mat, sometimes with  Sometimes fishers deliberately and been rendered useless and unsightly (continued on page 3) illegally release AIS, (e.g. northern

Page 2 Slocan Lake Stewardship Society Newsletter July 2013

2. IN CASE OF AN INFESTED VESSEL Examples of Invasive Plants  Do not, under any circumstances, launch a contaminated boat into

the lake.

 Contact the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) or a Conservation Officer (RAPP phone # 1-877-952-7277 or mobile #7277)

for help with disinfection, if mud snails or invasive mussels are suspected. Yellow flag iris

3. LEARN TO RECOGNIZE INVASIVE in the Great Lakes and Lake SPECIES—LEARN ABOUT OUR Champlain. NATIVE SPECIES The New Zealand mud snail found in

Port Alberni act similarly to invasive mussels. 4. CONTACTS AND INFORMATION 3. Fish: Northern pike, perch, bass, and Central Kootenay Invasive Plant Japanese knotweed some exotics are introduced by Committee (CKIPC): www.ckipc.ca people. They are effective predators, or (250)352-1160

which makes them good, large, sport Invasive Species Council of BC

fish. However, they are also (ISCBC): www.bcinvasives.ca devastating to many native aquatic animals and seriously challenge the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA)

survival of our trout and salmon National Invasive Species fisheries. Information Center: www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov Giant hogweed

HOW DO WE PROTECT SLOCAN LAKE? SLSS INITIATIVES FOR AQUATIC 1. CLEAN, DRAIN AND DRY INVASIVE SPECIES CONTROL  When citizens practice good boat and fishing gear ‘hygiene”, spread of In partnership with CKIPC and Fortis BC,

invasives and pathogens can be CLEAN, DRAIN AND DRY signs have been prevented. installed at boat launches from Summit Lake to the confluence of the Slocan and Policeman’s helmet  Clean all equipment of mud and Kootenay Rivers. A SLSS representative plant debris; drain all water intakes, sits on the CKIPC Invasive Aquatics bilges, bait containers; and dry Working Group. Volunteers are everything thoroughly, before participating in a monitoring program, entering a waterway. collecting water samples to be screened

 Felt soled waders are extremely by a MoE lab for zebra and quagga difficult to dry and are considered one mussel veligers (zygotes). SLSS partners of the most significant spreaders of with regional and municipal governments to support boat washing Didymo. stations, veliger testing, and education  A 5% bleach solution is effective for programs. disinfection. Purple loosestrife Photos from CKIPC

Page 3 Slocan Lake Stewardship Society Newsletter July 2013

BASELINE WATER STUDIES NEAR measuring surface temperature, we can record and compare readings from COMPLETION season to season and year to year. Three years of water studies of Slocan Surface temperature helps to determine Lake have provided a baseline from which much of the seasonal oxygen, to compare future water quality studies phosphorus, and algal conditions. in the areas of: nitrogen, phosphate, A large number of volunteers have chlorophyll, pH, temperatures, metals' made the testing possible with their concentrations, and dissolved oxygen. energy, skills, and long term Importantly, near shore testing of commitment. Special thanks go to lake Results? The good news is that Slocan coliform counts has been taking place. testing team leaders Lane Haywood, Lake is a remarkably healthy lake. A very Richard Johnson, Anita Werner and Each of these parameters plays its own clear message from the 2008 Official Jason Hartley, to Chris Deighton and unique role in a lake's health. Interested Community Plan (OCP), Redfish student Wayne Schweitzer who generously in specifics? Check out the results on the interviews in 2012 and 2013, and the donated their boats for the mid-lake SLSS website for Slocan Lake's results to 2012 Imagine! Project was a community testing, and to Peter Roulston for his date. response that said maintaining the health SECCHI dip testing on the temperature Go to: www.slocanlakess.com/com/ of Slocan Lake was the community's #1 and turbidity of the lake...and to the research-2/reports/ value. many volunteers for their help lending Final Report? Watch for the final three One example of a parameter's impact on canoes, testing, and driving samples to a lake is surface temperature. Surface the Passmore Labs. SLSS's Three Year year water studies summary this Fall. It temperature readings serve as an water studies of Slocan Lake has been will be on the SLSS website and will be in important ecological indicator. By funded by Columbia Basin Trust. a Valley Voice news release.

