The Nova Scotia Federation Of Anglers and Hunters - Nova FREE … · 2018. 9. 12. · Nova Outdoors Official Publication of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters Vol

Nova Outdoors 1Summer 2002

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OutdoorsOutdoorsOFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NOVA SCOTIA FEDERATIONOF ANGLERS AND HUNTERS

VOLUME 11, NO. 3SUMMER 2002

Anglers Rights

Boating Course

Wilderness Access

Membership is strength.

We need your stre

ngth.

Please join or renew!

2 Nova Outdoors Summer 2002

THE ROAD TO VICTORY

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President’s Message

by Gary Penney ___________________________________ 4

Executive Director's Voice

by Tony Rodgers ___________________________________ 5

Presentation To The Committee

by NSFAH Parks Committee _________________________ 7

Wilderness Access

by Bob Bancroft __________________________________ 9

Mi’kmaq Chiefs, Nova Scotia and Canada

by John Soosaar __________________________________ 11

2000 Nova Scotia Sportfishing Survey

by Inland Fisheries Staff ____________________________ 12

A Walk In The Woods

by Don Cameron _________________________________ 13

Grit’s Gun Registry Joke Beginning To Hurt

by Les MacPherson _______________________________ 15

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Your Rights As An Angler - An Overview

by Ed Coleman __________________________________ 16

What Is GPS?

by Ken Kane ____________________________________ 17

Do You Have Your Boating Course?

by Canadian Coast Guard __________________________ 18

Aging Hunting Population

by Jim Power____________________________________ 19

Random Casts

by Don MacLean ________________________________ 20

25 Years

by Betty Densmore ________________________________ 20

N.S. Federation of Anglers and Hunters

Order Form __________________________________ 21

To place your ad in the next issue (Fall, 2002) of Nova Outdoors,please call (902) 468-6112, or call Tony Rodgers of the

Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters at (902) 477-8898.

Cover photo: Nova Scotia’s provincial bird, the Osprey. Photo courtesy of B. Bancroft.

SUMMER 2002


NovaOutdoorsOfficial Publication of theNova Scotia Federationof Anglers and Hunters

Vol. 11, No. 3Summer, 2002STATEMENT

OF PURPOSE

Mailed under Canada PostPublication Agreement No. 40050030

Letters and/or contributionsmay be sent to the editor c/o:

Nova OutdoorsP.O. Box 44028, 1658 Bedford Hwy.,

Bedford, NS B4A 3X5Ph: (902) 468-6112

E-mail: [email protected]

WIDENATIONPromotions Limited

®

Published quarterly by

Design and productionAngela UrquhartJennifer StuartMaria Erman

The Nova Scotia Federation of Anglersand Hunters is interested in all aspects ofthe out-of-doors and is dedicated to thefostering of sound management and wiseuse of the renewable resources of theProvince. We want to ensure that theireconomic, recreational and aesthetic valuesmay continue for the benefit of this and allfuture generations.

Nova Outdoors is the registeredtrademark of Nationwide Promotions. Theopinions expressed in the magazine do notnecessarily represent the official views ofthe Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers andHunters nor its publishers. Nova Outdoorsis published quarterly and will be madeavailable free of charge to the membershipand selected retailers, government offices,libraries and other seasonal outlets.

Special thanks to our many contributorswho have assisted in this project - yourcontinued support will be appreciated.

We cannot be held responsible forunsolicited articles or advertisers claims.

Printed by

David BoutilierGreg Cooke

Ross McQuarrie

Advertising

President’s MessageLiving inland, I grew up in a world ofhunting, fishing and trapping. It wasour lifestyle and sometimes a necessaryfood supply, (going back a few years).

I became involved with theLunenburg County Wildlife Associa-tion some 15 years ago and wasmentored by the late Gilbert Knickle,eventually becoming president of thatassociation for several years - attendedmost of the NSFAH directors and an-nual meetings throughout that time, soI guess you could say, I came up throughthe ranks, being first vice-president ofNSFAH during Bob Bancroft’s presi-dency. I am also currently one of TheNova Scotia directors to The CanadianWildlife Federation. I continue to en-joy hunting and fishing, religiously set-ting aside one week for each, and lookforward to it as the ultimate “stress re-liever”.

Speaking of fishing, I just got backfrom my week fishing trip, when TonyR. informed me that as president, I hadtwo days to get this message to him forprinting in this issue of Nova Outdoors.So much for “stress relief”, think I’ll takeanother week and go fishing.

Safe boating and good fishing. �

Yours in wildlife,Gary Penney

Sunday, March 24, 2002, wasa day of importance for manypeople for various reasons.

For some it was a family day or a day ofrest and relaxation, the Christian worldrecognized it as Palm Sunday, while oth-ers, for whatever reason, it may havebeen a special day. For me it was a sig-nificantly important day and date in themilestones of my life, for on that day,the electorate body of the NSFAH putits trust and direction in my hands whenit elected me as President, a position Iaccepted with sincerity and responsibil-ity. With your support and the strongExecutive members elected, I intend towork diligently for wildlife and habi-tant enhancements representing the in-terests of hunters, fishermen and trap-pers. Thank you in advance for yoursupport, as any leader or president isonly as strong as those who support himor her. We have a strong organizationin the NSFAH, memberships will makeus stronger.

I would like to say a big “ThankYou” to now past President, BobBancroft. His past experience of thewildlife world as a biologist, and his di-plomacy in communicating with peoplewas an asset to his presidency in theNSFAH. Having landed very quicklyinto the President’s chair, he learned the“ropes” quickly and contributed muchto the NSFAH - well done Bob!

If you read this far, by now manyof you are probably wondering, just whothe heck is this guy, Gary Penney. Well,for this one and only time I’ll tell you,and it will be brief.

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ExecutiveDirector’s Voice

ExecutiveDirector’s Voice

As hunters and anglers we haveall experienced the annoyanceof discovering a newly posted

property sign in an area we had tradition-ally visited and used for recreation. Newownership of the property, men working,or a multitude of other reasons havecaused the owner to erect the sign and werespect those decisions.

But never in my outdoor life have Iexperienced this same bother on, what Iconsider to be my land. Crown land inNova Scotia belongs to all of us and ismanaged for the benefit of all of us. How-ever, I realize that it has been necessary toposts signs in some crown areas for reasonsof safety, wildlife and other protections orfor some other good reason. We can allappreciate that. But these signs usuallycome with some advanced warning.

My problem this spring was with thenewly posted yellow signs at the entrancesto the 31 parks and protected areas in theprovince by the Nova Scotia Departmentof Environment. These signs were a cul-tural shock to those who read them. As aperson who participated in the grass rootsbirth of these areas I discovered that thesesigns did not reflect the spirit of, or insome instances the authority of the law.It is a classic example of putting the cartbefore the horse.

Back in 1995, government held pub-lic meetings throughout Nova Scotia to getinput into a proposed parks and protectedareas plan. The idea was well received, butit was the intended use of those places thatgot the most attention. In a provincewhere only a fifth of the land belongs tothe province, it’s important to consider alluses of crown land, and the Federation leftthe table supporting the plan with the un-

derstanding that only heavy industry likeforestry and mining would be excludedfrom these areas. Traditional uses of hunt-ing, angling and trapping were to be main-tained, and most importantly all 31 siteswould get their very own managementplans. Plans developed with the needs ofthe local community and the environmentbalanced together.

***In this issue I have reprinted theFederation’s presentation to the public meet-ings that took place. It’s important for ourmembers to know what we had to say, andstill believe to be our position. There wasno greed or exclusive use rights asked for byanglers and hunters, just conservation. Wiseuse of these natural resources/recreationallands and a warning to government abouthow we saw some proposed types of protec-tionism presented by others. Soon after theJim Campbell Barren fiasco proved us to becorrect in our warning. ***

In 1998 the government presentedthe new legislation to create these sitesbefore the legislature, and it was passedlater that same year. In meetings heldafter with government, the Federationhad a clear understand from former min-isters of Natural Resources and Environ-ment. The intent was the same, theseareas would be protected from heavy in-dustry not traditional angling, huntingand trapping.

