Proposal for jet boat tours through Revelstoke worries environmentalists
David Adshead pilots his jet boat up the Columbia River towards the massive Revelstoke Dam. Adshead wants to offer jet-boat tours along the river from the dam to Begbie Falls. John Morrison photo courtesy of David Adshead
By David F. Rooney
At the moment David Adshead’s proposal to offer jet-boat tours of the Columbia River between the Revelstoke Dam and Begbie Falls is just that — a proposal — but if he manages to secure all of the federal and provincial approvals it could be a reality by next summer. However, the first step in that process is a big one.
“The first step is getting permission from the City,” he said in an interview Friday, adding that he would like to use the boat launch at Centennial Park as the pick-up and drop-off point for his tours and that concerns some local environmentalists.
“The business license application by Revelstoke Natural Resources Limited has triggered a recognition that the City of Revelstoke and the CSRD needs policy in place to manage the use of the Columbia River and the drawdown zone in this area,” says a letter from the North Columbia Environmental Society issued late Friday afternoon.
Sent to Revelstoke Mayor Dave Raven, all members of City Council and CSRD Area B Director Loni Parker, the letter urges them to recognize “the special environmental status” of the river between the dam and Shelter Bay and wants them to “to promote only compatible public use of the area, and to develop strategies and regulations that will control public and commercial use of the area, and to specifically not allow motorized commercial businesses within this area.”
“… the NCES is concerned about impacts on critically sensitive ecological systems, shoreline integrity, wetland conservation, nesting habitat, flyover rest areas for migratory species, endangered and blue listed species,” the letter said. “Speed boat motorized recreation is incompatible; causing disturbances such as, but not excluding; wake, wave, pollution (noise, air, water), and shoreline erosion.”
But Adshead, a falling contractor and proprietor of Revelstoke Natural Resources Ltd. who needs to diversify given the poor state of forestry in British Columbia, maintains that his proposed operation, which could also draw more visitors downtown from the Trans-Canada Highway, would have a very low environmental impact.
His 22-foot Harbercraft is powered by a 325 HP Chevy V8 engine that is, he says, surprisingly quiet.
“It’s not a little two-stroke like (the motors on those annoying-sounding jet skis),” he said. “You can sit in the boat and actually carry on a conversation while it’s running.”
He said his tours would be limited to speeds of 25 mph and would carry six people at a time.
“The type of tourism I’m looking to do would be pretty low impact,” Adshead said. “It’s not adrenaline-type stuff. I want to show we are not a log-it-and-leave-it community.”
Aimed at environmentally conscious Europeans and other visitors his tours would seek to give them a glimpse of the eagles, ospreys and other creatures that use the river with as little disturbance as possible. He also noted that boat tours were once operated from Woodenhead Park several years ago so there is a precedent for that kind of business.
Does City Council have an appetite for this? Who knows.
City Councillor Antoinette Halberstadt did raise the issue at last Tuesday’s Council meeting and presented information she hopes Councillors will consider when they meet as a Committee of the Whole on Tuesday afternoon.
“My understanding is that basically all a business licence involves is the City giving him permission to sell tickets,” she said in an e-mail to The Revelstoke Current. “We don’t have any jurisdiction over protecting environmental and community values when it comes to activities that are on the water. However, the CSRD could have powers if they had bylaws like they do in the Fairmont area in the RDEK, where they’ve zoned the surface of the water.”
Dear Editor and Readers,
Kudo’s to the North Columbia Environmental Society for being forward-thinking and staying ever vigilant about the need to nurture the natural environment upon which we all depend, not only for recreation and quality of life and health, but also for our economy.
In particular, the preciousness of the Wetlands cannot be underestimated. Many of our citizens appreciate “The Flats”, but might not know about their high value, key to to the sustainability of our community and our planet, as described by biologists as follows: “Wetlands are a key life support system on this planet. Their importance goes beyond their status as the habitat of many endangered plant and animal species. They are a vital element of national and global ecosystems and economics”.
Below see the motions I’ve put on the table for this Tuesdays’ Committee of the Whole meeting, triggered by Mr Adshead’s business proposal. The meeting starts at 3:00 if anyone wants to come and listen in. As with all Committee of the Whole matters, they get finalized at the following Tuesday’s Council meeting.
And below the motions, see the update I sent to councillors since an excellent conversation with Mr Adshead which left me heaving a sigh of relief. Nevertheless, I hope Council will agree to act on these motions in order to safeguard our surroundings from potential future conflicts.
Stay tuned.