BC WILDLIFE FEDERATION mostly "local" residents, including two  endangered and 'at risk' species residing 2013 Lucerne Secondary graduates. in the West generally, and COMES TO SLOCAN LAKE specifically within the Slocan Lake Slocan Lake Stewardship Society, the watershed The BC Wildlife Federation brought a free Slocan Lake Research Centre, and the  how to utilize GPS systems 2.5 day immersion Wetlands Education Streamkeepers partnered to Program (WEP) to the Slocan Lake area: bring this exciting and free educational  wetland value and classifications; swamps, Hills and the Bonanza and Hunter Siding science activity to our communities. marshes, bogs, fens, shallow water Marshes. The BC Wildlife Federation's WEP Funding was provided by highly diverse  wetland surveying, wetland soils, wetland helps build the capacity of BC citizens to sources: CBT, Fish and Wildlife water sampling determine their backyard wetland assets, Compensation Program (FWCP) , Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, the Real Estate Why are wetlands important to the Slocan and increase their community's Foundation of BC, the Province of BC, Lake watershed?? environmental heath using this knowledge. Environment Canada, the RBC Blue Water  wetlands are the kidneys of the earth; a This intense workshop was attended by 25 Project, and Wildlife Habitat Canada. purification system of our waters, and What did we learn in the field and hence, Slocan Lake and its watershed classroom?  wetlands are sponges of the earth; they  birds, butterflies, vegetation and plant reduce flooding identification, amphibians,  wetlands are highly productive with invertebrates, and bats of our local enormous plant growth wetlands  wetlands are a very rich and biologically  that invertebrates and amphibians are diverse ecosystem, providing shelter, food, the "canaries in the coalmine" regarding nesting sites for an exceedingly wide the health of a wetland, and hence, our variety of animal and plant life. watershed

Page 4

GO BATTY!

KIDS’ PAGE

Bats are an important part of our ecosystem. They help control nocturnal insect populations and cycle nutrients from wetlands to forests.

Deep, Dar

Do You Know These Words?

Noctural

Echolocation

Ecosystem

Nutrients

Cycle

Guano

COOL BAT FACTS -There are more than 1,000 different kinds of bats in the world -There are 16 species of bats in BC and at least 11 species of bats in the Kootenays! -A bat is a mammal, just like you!! -25% of mammalian species are bats -Bats catch insects while flying through the air -Some bats have a membrane around their tails that they use like a baseball mitt to scoop insects -A bat sends a sound which bounces off an insect. It listens for the ECHO of the sound to find the location of its tasty snacks (echolocation) -Some bats eat their weight in insects each day, making them an effective means of insect control -A bat can catch and eat 14 insects in one minute! -Bat waste, called guano, is a valuable fertilizer Find these words in the puzzle above -Bat size is measured by length of the forearm echolocation species nocturnal nutrients -Bats fingers are almost the same size as the body! guano roost mammal wetlands

membrane forearm bat Kootenays Learn more about bats in the Kootenays and building your insect wingspan thumb wrist own bat house at: www.kootenaybats.com tail environment microbat megabat

Slocan Lake Stewardship Society Newsletter July 2013

SUMMIT LAKE TOADFEST The precarious existence of the western toad is due to its loss of habitat. Summit Lake hosts a regionally and provincially TOADFEST significant breeding population of western toad, estimated to involve at Summit Lake millions of toads and toadlets. Tens of August 27 -from 4 to 7 p.m. thousands of adults and juveniles are August 28 - 10 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. killed by vehicle traffic on Highway 6 as they migrate to and from the lake in three phases every year: The western toad (Anaxyrus boreas), is listed as 1. Adults moving to the lake to breed;

 Near Threatened by the World 2. Adults leaving the lake post- Conservation Union breeding; and 3. Toadlets leaving the lake after  Special Concern by the Committee on transforming from tadpoles the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Join biologist Jakob Dulisse in a truly Canada (COSEWIC) “hands on” educational experience assisting the toadlets cross the road.  Is blue-listed (of special concern) by Photos by: Angus Glass the BC Conservation Data Centre.

NOTES FROM A WILDLIFE TREE Wanted 500 ml A wildlife tree is any standing live or dead plastic bottles with tree with special traits that provide lids to be used for valuable habitat for wildlife. I am a wildlife water testing on tree and I have some of these Carpenter Creek, call characteristics: Lane at : 358-7279  a large diameter with sound root systems and some large branches  some intact bark and some loose bark  cavities and evidence of decay such as fungal conks, cankers, hollows, and cracks  a key role in the forest nutrient cycle since I house many layers of the food chain  provided homes (habitat) to thousands of different wildlife species  great value to the forest. My value is Keep your eyes and ears open. determined by my size, age, Our Wetlandkeepers will be condition, abundance, species, taking on projects in our geographic location, and my wetlands, and citizen scientists, surrounding habitat our local volunteers are always If safe, please leave me standing! needed!