Since the new signs were first noticedby anglers this spring (they went up sometime over the winter or early spring) andthe concern over lost access was firstbrought to the attention of government,they have been very positive in their re-sponse to the dilemma of our recreationalusers.

The acceptance of the fact that thingswere just not right with the message onthese signs, brought immediate reaction

from official who share the responsibilityfor the wilderness areas.

They agreed that the language onthe signs may have been a bit too stronggiven that management plans for thesesites were not yet prepared. It was ourunderstanding that the managementplans would eventually dictate what wasto be written on the signs after the pub-lic consultation had taken place.

Unfortunately, many of the peoplewho first saw the signs did not have a cluethat they had been playing in a wildernessarea. An example is of one gentleman, Iheard about from a conservation officer,who has been going to the same fishing areawithin a protected area for 36 years, andhad his trip cut short when he saw the signs.Not a person to disobey the law, he left thearea. How unfair was this to this man?Plan a whole year. Look forward to thetrip. Then zap, a yellow road block on yourpath to happiness, with no warning. I hopehe is well enough next year to try again.

I mentioned the cart before the horsesituation. The Department of Environmentin their wisdom are now working to putthese two in their proper order. The horseis intended to be the education of the usersof these properties, and the cart will be theinter-management plans, developed in thebest interest of the needs of the area and thepeople who hold it dear, we hope. The realarea specify management plans to follow.But consider for a moment that it will takebetween 18 and 24 months to develop theTobeatic Wilderness area management plan,so don’t hope for one for a while.

In my eagerness to tell my membersthat changes were coming, I put out anotice that used the words “ignore thesigns” I guess in hindsight I should nothave been so aggressive. Sorry about thatMr. Minister, but I’m willing to take thatcriticism on this very important issue. Iwill choose my words more carefully nexttime.

Mixed messages are about the worstthing a government can do. Saying onething and doing another confuses everyone.

This government had passed anotherpiece of fantastic and beneficial legislationthis year that was designed to protect ourfuture in hunting and angling. The leg-islation was a change to the provincialWildlife Act and gives us a very strongplatform to argue that we have rights tohunt, fish and trap. We thank them againfor their foresight.

However, this legislation does notmesh with the handling of the WildernessAreas Protection Act, that in law allowsfor traditional angling hunting and trap-

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ping, but in theory makes it appear thatthe people administering the act don’twant us there.

When the sign says “No unautho-rized … this, that or the other thing, anda person applies to get authorization andonly then finds out that government doesnot intend to issue permits to provide forauthorization anyway, then something hasto be done.

Another glaring mistake within theWilderness Areas Protection Act is whereit states that motor boats are to be con-sidered motor vehicles for the purposesof the act. So then you must read into itthat motor boats are not allowed. Onlytrouble is, the province of Nova Scotiadoes not have any authority to dictate useof the waters within the province, let alonein the wilderness areas.

You see, responsibility for water iswith the Federal government, mainly theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans. Itfalls under their navigation act and theBoating Restrictions Regulations.

I am no constitutional expert but Ithink the issue of the devolution of powerover such things came to the Federal gov-ernment via the British North America Actand that this country had two large fightsover those powers. Remember Meach

Lake and the Charlottetown Accord?So, my point you ask? If the Envi-

ronment Department is willing to try andget away with exercising authority it doesnot have, two questions arise. What elsein the act may not be under their author-ity? Why should they expect everybodyto fall in line, when they are willing tobehave this way?

Another point that must be made.These places belong to all of us, not justthe healthy and strong. That is not themessage I was receiving from government.

We pride ourselves in this provincewith treating everyone equally. Well theuse of these areas does not reflect that.By an outright ban of all motorized ac-cess you cut off the disabled, the elderly,the very young and other medical chal-lenged persons. Forcing them to enjoythe beauty of these areas without motoraids is now a safety issue.

Or, I suppose they could do what Iwas told to do by a wilderness areas staffmember …”go someplace else”. I guessyou have already figured out that I’m notgoing someplace else.

What I will do, at the discretion ofmy board of directors is to continue topresent the position of the Federation togovernment, and press them to provide

better signage and a more acceptable in-ter-management plan that will reflect theneeds of all citizens. There is enough min-isterial power within the act to make thingshappen. I’m sure by the time this articlereaches you it will already have been done.

The Federation has always stated thatit wanted input into every one of the 31sites because our membership is transitand they travel to all corners of the prov-ince to enjoys its resources. We standready to work with government to insureconservation within these areas.

Enjoy your summer and visit our 31protected sites. They will be a pleasureto you and a benefit to the businesses andcommunities that surround them.

If you haven’t already, please renewyour membership, please do so now. Newmembers are always welcome. We aremembership run and membershipfunded, please become a member.

***Please find past article, Presenta-tion To The Committee On ProposedSystem Plan For Parks And ProtectedAreas, on page 7. �

Tony [email protected]


Presentation To The Committee On ProposedSystem Plan For Parks And Protected Areas

Editor’s Note: This document was firstpresented by Tony Rodgers of The NovaScotia Federation Of Anglers And Huntersduring the Parks and Protected Areas com-mittee holding public meetings in 1995.This article has been reprinted from NovaOutdoors, Volume 4, No. 2, Spring 1995.

Mr. Mullally, Members of the Coun-cil, Ladies and Gentlemen:

I would like to thank you for theopportunity to speak on behalfof the members of the Nova

Scotia Wildlife Federation.The 65 year old Nova Scotia Wild-

life Federation was formed in 1930 by anAct of Legislature of Nova Scotia. Theformation of the NSWF, a non-profit,voluntary organization, brought togetherwildlife and fish and game clubs under asingle umbrella. One of our clubs, theHalifax Wildlife Association, is the old-est conservation organization in NorthAmerica. The NSWF became the firstprovince-wide voice of recreational re-source users in Nova Scotia. Today, withmember clubs from Yarmouth to Sydney,we continue to represent the interests ofrecreational land users, hunters, trappersand fishermen throughout the province.

Over 120,000 Nova Scotians partici-pate in these activities, each of them

spending days, weeks, even months afieldeach year. We are the biggest recreationalland user group in the Province.

Our members maintain a deep com-mitment to the wilderness areas of NovaScotia. Since our forefathers gave up theirdependence on wildlife and other naturalresources for subsistence, we have contin-ued these traditional activities. We havehunted, trapped and fished. We havetravelled the wild lands of this province;we have travelled on foot, by canoe, bymotor boat and by other motorized ve-hicles. We have acquired leases and builtcabins. We have utilized advances in tech-nology to make these areas more acces-sible to our families, the young, the oldand the physically challenged. Throughall of this, we have continued to recog-nize the sensitivity of these special places.These places and the activities we havecarried on are a part of our heritage, a partof what makes us Nova Scotians, why ourforefathers came and why we stay. Thisis why for over 130 years our member-ship have been committed to the conser-vation of these special places and the wild-life of our province.

Early documentation of Federationbusiness cites increasing concern for wild-life habitat loss and over exploitation ofnatural resources.

The Federation’s 1970 manifestolisted as its main objective to:

“Make public the immediate andlong-term position and aims of the NSWFin its stand against the accelerating ero-sion of the outdoor environment of thepeople of Nova Scotia.”

The NSWF has recognized the

unique land use issues of our Province,our high ratio of privately owned lands,our shrinking wildlands and our increas-ing demand for recreational use of thoselands. We have promoted responsible andsustainable land use among our membersand the general public.