Antoinette Halberstadt
Councillor, City of Revelstoke
Motions I’ve put on the table for Tues Sept 1 Revelstoke Council Committee of the Whole meeting:
1. That Council pursues the the OCP’s direction to “Be involved in collaborative efforts across jurisdictions to coordinate interests and initiatives for the improved understanding and ongoing protection and enhancement of the natural environment” , by educating ourselves and the public about the ecological values on the foreshore of the Upper Arrow Drawdown Zone, and by investigating how the City of Revelstoke might protect these values.
2. That Council commends the proprietor of Revelstoke Natural Resources for attempting to create economic opportunity and a recreational experience, and urges him to strongly consider Revelstoke community values as stated in our OCP:
“…… Low elevation habitats are especially impacted, making remnant natural areas particularly important. Biodiversity of vegetation, wetland and other ecosystems promote the long term viability and interdependence of our communities.”,
and in the OCP’s Stewardship section as follows:-
stewardship in areas such as ecological integrity and species at risk
the ongoing protection and enhancement of the natural environment
protection and enhancement of Environmentally Sensitive Areas including the airport wetlands/ reservoir drawdown zone, other wetlands, and riparian areas next to streams and floodplains
conserving the functioning , …. habitat conditions, fish and wildlife polupations and natural heritage of ecosystems,
sustaining healthy ecosystems as the basis for high quality experience
3. That Council educates itself and the public and encourages a dialogue with all proponents and promoters of motorized boating in the Upper Arrow, as to the high ecological and economic value and fragility of Wetlands, starting with:
the “Revelstoke Wetlands Conservation Area Study” commissioned in 2,000 by the Illecillewaet Greenbelt Society
the Ministry of the Environment’s recent publication entitled “Wetland Ways: Interim Guidelines for Wetland Protection and Conservation in British Columbia”, specificly the introduction and the Recreational Activities section and its subsection on Boating and Fishing
relevant parts of BC Hydro’s Upper Arrow Lakes Reservoir Drawdown Zone Management Plan
4. That Council direct Staff to investigate which — if any — government and Crown agencies have jurisdiction over activities on the Reservoir that might impact ecological and other community values on the adjacent land.
5. That Council direct Staff to investigate what jurisdiction the City of Revelstoke could have over commercial activities and developments at the two public boat launches on our foreshore.
6, That Council direct Staff to investigate collaboration with the CSRD regarding zoning the surface of the Upper Arrow Drawdown Zone, and advises communication with the Planning department of the Regional District Of East Kootenay as one resource in this regard.
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From: Antoinette Halberstadt
Sent: Sun 30/08/2009 5:36 PM
To: Council
Cc: Ross McPhee
Subject: Motorized boating: good conversation with David Adshead
Good day councillors,
Further to the motions I have on this Tuesday’s agenda, here’s info from an excellent conversation I had with with David Adshead a few hours ago. My impression is that he is a really good environmental citizen and a community member who values Revelstoke values. He seems very aware of the dangers of killing the goose that lays the golden egg .
Also, he has told me about regulatory processes that he does indeed have to go through because his business is in Adventure Tourism and because it’s deemed to be on “Crown Land” because apparently the reservoir itself is defined as being on Crown Land.
That’s a relief but it doesn’t change my agenda for Council, however, since — like I told him and which he is pleased to hear — I believe we still need to protect our surrounding environment (plus Revelstoke cultural values and quality of life) from what I described as “our waterfront becoming like the Okanagan”.
He informs me that DFO, MOE and BC Hydro all pointed him to the need to get a Guided Adventure Tourism tenure from the Provincial govt., which has indeed been confirmed. DFO, MOE and BC Hydro get to have input during that process, in Hydro’s case particularly about possible impacts on their Hydro operations and also on sturgeon and maybe also re: their other rehabilitation projects such as drawdown zone seeding and wetlands protection etc.
And he also has to do an Impact Study for which he has already hired a consultant, and he says he looks forward to what comes out of that because he himself wants to learn more about what’s out there. He asked me to send him the Wetland Ways Interim Guidelines and the Upper Arrow DDZMP, and wants to get hold of the 2000 Wetland Conservation Area study.
He also says the Provincial Water Act already has regulations about such things as wake and distance from shore etc. And to tie up to a dock on the water, he says he has to get approval from 3 ministries.
His intention was to focus more on the West side of the water, and to take care to not disturb wildlife, nesting, migratory birds etc, packing binoculars for each passenger so they can keep their distance.
He believes that the previous boat tour operation (by a fellow called Russel) was lucrative and that the reason he stopped was because he also did bus tours and for various reasons relocated his whole bus tour business to elsewhere.
Antoinette