4 ~ Sunday, November 7, 1993 - North Shore News potted owl designation considered for watersheds GVWD engineer opposed to ‘blanket’ designation THE PRESENCE of the endangered spotted owl in North Shore watersheds is causing some Greater Van- couver Water District ‘(GVWD) staff to wonder: _whose watershed is it —- the owl’s or the GVWD’s? By Cheryl Ziola Contributing Writer The owl’s presence has prompted the Spotted Owl Re- covery Team (SORT), a joint pro- vincial and federal environment ministry group formed. in 1990, to step in and propose the watersheds be declared spotted ‘owl conserva- fon areas (SOCAs). But. the :designation would restrict GVWD-directed watershed ‘Management activities, (including timber harvesting) and water sup- ty planning programs, ‘a recent GVWD staff report said. ‘Preliminary estimates by SORT count six owls, living :in the wa- tersheds’ old-growth forests. The spotted. owl population is estimated .at jabout. 66 in other old-growth B.C. forests. The an- cient forests are believed to be their only natural habitat. While the: GVWD, which leases ‘the watersheds from the province in 2°999-year - agreement, . hopes to “reach a comproniise with SORT, :. the province can unilaterally over- ide GVWD objections to the OCAs. The; GVWD is hoping SORT - "will consider ‘a’ ‘cooperative . management approach. .. rather than.a blanket SOCA designation over jthe ‘watersheds,’’. said the ‘same’ ‘GVWD report. ~GVWD chief vengineer John Morse said in a recent letter to SORT chairman Dave Dunbar ‘that’: the GVWD is ‘‘very con- “cerned about this imposition. The /GVWD believes that solutions will J ibe found through cooperative “assessment and action rather than ‘be managed for 4& We are opposed to having the issue ‘driven by the spotted owls... 99 — GVWD chief engineer John Morse "through designation and_ stipula- tion.”’ He.also cited the GVWD management record, stating the watershed management ap- proaches have been ‘‘quite com- patible with protection. of the spotted owl. : “Our watersheds contain exten- sive areas of old growth and always will,’’ Morse said. ‘‘(But) an acute sensitivity exists about the unilateral imposition of a des-' ignation... which could. either compromise or conflict with our primary water objective.”’ His letter ended with a plea to _Temove. the SOCA designation . from the watersheds.. In an interview, Morse indicated some resentment about the spotted owls taking precedence over GVWD objectives. ‘“We are opposed to having the issue driven by the spotted owls rather than the management of the watersheds,’’ Morse said. Watersheds, he added, should “water supply and water quality rather managing the watersheds for one than — particular species of wildlife.’* Furthermore, Morse believes more spotted owl research should be conducted before such a desig- nation is made permanent. “There seems to be a lot of opinion on it. | don't think there’s a lot of scientific basis (for these opinions).”” Added Morse, the number of spotted owls is hard to quantify because they're ‘‘very smull, shy, elusive birds.” The counting process itself isn’t reliable because individuals count the birds by imitating spotted owl calls and counting the responses, he said. “So. they may have counted them twice.” A meeting between the SORT chairman and the GVWD’s water committee, the political body that votes'on Lower Mainland water- shed activities, is being sclieduled_ for some time in the next few months. SORT will present its case and also hear the GVWD objections first hand. A decision from the provincial government on whether the SOCA proposal will go ahead is expected in 1994, For watershed logging news please see page 10 of today’s News. HRISTMAS DELIVERY Porch fall injures WV child WEST VANCOUVER police, fire and ambulance crews rushed to a house on Chartwell Drive at 12:13 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, in response to an emergency call about a five- year-old girl failing off a porch. When emergency crews ar- rived on the scene, they discovered the girl was not seriously injured. She was transported by ambulance to Lions Gate Hospital. OR YOUR BLINDS ARE EE ne ER Tg Offer exclusive to | WindowWear™ Custom Mini, Micro and Vertical Blinds. Order before Dec.4th. (Hased an product availability) SAVE 55% OFF selecied custom Mini blinds from our "“WINDOWWEAR Collection", CALL TODAY TO BOOK A FREE IN-HOME CONSULTATION. VERTICAL BLINDS Choose from our entire selection of WINDOWWEAR ‘Vertical Blinds. Okay, who ate the Double Cheeseburger? 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