It is the feeling of the members ofthe NSWF that this proposed plan willcreate a single land use policy for a majorportion of the crown lands of the prov-ince. It is the feeling of our members thatthis precedent will increase demand foraccess to other lands and may result ingreater restrictions for access to privatelyowned lands.

Conservationists are the caretakers ofour wild lands and wildlife. We have beenthe stewards of these special places. To-day preservationists claim to have a bet-ter way to protect the lands that we havesustained in a pristine state over the years.They are lobbying to end our recreationaluse of these lands.

Proof is available that preservationdoes not work. It does not protect wild-life or wildlife habitats. In Canada the“protected” Georgan forests of Ontarioare being devoured by over population ofherbivores. Some of our National parksare being overrun by tourists. Othercountries are witnessing similar problemswith their preservation attempts. Eventhe isolated Galapogos Islands are beingoverrun by tourists. Poaching for Asiandinner tables and aphrodisiacs is threat-ening the food sources of many endan-gered species. Economic pressures areforcing the government to withdraw regu-lations previously enacted to preservethese habitats. Accidental introductionof new species of wildlife are displacingnative species.

The NSWF supports the concept ofprotected spaces in Nova Scotia. We haveno objections to any of the thirty-one sug-gested sites named in “A Proposed Sys-tem Plan for Parks and Protected Areas

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in Nova Scotia”. We do, however, objectto the proposed systems plan, how it hasbeen produced and many of the restric-tions suggested in it. We cannot supportany of the thirty-one proposed sites untileach of their management plans are madepublic.

The system plan was drafted secretlywith imput from only a few individualswith their personal agendas. The plandoes not reflect the wishes of NovaScotians, our small landmass, our uniqueland ownership patterns, and our tradi-tional and historic use of the land.

It is the view of the NSWF that theproposed system plan is not in fact a sys-tem plan. The “plan” is simply a descrip-tion of wilderness areas across the prov-ince. There are no provisions for con-trolling forest fires, accidental introduc-tion of unwanted species or overpopula-tion of destructive species. The manage-ment strategy is one of “preservation” byexclusion of human activity.

The “system plan” makes referenceto the International Union for Conserva-tion of Nature and Natural Resources’(IUCN) classifications. I would like atthis time to thank Dale Smith for his ef-forts to locate and make available a copyof the IUCN’s Guidelines for ProtectedAreas Management Categories. The Fed-eration has reviewed these guidelines andfinds them to be an excellent reference forestablishing our province’s network ofprotected spaces.

The first paragraph of IUCN’sGuidelines for Protected Areas Manage-ment Categories states, “participants em-phasized that protected areas are aboutmeeting people’s needs: that protectedareas should not be islands in a sea of de-velopment, but must be part of everycountry’s strategy for sustainable manage-ment and the wise use of its natural re-sources.”

It is the feeling of the NSWF thatthis proposed plan:

(a) Will establish islands of wilder-ness in a sea of over development.

(b) Will fail to meet the needs ofNova Scotians today and in the future.

(c) Ignores Nova Scotia’s commit-ment to sustainable development of ournatural resources.

IUCN lists six classifications for pro-tected areas.

They are:1) Strict protection (i.e. strict natu-

ral reserves/wilderness areas)2) Eco system conservation and rec-

reation (i.e. national park)3) Conservation of natural features

(i.e. national monument)4) Conservation through active man-

agement (i.e. habitat/species managementarea)

5) Landscape/seascape conservationand recreation (i.e. protected Landscape/Seascape)

6) Sustainable use of natural eco sys-tems (i.e. managed resource protectedarea)

The IUCN states, “All categories areimportant” and that “The number as-signed to a category does not reflect itsimportance; all categories are needed forconservation and sustainable develop-ment. Therefore, IUCN encouragescountries to develop a system of protectedareas that meet its own natural and cul-tural heritage objectives and then applyany or all the appropriate categories.”

It is the position of the NSWF thatno categories should be assigned protectedspaces until a full public review and man-agement plan has been completed. It isalso the position of the NSWF that Cat-egory 1 would be inappropriate for mostprotected areas in Nova Scotia and theCategories 4, 5 and 6 may be more ap-propriate in most cases.

The fifth paragraph of IUCN’sGuidelines states “Protected areas shouldbe established to meet objectives consis-tent with national, local or private goalsand needs (or a mixture of these) and onlythen be labelled with an IUCN categoryaccording to the management objectivesdeveloped herein. These categories havebeen developed to facilitate communi-cation and information, not to drive thesystem.” In the Proposed Systems Plan

on page 15 under management stan-dards it states, “It is therefore the inten-tion of the Province of Nova Scotia toprotect and manage candidate naturalareas, at a standard comparable to thatadopted by the international union forconservation of nature and natural re-sources (IUCN) for scientific reservesand areas.” This is the strictest ofIUCN’s six category system.

It is the feeling of the NSWF thatthis statement reflects a preservationistattitude in the plan, that this statementprecludes any meaningful consultation todevelop a management plan and thatmanagement standards as listed on Pg. 15should be deleted from the plan.

I would now like to quote Fred Paynefrom his article “The protection racket”:“While wildlifers blinked, the buzz wordof the 70s and 80s - “conservation”, wasreplaced by a new buzz word for the 90s -“preservation”.

Our grandparents knew what it wasto preserve. They preserved the deadthings from the garden for later consump-tion. They also knew that even well-pre-served produce would spoil over time.Placing our special places in a glass jar doesnot mean they are protected. As conser-vationists we insist that our natural re-sources be used wisely and sustainably forfuture generations.

The NSWF will await the manage-ment planning process to comment onindividual sites. It is our hope that theSystem Plan will be amended to reflectour concerns and that the next stage, themanagement plans, will be an open andfair public process.

Thank you. �

Prepared by Bob Cross and the ParksCommittee of the NSFAH (NSWF).


Wilderness AccessLast spring I paddled

down a river in the Yukon forfive days without witnessing thedamage so commonplace inNova Scotia. The only “gar-bage” we encountered on theriver was a life jacket andpaddle. Part of my childhoodwas spent in the Yukon, so Igrew up enjoying relatively pris-tine wilderness. The companywas exciting - moose, wolves,foxes, grizzlies, and grouse toname a few. Access was by footand water - I remember seeinga long line of prospectors slowly movingupriver along one trail, balancing enor-mous packs with straining tumplines.Getting into the wilderness meant ongo-ing education about the wild and a gradualdevelopment of self-confidence and sur-vival skills essential to such travel. Look-ing back, I realize those experiences cre-ated a wilderness “addiction” that wouldlast a lifetime. Becoming a fisheries andwildlife biologist was another means toenjoying the outdoors.

Chainsaws and snowmobiles weremajor technical innovations of the 1950sthat boosted access to wilderness. Globaldemand for wood products keeps risingwith exploding human populations.More people have been born in the last50 years than the total for the previousfour million years. Taxpayer-subsidizedforestry roads in the 70s brought new ac-cess to woodlots. The wood extractionleft roads behind. Consequently, newhunting, angling and trapping pressureswere applied to that same land. Put an-other way, the more roads went in; themore wood, fish, and wildlife came out.

My friend John, had a fly-in camp ona remote lake in eastern Nova Scotia backin the 70s. There were petroglyphs on oneshoreline rock, documenting a history ofhuman visitation. I flew a crew in to sur-vey the lake and its tributaries to deter-mine habitat and fish populations beforeforestry roads approached. Speckled troutpopulations were the stuff of dreams. Sev-eral years later, construction of a new roadrumbled by a mile off to the west. Afterthat John heard a noise one day while inhis camp. A fellow appeared on the west-ern shore with a chain saw, then a canoe.That fall John collected 14 cases of emptybeer bottles off one point on the lake. Thefishing continued until there was nothingto catch.

