Just Gordy helping some of his finacial backers out with your money. I guess if we want him to help out the fish we better throw money at him.
Bureaucrats criticize government's funding of bear rehab facility
Staff question need for project, suitability of the area
By Larry Pynn, Vancouver SunOctober 30, 2009
The B.C. government's decision to spend $400,000 on an orphan black bear rehabilitation facility on Fromme Mountain on the north shore was harshly criticized by its own senior bureaucrats, according to freedom-of-information documents released Thursday.
The province announced in April the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund would fund the facility between Grouse Mountain and Lynn Creek as a collaboration involving Langley-based Critter Care Wildlife Society and Dr. Ken Macquisten, managing director and veterinarian for the Grouse Mountain Centre for Endangered Wildlife.
The planned 32-hectare facility would be located on land owned by Grouse Mountain Resorts Ltd. and the District of North Vancouver, would be capable of handling up to 25 bears at one time, and would attempt to give bears an opportunity to learn survival skills in a natural environment before their release to the wild.
But FOI documents show serious concerns within the Ministry of Environment, including from large carnivore specialist Tony Hamilton, wildlife veterinarian Helen Schwantje and regional wildlife biologist John Kelly.
In a "technical concerns" document, the three employees state that:
- "Within the bear rehabilitation community there is no identified need for halfway or pre-release conditioning prior to release."
- The elevation of the proposed facility (800 to 900 metres) is "unsuitable as a spring location to hold bear cubs due to the late seasonal time of snow melt" and the enclosure space "does not have the natural suitability/forage production" for development of foraging and survival skills.
- The forest has "few significant areas of canopy openings" and therefore lacks the natural diversity of black bear habitat.
- The plan would "artificially create high numbers of bears in one location, creating logistical issues and undue pressure on the animals themselves."
Macquisten said in response the stated concerns ignore the fact the facility will provide orphaned bears with a larger and better environment than would otherwise be possible in smaller rehab facilities.
"To focus on whether there's enough natural forage or that it's dark in there, all these kinds of things miss the point of the enclosure in the first place. It's simply to provide the biggest most natural area we can."
Grouse Mountain is willing to provide staffing for the first five years as a charitable donation, after which the success of the program will be re-evaluated. The project still awaits land approval from North Vancouver.
The FOI documents were obtained by the conservation organization, Bear Matters B.C., and released by the NDP's legislative office in Victoria.
Premier Gordon Campbell made a commitment to the facility as a pre-election announcement in April 2005. And Environment Minister Barry Penner's speaking notes for the announcement last April stated the
$400,000 was being provided "at the direction of the premier . . . "
Grouse Mountain Resorts Ltd. is a steady contributor to the B.C. Liberal Party, donating $7,500 in 2009.Penner said in a statement Thursday he understood the concerns of staff and made it clear to Macquisten earlier this year that for the project to be funded, the proponent "must develop an implementation plan and submit a funding request for each phase" to an advisory committee that includes two ministry representatives. Changes may be made during implementation based on ongoing consultation between the ministry and the proponent.
"We all want to give orphan bears the best chance for survival," Penner said. "Anything we can learn from this, or any bear rehabilitation project, will help us meet that goal."
On Dec. 7, Hamilton said in an e-mail: "I was also thinking of that habitat up there again . . . sheesh, it reminded me of Mordor, it was that dank and dark and dingy. It is anything but suitable 'nursery' habitat for a pile of little hyperactive (over-fed) coastal black bears."
And on Sept. 9 last year, he said: "If this is going to be a zoo . . . let's call it one and be done with it. . . . This is no solution, it just confounds the issue because it will be carried to the public as a solution, and in the meantime, the bears will suffer the consequences."
A government-commissioned study by bear expert Christopher (Kip) Parker in 2008 strongly recommended the province not fund Fromme Mountain.
lpynn@vancouversun.com© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
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