During the eighties four-wheel-drivetechnology became more refined as a gen-eration that grew up in station wagonsshunned them. In want of another im-age, they ignored the petroleum scare ofthe previous decade and began to buy gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles (SUVs) andgussied-up pickup trucks. The averageshowroom vehicle today burns 13 percentmore gasoline than it did ten years ago.Off-road capability is still the image. Ca-nadians succumbed to the ads, and fan-cied the self-image. Thirty years ago,North Americans represented about 6 per-cent of the world’s human population, butwere using about 60 percent of the entireworld’s annual output of resources to sus-tain a lifestyle we think is normal. We’vecontinued that level of consumption tothe present day. But the demand for pe-troleum is projected to outstrip supplywithin this decade.

The latest, best-selling motorized ve-hicles for off-road wilderness adventure arepersonal watercraft (jet skis) and all ter-rain vehicles (ATVs). Cranking aroundlike mad hornets on a water-borne mis-sion to nowhere, the two-cycle exhaustfrom two hours of jet skiing is equal tothe total smog-forming emissions from a1998 passenger car operated for about208,000 kilometres (130,000 miles). Notsurprisingly, the industry is moving to lesspolluting four cycle engines. But thesemachines also interrupt loon nesting, andany pretense other folks might have aboutquiet relaxation at the lake. One FloridaGulf Island reacted to their din by simplybanning them from its shores.

As a fisheries biologist, I have seenthe difference that ATV access hasbrought to remote lakes. Typically therewas an old forestry road in disrepairwithin several kilometres of the lake.From that point (in the 80s) a walking

As your past president, I nolonger speak publicly on behalf of the NS Federation of

Anglers and Hunters. This column repre-sents my own views, some already expressedin an issue of Eastern Woods and Waters.

Many of us took part in the publicconsultations associated with the Wilder-ness Areas Protection Act that was passed

in 1998, and the31 areas thatwere designatedunder it. TheAct, as passed,permits hunting,trapping andfishing, but pro-vides for vehicle

access only in certain circumstances. Inall the years I have been a biologist, theNova Scotia Department of the Environ-ment and Labour has never had the staffor resources to perform its many man-dates. I sympathize with Minister DavidMorse and the task he faces with specificmanagement plans for these 31 areas.Whenever this, or another governmentmusters the resources to produce thesepromised individual management plans,it seems clear to me that each plan mustbe consistent with that Act.

I travelled into many of these 31 areaswhen they were candidates for protection,assisting an artist who wanted to paint theirunique landscapes. They were memorableyears - in two ways. First, we got alongrather well. And I learned I could still carrya canoe for five hours in one day. Second,I witnessed the horrendous damage thatATV drivers were inflicting upon the likesof Jim Campbell’s Barren. Many other sites- particularly beaches and bogs - were sim-ply torn to pieces by folks with no regardfor the environment. Beer cans, gut piles,and muck churned up by thoughtless slobson machines were commonplace. I sawsites where ATVs were being used to huntbefore any hunting season opened. Thereis no question in my mind that these areasneed protection most - not just from in-dustry - but from a significant number ofpeople who drive ATVs and snowmobiles.

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trail had been cleared by the energetic fewwho would carry a canoe or simplywanted to hike. After an arduous trek,the balance of the day was spent alonewith a refreshing wind and the quietsplendour of water, sky, shoreline andoccasional wildlife visitors. The speck-led trout had only been lightly fished, somany of them were willing to bite almostany tackle. Returning to one such remotehighland lake in the 90s to assess the troutpopulation, I found the path had becomea well-beaten ATV track. This is typical.Not surprisingly, the trout populationhad plummeted.

While many ATV owners keeppushing into these last remote areas,hacking through woods with littleknowledge or concern for private or pub-lic ownership, I shudder to think wherethis process, and the future for wildlifeand habitat, is headed. Many of thesepeople have no wilderness skills; just amachine. Most of these folks could usethe exercise of walking or paddling.There are many ecological problemsassociated with ATV abuse of bogs, wa-terways, sand dunes and shorelines. Lastyear I spent several weeks visiting beauti-ful river valleys in a city where ATVs werefinally banned.

In metropolitan Toronto the flood-plains associated with a number of riv-ers are wooded oasis that thread througha sea of pavement and concrete to LakeOntario. These green fingers throughmetro are out of bounds to developmentsince a flood killed dozens of folks manyyears ago. They are also free of motor-ized vehicles. ATVs are non-existent.Cyclists and walkers can move quietlyalong the many trails that follow the riv-ers. Trees and shrubs deaden the thun-derous, ant-like traffic droning alongjust over the hillsides. Riparian zonesare being replanted and stabilized to pro-tect riverbanks. Rabbits, foxes, deer andcoyotes have come back to the city withthe resurgence of natural vegetation andvehicle restrictions.

Why do ATV owners ignore the pa-per “protection” afforded public landslike the Tobeatic in western NovaScotia, and proceed to transform wilder-ness into more stomping grounds? Notmany years ago, one could travel therefor a week and not hear motorized ve-hicles. The reality today is that everytime I head into a wilderness area witha canoe and a pack, I can only travel inso far before I find myself coming backout on another side.

Travel distances in wilderness areshrinking rapidly. Many Nova Scotianswant wilderness without motorized vehicles.

Do ATV owners have a right tomake trails on other folks private prop-erty? No. On Crown land? No. Howdoes one stop them? Snowmobiles canand do interrupt the solitude of sensi-tive wintering areas for wildlife. ATVscan be a year-round wildlife menace inuneducated hands, and they are capableof going just about everywhere. Wilder-ness access has become one of these driv-ers pursuits. Too many thoughtless menon their technotoys consider passage aright. The organized ATV folks are do-ing their best to educate others, but it’snot turning the tide of environmentaldamage. Each and every one of us is re-sponsible for our own actions with re-spect to the environment and the wild.It adds up. Driving by ignorant or un-concerned ATV owners is destroying thelast vestiges of wildlife habitat in Atlan-tic Canada. Our fish and wildlife popu-lations will shrink even further as thisaccess continues unabated. �

Bob Bancroft is a Biologist andOutdoor Writer.

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All first time hunters living in Nova Scotia are required to take theCanadian Firearms Safety Course through the Nova ScotiaCommunity College AND the Nova Scotia Hunter EducationCourse through the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers andHunters. If you are under the age of 18, you also require a MinorsFirearms License in order to hunt with a firearm.

Applications for both the Canadian Firearms Safety Courseand the Nova Scotia Hunter Education Course can be pickedup at any Department of Natural Resources office, all NovaScotia Community Colleges or download at:

www.gov.ns.ca/natr/hunt/hunting.htm

For more information on a Minors Firearms License, pleasecall the Department of Justice at: 1-800-731-4000 (Ext. 6505).

Mature students (18 years of age or older) also have the optionof participating in the Nova Scotia Hunter Education Course byeither a home study program or an online program. For moreinformation on these options visit our website at:

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Mi’kmaq Chiefs, Nova Scotia And Canada Set ToBegin Formal Tripartite Negotiation Process

The thirteen Mi’kmaq Chiefsof Nova Scotia, theHonourable Michael G.

Baker, Q.C. on behalf of the Province ofNova Scotia, and the Honourable Rob-ert D. Nault on behalf of the Governmentof Canada signed an Umbrella Agreementwhich reaffirms their longstanding rela-tionship and commitment to work to-gether in good faith to resolve issues ofmutual concern.

Specifically, the parties will continuewith the existing Mi’kmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite Forum as well as en-gage in a broad negotiations process inNova Scotia to consider issues of assertedAboriginal rights (including title) andtreaty rights. The parties have also agreedto establish a consultation process.

In January 2001, the Parties re-leased a joint statement regarding theirwillingness to work together to resolve

outstanding Aboriginal issues includingthe long-term implementation of theMarshall decision. The Umbrella Agree-ment reaffirms this commitment anddefines the process for moving forward.

This historic signing ceremony tookplace in the Red Chamber of Provincehouse on Friday June 7, 2002. The Par-ties will now begin Framework Agreementnegotiations where they will identify theissues to be negotiated, goals, proceduresand a timetable for negotiations.

“The Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia arepleased to be entering a process that willultimately recognize and implement therights of our people,” said ChiefLawrence Paul. “In the final analysis,”added Chief Terrance Paul, “recognitionand implementation of the rights of theMi’kmaq in Nova Scotia will not onlybring dignity and prosperity to our com-munities, but will show all NovaScotians that partnership is the only wayto create a better society.”

“This is a significant step in our ef-fort to resolve treaty and related issuesthrough negotiations,” said MinisterBaker. “It’s the first time that such a com-prehensive process has been undertakenin Nova Scotia and I look forward to work-ing on behalf of Nova Scotians with theGovernment of Canada and the Mi’kmaqof Nova Scotia on these matters.”

Minister Nault congratulated all par-ties on their commitment to the process.

“I am happy with the progress wehave achieved since announcing our in-tention to work together to resolve mu-tual issues,” said Minister Nault. “Wehave made a strong commitment to im-prove the quality of life in Aboriginalcommunities and we have reached thestage which allows us to sit at the sametable to devise the building blocks of aprosperous future together. �

For further information, pleasecontact: John Soosaar, Nova ScotiaOffice of Aboriginal Affairs at (902)424-7409.


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2000 Nova Scotia Sportfishing SurveyBy Inland Fisheries Staff

If you have ever wondered howmany anglers there are in NovaScotia, or how much they spend

every year on their sport, then the resultsof the 2000 Nova Scotia sportfishing sur-vey will interest you.

This survey, which is carried out ev-ery five years, is designed to provide in-formation on the numbers and places oforigin of anglers, their expenditures andinvestments to fish in the province, thenumbers and kinds of fish harvested, theamount of fishing effort expended and thequality of sportfishing in Nova Scotia.

live in a household with a licensed angler,it also does not include saltwater anglerswho do not require a fishing licence.) Theage of the angling population is of interestto sportfish managers as they look at futureanglers for the fishery, and in the 2000 sur-vey the average age of resident anglers was46, for non-residents 49. The sport fisherycontinues to be made up of a large numberof male anglers. In the latest survey ap-proximately 88 percent of resident anglerswere male, compared to 93 percent for non-residents. The proportion of active femaleanglers has remained relatively stable since1980, ranging from a high of 12.3 percentin 1985, to a low of 8.5 percent in 1990.

Angling continues to be amajor recreational activity in NovaScotia. Licensed resident, and non-resident anglers spent 1.2 milliondays fishing in 2000, with 78 per-cent of those days in freshwater and22 percent in salt water. This ef-fort was 7 percent higher in 2000than it was in the 1995 survey.Resident anglers fished an averageof 18.5 days in 2000 while non-resident anglers spent an average of5.4 days. Angling effort by resi-dents continued to be highest inHalifax, Cape Breton and

Lunenburg counties, while non-residentanglers expended 26 percent of their effortin Inverness County.

Estimating harvest by anglers is one ofthe more valued results of the survey, andin 2000 anglers caught an estimated 4.7 mil-lion fish of which they retained 2.1 million(45 percent). This compares to anglers keep-ing 54 percent of their catch in 1995, 63.2percent in 1990, and 82.2 percent in 1985.An average of 72 fish were caught per an-gler in 2000 of which 32 were retained. Offreshwater species, speckled (brook) troutwere the preferred species by both resident,and non-resident anglers, this was followedby rainbow trout by residents and Atlanticsalmon by non-residents. Smallmouth basswere the third most popular fish for resi-dents and fifth for non-residents.

When asked to rate their fishing ex-perience, 60 percent of residents rated theirfishing experience as good, very good orexcellent (66 percent for non-residents) thiscompares to 54 percent of residents in 1995(74 percent for non-residents). In the 2000survey 43 percent of resident anglers feltthe fising had declined from 1995 to 2000and attributed the decline to acid rain, pol-lution, over fishing and habitat degrada-tion. When asked to rate a number of op-tions for improving the sport fishery theanglers favoured more stocking, increasedenforcement and habitat improvement.

The value of the sport fishery con-tinues to increase. In 2000 anglers spent$21.3 million on supplies and servicesdirectly connected with their sport; 12percent higher than in 1995. Anglersinvested $71.7 million on majordurables and property of which 49 per-cent ($35.2 million) were attributed tosport fishing activities. Overall NovaScotia anglers spent a total of $56.5million on their sport in 2000. The av-erage expenditure per angler on serviceswas $364.67, for durables $602.80.From these, and other types of expen-ditures, it is estimated that the economicimpact of the 2000 sport fishery was $85million in Nova Scotia. �

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That sounds like a lot of information,and it is. The information used in the sur-vey is collected from 1,322 questionnaireswhich were returned from a mailout of2,414 questionnaires to people who hadpurchased a Nova Scotia fishing licence in2000. The survey shows that in 2000 therewere 64,621 licenced anglers. Of these 91percent fished, and of those that fished 96percent were Nova Scotia residents and 4percent were non-residents. A look at non-resident anglers shows that 54 percent wereCanadian, 38 percent American, and 8percent came from Europe.

There were 16,848 young people un-der the age of 16 living in licensed anglershouseholds who fished, bringing the num-ber of anglers to 75,372. (This numberdoesn’t include young people who do not

Copies of the survey are available fromthe Inland Fisheries Division, NovaScotia Department of Agriculture andFisheries, P.O. Box 700, Pictou, NSB0K 1H0, or may be viewed on theDepartment website atwww.gov.ns.ca/nsaf/sportfishing


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A Walk In The WoodsWetlands Are The Best NatureHas To Offer

Nova Scotia has about 600,000acres (242 817 ha) of freshwa-ter and saltwater wetlands, thatcover more than 15 percent ofthe province. But that hugeacreage doesn’t adequately con-vey the amazing degree of varia-tion between the different typesof wetlands and their value tothe environment and society.

Randy Milton is Managerof Wetlands and Coastal Habi-tat with DNR’s Wildlife Divi-sion in Kentville. He says thatfor a long time, wetlands were unjustlyconsidered places to be drained and filledin before being turned into somethingmore productive. “There really is a needfor continuing education on the value ofwetlands, and their importance in termsof ensuring biodiversity and ecosystemfunction.”

Milton says that over 50 percent ofNova Scotia’s saltwater wetlands, as wellas many freshwater wetlands, have al-ready been lost. The good news is thatsome people have started to take posi-tive steps toward saving what’s left. Oneinitiative is the Wetlands Private Stew-ardship Program, which is aiming to se-cure 82,000 acres (33,184.9 ha) offreshwater and saltwater habitat in thisprovince over 15 years. Agreementswith landowners can range from asimple verbal commitment to conserve thewetland, to a more formal managementplan in partnership with others such asDNR or Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Salt Marsh (Photo: DNR)

At first glance, most wetlandslook like wasted land: boggyswamps with slow moving or

brackish water, a whole lot of grass andmosquitoes. Who really cares if they getfilled in to put up a mall or housing de-

velopment? Butlook again.Those buzzinginsects are foodfor a multitudeof reptiles anda m p h i b i a n s .Moose, deer,and bats all for-

age in wetlands, while ducks nest and raisetheir young amongst the protective marshgrasses. And a wide variety of plants, suchas the pitcher plant, sundew, bullrushesand cattails, are found exclusively in wet-lands. Wetland plants also play an impor-tant role in the health of the environment,by absorbing and breaking down contami-nants, and by regulating water supply dur-ing floods and droughts. Finally, wetlandshave great recreational opportunities forcanoeists, birdwatchers and many others.Suddenly, that useless land is starting tolook more and more valuable!

Technically, a wetland is defined asany area of land that is underwater for allor part of the year and, supports biologi-cal activity adapted to a wet environment.

Individuals and communities are in-creasingly recognizing the potential of wet-lands to improve their environment.About four years ago, the community ofRiver Hebert started an interesting experi-ment to test if wetlands could help treatthe wastewater from their sewage treatmentfacility. The problem was that the waste-water still contained nutrients such asphosphorus and nitrogen, as well as someharmful bacteria. They decided to part-ner with the Eastern Habitat Joint Ven-ture in building a dual-purpose wetlandto clean the wastewater and to improvewildlife habitat. Filtering the effluentthrough the wetland means that it is treatedthrough natural chemical and bacterialprocesses and thus no longer poses any riskwhen it enters the river. At the same time,the rich nutrients in the wastewater haveacted like fertilizer for the marsh’s vegeta-tion. The vigorous growth of cattails,grasses, and other wetland plants has in-creased the food supply for the various

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snails and insects that feed on them. Theirincreased numbers have meant more foodfor fish and waterfowl. The area has nowbecome a tourist attraction and is used bythe local school to raise environmentalawareness among its students.

Success stories such as these are asign of the growing realization that wet-lands are an important part of our envi-ronment. They provide valuable wild-life habitat, help clean and regulate wa-ter levels and, offer some great, oftenoverlooked, recreational opportunities.And on a hot summer night in a marsh,you can hear for yourself the vitality oflife in wetlands: insects peep and buzzexcitedly, birds call back and forth, frogsbelch their “ribbets” into the air, andoccasionally a fish leaps from the waterto catch a bug. For nature, wetlandsare truly paradise.

Freshwater wetlands include:Bogs, which are areas of peat formed

from sphagnum moss that receive all theirnutrients from rainfall and the air.

Fens are also peatlands, but areformed from sedges and grasses that receivetheir nutrients from streams flowingthrough them.

Marshes are broken into two groups:deep marsh, where the water level is upto three feet deep, and shallow marsh,which can be almost dry in summer.

Seasonally flooded flats are areaswhere rivers overflow their banks at a cer-tain time of year, such as the floodplainsalong the Mersey and Salmon Rivers.Meadows are often found in the upperreaches of a watershed, and drain into theseasonally flooded flats.

Vernal pools are areas where pools ofwater develop in spring, such as in the woodsat Blomidon. The water may be quite highat times, then completely disappear at othertimes. Interestingly, some plants are spe-cially adapted to vernal pools, and are ableto survive during these periodic dry periodsuntil the water develops again.

Lakeshore wetlands are protectedbackwaters along lake shorelines.

Saltwater or coastal wetlands have adegree of variation similar to their fresh-water cousins: Intertidal flats are areas ofexposed mud like at the top of the Bay ofFundy, and contain an important sourceof food for wildlife.

Saltmarshes are broken into twogroups: low saltmarsh, which is floodedon all tides, and high saltmarsh, which isonly flooded during large tides.

Saline ponds are made up of watertrapped behind a barrier beach,but with large waves that stillsometimes break over thus mix-ing salt water with fresh water.

Subtidal flats are coastal ar-eas that are always covered by wa-ter, where eelgrass and other veg-etation often grows plentifully.

So as you can see fromabove, there is much more towetlands than one might think.Their value is immeasurable andmust be taken into accountwhen planning future uses oflands.

Tree Trivia:Many of us are in the process of get-

ting fuelwood for the fast approachingwinter season. One of the most commonquestions I hear relates to fuelwood.When considering what type of fuelwoodis best for your heating use, keep one thingin mind. The denser the wood fibre inany given tree species, the more heat po-tential and value it contains. In otherwords, if you have two pieces of wood ofthe same size and moisture content (airdried for one year), the heavier piece willcreate more heat value.

It is essential that you use well sea-soned (dry) fuelwood. If you haven’t

yet acquired the wood that you intendto burn this winter, you must make surethat you get wood that was cut at leastone year ago that has been air dried inthe open. If you burn wood containinglots of moisture (green wood), it is veryinefficient, as much of the heat is usedto evaporate the water in the wood. Thistends to build up creosote and gener-ally is less satisfactory for your use. Aswell, it is heavier work to carry greenwood into your home than seasonedwood.

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Grit’s Gun Registry Joke Beginning To HurtBy Les MacPherson, SaskatoonStarPhoenix

was put away last week for ordering themurders of two prison guards. Boucherwas leader of the Montreal-based HellsAngels chapter blamed for Quebec’sbloody biker wars. His organization wasthe primary target of Ottawa’s new anti-gang legislation.

Boucher has all the credentials you’dexpect of an infamous gangster. His crimi-nal record includes a three-year term inprison for armed robbery and two years forsexual assault. In 1995, he was convictedon a (firearms) charge after police found

an unregistered handgun tucked into hisbelt. He served six months and was stillon parole for that offence when a policewiretap recorded him advising anotherbiker to beat a mutual enemy with a base-ball bat. The murder charges for which hewas eventually convicted had been pend-ing since 1998. On top of all this, he waspurportedly running the country’s mostdangerous criminal organization.

Even so, it came out duringBoucher’s latest trial that when Quebecpolice raided his home in the spring of2000, they found the aforementionedshotguns and pistol, all duly registered byfederal (firearms) authorities. That theyhadn’t registered Boucher’s blow dryerand soldering gun is to their slight credit.

With Boucher’s record and his na-tional notoriety, you’d think he’d be thelast guy to qualify for a (firearms) licence.There is no more recognizable criminalin the country. How could he pass therequisite security check? What is the pointof spending hundreds of millions of dol-lars on a gun registry that accredits a gang-ster facing murder charges?

No explanation has been forthcom-ing. Justice Minister Martin Cauchon,minister irresponsible for the gun regis-try, refuses to answer opposition questionsabout Boucher’s licence. To do so, theminister explained, would violateBoucher’s privacy rights.

It is a sad day for Canada when thefederal justice minister hides behind theprivacy rights of a murdering gangster.Sad, but typical.

It was funny when the gun-control geniuses in Ottawa registereda hair dryer as a firearm. It was

funny when they registered an electric sol-dering gun as a firearm. It was not so funnywhen they registered three pump-actionshotguns and a 9-mm pistol to Canada’smost infamous gangster.

That would be Maurice “Mom”Boucher, the Montreal biker boss who

Continued on next page

Woodlot Ownerof the Year Award

2 0 0 2

Congratulations

Les CorkumFalmouth, Hants County

Western Region andProvincial Winner

Photographer: P. Romkey

Central Region WinnerEarle Tanner, Hardwood Lands, Hants County

Eastern Region WinnerRobert Glaze, Orangedale, Inverness County

Plan to attend upcoming field days on these woodlots:September 7 - Orangedale, Inverness CountySeptember 21 - North Salem. Hants County

October 5 & 6 - Windsor Road, Lunenburg County

Watch our website:www.gov.ns.ca/natr/extension/woodlot

for more details, or contact Tim Whynot (902) 424-5444e-mail: [email protected]

Nova Scotia Woodlot Owner of the Year Award–honouring outstanding woodlot

stewardship since 1990.


By any objective measure, the Lib-eral gun registry is a disaster. It can’tidentify a notorious gangster. It can’t dis-tinguish a blow dryer from a Beretta.Still, the governing Liberals insist that theregistry is working as promised to makeCanadians safer.

The evidence says otherwise. It criesout otherwise. We were told, for ex-ample, that the registry would cost about$85 million, total. The actual cost is$690 million, so far. Costs are continu-ing to add up at the rate of about $100million a year. For that kind of money,you’d think someone would at least readthe applications.

Meanwhile, the registry has simplylost track of tens of thousands of appli-cations from harmless duck hunters.They are now vulnerable to criminalcharges for failing to comply. You haveto look back to the old Soviet Union tofind bureaucratic bungling on this scale.

We were told that police personnelwould not be diverted to the gun regis-try. But 161 RCMP personnel have since

been so diverted. What are the odds thatnot a one among them has ever heard ofMom Boucher?

We were told that gun registrationwould not deter legitimate gun owners.But the regulatory cost of owning a hunt-ing rifle is now up to $279. And sales ofmigratory game bird hunting licences aredown by a third after nine years of Lib-eral gun control. It’s as if they set out toeradicate hunting. That might explainwhy duck hunters have to register whilesex criminals do not.

We were told that gun registry wouldbe secure. And so it is, if you’re MomBoucher. Otherwise, security has beenproblematic. RCMP computers contain-ing gun registration information havebeen breached more than 200 times. Theinformation could help criminals identifyhomes where they could steal guns.

The error-riddled registry is of lessuse to police. They don’t trust it. Theydon’t even use it. That’s why Quebecprovincial police didn’t know aboutBoucher’s legally registered guns untilthey actually found them. In this case, asin most others, the registry might as wellnot exist.

Grit’s Gun Registry...Continued from page 15

The same cannot be said of the hun-dreds of millions of wasted dollars. Thatmoney could have been spent on cancerresearch or twinning dangerous highways.Instead, we get cynical Liberal lies andcriminals with licensed guns. �

Reprinted with permission from TheStarPhoenix (Saskatoon)[email protected]

Ed

Co

lem

an

Your Rights As An Angler — An Overview

The Angling Act permits a resi-dent of the Province (notanyone else) to go on foot

(not by any other means) along the banksof a river, stream or lake (and these mustbe non-tidal and therefore, within the

jurisdiction ofthe Province),that cross or areon uncultivatedlands (lands thatare in their natu-ral wild state) orCrown lands forthe purpose of

lawfully (e.g. with a Fishing Licence) fish-ing with a rod and line in such rivers,streams or lakes.

The above summary of the AnglingAct was prepared for this column byGeoffrey P. Muttart of the Kentville lawfirm of Muttart, Tufts, DeWolfe andCoyle. I spoke with Mr. Muttart recentlyabout the fact that many anglers are un-aware of their rights and he kindly agreedto take a look at the Angling Act and pre-pare an overview. Excerpts from the over-view follow.

Historically, Mr. Muttart noted,

English Common Law once gave land-owners exclusive fishing rights over inlandwaters. This was changed in 1912 to per-mit any residents the right to fish as de-scribed in the above summary. However,Mr. Muttart said, “this change in the lawonly affected lands in those municipali-ties that enacted by-laws providing for theissuances of licenses to landowners whowished to preserve their historic rights andexclude the public rights.

“In 1916, the legislation wasamended to confer the public right to fishon residents .... whether or not a munici-pality had enacted a by-law for issuing li-censes. However, the owner of ‘unculti-vated land’ (excepting timberland) wasstill entitled to apply to the municipalityfor a license to preserve the private rightand to exclude the public.

“This license was available as of rightto the landowner until 1998. In 1998the Municipal Government Act amendedthe then Angling Act to delete the provi-sions authorizing a municipality to issuelicenses.”

Mr. Muttart concluded the over-view with the statement of angling rightsthat are in the summary. However, the

conclusion expanded further on what an-glers can or can’t do when fishing and sinceit is important, I quote it in its entirety.

“An angler does not have the rightto follow the banks of rivers, streams orlakes across uncultivated lands merely toreach other rivers, streams or lakes inwhich he/she wishes to fish. The anglermust fish in the rivers, streams or lakesthat are being followed. An angler doesnot have the right to cross private landother than in compliance with the legis-lation. Therefore, an angler cannot ac-cess a favorite fishing hole by crossingprivate property, without the permissionof the owner, unless he/she is followingthe bank of a river, stream or lake, thefishing hole is a portion of such river,stream or lake, and the entire propertybeing crossed is in its natural wild state.”

Anglers should note that the above isprovided for information purposes only andis not intended to constitute legal advice.If you are in a situation where your legalrights as an angler are being challenged,your best step is to consult a lawyer. �

Ed Coleman is a well known outdoorswriter who lives in Annapolis Valley.

The winners of the Nova ScotiaFederation of Anglers and Hunters,

2001 Funding Lottery drawn onMarch 23, 2002 in Truro are:

1st - JOHN STUBBERT,14 foot boat with Motor and Trailer

6th - JOHN RYAN,unframed wildlife print

5th - DOUG O’CONNELL,unframed wildlife print

4th - LAWRENCE GOODLAND,unframed wildlife print

3rd - DANNY DUNBAR,$300.00

2nd - A.J. MACISAAC,$500.00


What Is GPS?K

en K

ane

The acronym GPS means Global Positioning System – Anetwork of satellites which

constantly circle the earth. These satel-lites send a constant stream of coded in-formation that makes it possible to pre-

cisely identifyany location onor above theearth by measur-ing time and dis-tance from thesatellites. Thesatellites trans-mit radio signals

which enable a GPS receiver to calculateits position in Latitude and Longitude (orUniversal Transverse Mercator).

Throughout time man has inventeda variety of ways to figure out their posi-tion on earth and how to navigate fromone place to another. At first people navi-gated by means of landmarks – moun-tains, trees, or by leaving stone markers.These methods would only be useful forlocal destinations. With the invention ofthe compass, navigators could travel moreabroad, and by keeping track of theirspeed, could track their progress. Mari-ners were able to calculate their positionby using Celestial navigation – a methodusing stars. Celestial navigation was theprimary method of navigation for hun-dreds of years. It was a time consumingand complicated task of measuring theangles between stars – a process of trian-gulation. The tool used for this was thesextant, but it only measured Latitude.Only when a precise timepiece was in-vented that could be used at sea couldLongitude be calculated adequately. Thistype of navigation was disadvantaged be-cause it could only be used at night andin clear weather.

In the 20th century ground-based ra-dio navigation systems were invented.Some of these are still in use today. Oneof the better-known systems is LORAN.GPS is also a radio navigation system, butthe first used systems were all ground-based. LORAN users (the receivers) cal-culate how far away they are from a trans-mitting tower whose location is preciselyknown. When several transmitting tow-ers are used, the location of the receivercan be pinpointed. Each tower had atransmitting range of about 500 miles andthe accuracy was good to about 250 yards.LORAN was not a global system andcould not be used very far out at sea. The

nature of the transmitted signal was thatit traveled over the surface of the earthand therefore only a two-dimensionalposition could be calculated. Altitudecould not be determined, so this systemcould not be applied to aviation.

In 1957 with the launch of the Rus-sian Sputnik, the Americans were shockedinto action in a desperate bid to catch up.In the process they conceived a satellitenavigation system that solved the prob-lem of how to locate yourself anywhereon the globe in three dimensions. Withsatellites orbiting the earth, researchersrealized that the radio transmission of asatellite in a well-defined orbit could beused to determine the position of a re-ceiving station back on the ground. TheDoppler effect, which measures the fre-quency shift of the satellite transmissionas it passes overhead, was the early methodof position calculation. This method re-quired several passes of the same satelliteand could take several hours to take anaccurate fix. Even still, Doppler was thefirst method used for a satellite position-ing system, which was known as Transit.Transit was put into orbit by the US Mili-tary in the 1960s and was used by USNavy missile submarines to achieve anaccuracy of about 25 yards.

Even before Transit was operational,researchers were investigating a better sys-tem. They were working on a systemconsisting of an entire formation of navi-gation satellites whose orbits were pre-cisely known, and whose distance couldbe precisely determined. If a receivercould obtain signals from a minimum of3 of these satellites at the same time, thenthe receiver could precisely determine itsown position by triangulation. To ac-complish this meant that the receiver hadto know the precise direction and dis-tance of the satellites. To fulfill this re-quirement the satellites would emit sig-nals at precisely timed intervals, and bymeasuring the delay of arrival of thesesignals, a receiver could determine thedistance of each satellite.

The next problem was to devise atransmitted signal that would achieve theaccuracy required. A “pseudo-random”signal was developed that could be trans-mitted by all the satellites on the same fre-quency, so that the GPS receiver needonly receive on one frequency. The re-quirement to receive on only one fre-quency greatly reduced the cost of GPSreceivers. (Satellites actually transmit on

two different frequencies, L1 and L2.One for civil use and the other strictly formilitary users.)

The 1990-1991 crisis in the PersianGulf was the first major test of GPS in acombat situation, and proved beyond adoubt the importance and the usefulnessof this type of navigation system. Somesay that GPS revolutionized combat op-erations on the ground and in the air dur-ing Operation Desert Storm, and was –as one Allied Commander noted – one oftwo particular pieces of equipment thatwere major factors in winning the battle(the other was night vision devices).Among the many uses of GPS duringDesert Storm, navigation proved to be acrucial technique for desert warfare. GPSsatellites enabled coalition forces to navi-gate, maneuver, and fire with unprec-edented accuracy in the vast desert ter-rain despite difficult conditions – frequentsandstorms, few paved roads, no vegetablecover, and few natural landmarks. Onaverage, each US Army maneuver com-pany (i.e. tank, mechanized infantry, orarmored cavalry) had at least one GPSreceiver, the demand for receivers was sogreat that more than 10,000 civilian unitswere hastily ordered during the crisis. Inaddition to navigation, other operationswere greatly enhanced by GPS includingprecision bombing, artillery fire support,the precise positioning of maneuveringtroop formations and combat search-and-rescue missions.

Basically GPS works by measuringthe time it takes a radio signal from a sat-ellite to reach a receiver on the ground.Each satellite continuously broadcasts asignal that gives its position and the time.A GPS receiver compares its own timewith the satellite’s time and uses the dif-ference between the two to calculate thedistance. Taking measurements from foursatellites allows the receiver to pinpointLatitude, Longitude and Altitude, and tocorrect for errors in its clock, which is notnearly so precise (or costly) as the atomicclocks in the satellites. Using four satel-lite signals is better than three, and evenmore is better yet. Modern GPS have thecapability to receive up to 12 satellites atthe same time. The satellites do not trackthe receiver, the user or anything else. Thesatellites merely transmit their positionsand an extremely accurate time signal tothe GPS receiver. The GPS device canthen calculate its own position.

Continued on next page


Selective Availability was a US De-partment of Defense policy that was partof the reason for inaccuracy in GPS. Thesatellites were instructed to “dither” boththeir times and their locations so thattheir transmissions were less accurate.This was done mainly to prevent a for-eign military power from using the GPSas a free, super-accurate, pre-installedtargeting computer. On May 1 of 2000,the President of the United States an-nounced - “Today, I am pleased to an-nounce that the US will stop the inten-tional degradation of the Global Posi-tioning System …“. So Selective Avail-ability for civilian users was turned off.Civilian users were now able to pinpointlocations up to ten times more accu-rately. The same GPS receiver that pro-vided accuracy within 100 meters of auser’s position was suddenly accurate towithin 10 meters. This change imme-diately made a GPS more accurate andreliable, and thus much more valuableto the GPS user.

The GPS system was of course de-signed, built and paid for by the Depart-ment of Defense at an estimated 14 bil-lion dollars. Its ongoing upkeep is still inthe millions every year. But for civilianusers, with SA Off, it is a highly accurateinstrument that will give you your loca-tion, quite reliably, within 10 meters, any-where on earth. Altitude is not nearly soaccurate unfortunately. For fishermenand hunters and other outdoor enthusi-asts we now have a device that showswhere we are, where we are going andwhere we have been very accurately.

Next time - different kinds of GPS,and how Sportsmen can use them. �

Ken Kane is a 12 year HunterEducation Instructor who lives nearHubbards. [email protected]

What is GPS?...Continued from page 17

Do You Have Your Boating Course?

Eddie’s Small Engine RepairP.O. Box 42,

North East Margaree, NS B0E 2H0

OPEN YEAR ROUNDPh: (902) 248-2283

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Chedabucto Home HardwareP.O. Box 186, Guysborough, N.S. B0H 1N0Telephone (902) 533-2883

Robin (Bob) CookDealer/Owner

4104

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Margaree Centre, Inverness Co.1-902-248-2935

BROWN’S BRUAICHNA H’AIBHNE

INN & COTTAGES

4102

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B oating season in theMaritimes usually beginswhen the ice leaves the lakes

and rivers in early April. Gradually wesee an increase in the number of recre-ational boaters, particularly small openpowerboats, canoes and kayaks. Althoughwater in the Maritimes remain relativelycool even in summer months, boating inthe early part of the season and the latterpart of fall presents an additional challengefor boaters. Cold water temperatures playhavoc with boaters who find themselvesin the water unexpectedly. It is a goodidea to always wear your personal flota-tion device (PFD) when boating, espe-cially if you are in a canoe or kayak.

Operating a recreational boat requiresthe proper knowledge, skill and attitudeto ensure safety for everyone on the water.Knowing the rules of the road, being pre-pared for emergencies, and having the rightsafety equipment on board all work to-gether to give you peace of mind that youand your boating companions will have anenjoyable day on the water. It is this con-cept that makes up the core of the opera-tor competency program. Through edu-cation and awareness boaters will be bet-ter prepared to meet the many challengesthat come their way when on the water.

Introduced in 1999, the regulationis aimed at users of motorized recreationalboats and will eventually require all op-erators to carry on board proof of opera-tor competency. Operators born afterApril 1, 1983 must carry proof on boardnow; by September 15 of this year, opera-tors of power boats under 4 metres (13.2')and personal watercraft will be requiredto carry proof of operator competency.This phase in period will end as of Sep-tember 15, 2009, when all operators ofpowerboats (regardless of boat size or op-erator birth date) will be required to carryon board proof of operator competency.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)strongly recommends individuals obtaintheir proof of operator competency by tak-ing a Safe Boating Course and obtainingtheir Pleasure Craft Operator Card. How-ever, another option available to experienced

boaters is to challenge the accredited test.In the Maritimes there are approxi-

mately 39,000 small openpowerboats under 4 metres withan estimated 117,000 potentialoperators. The number of Plea-sure Craft Operator Cards issuedto date is 19,000 or 17 percentof the boaters. However, theCCG expects the number of in-dividuals holding proof of com-petency is higher than this fig-ure. Some boaters have taken aSafe Boating Course prior toApril 1, 1999, and hold a cer-tificate that attests they success-fully completed the course. Thiscertificate of successful completion is alsoconsidered proof of competency.

Alcohol and boating don’t mix. Al-cohol combined with the effects of thenatural elements when on the water canbe a lethal combination. Forty percent

of incidents involving recreational boatsinvolve alcohol.

BILL’S CUSTOM GUN SHOP1697 Melbourne Rd.

Lr. Melbourne, Yarmouth Co.N.S. B0W 1B0

(902) 742-5926 4103

2L

Courtesy N.S. Tourism

Be Safe - Be Sure - Take a Course! �

For further information on SafeBoating contact the Canadian CoastGuard toll free at 1-888-670-0771 orvisit our website at www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca.


Meaghers Grant, NS

Lodging available forGolfers, Hunters & Fishermen

384-2033

Open for Green Feesand Tournaments

4104

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Aging Hunting PopulationJi

m P

ower

Brilliant moonlight illuminatedMaplewood as Art tossed another stick on the fire. Smoke

rose skyward in the frigid autumn air andthe roof glistened with silver frost. Some-where on the western ridge, a coyotehowled plaintively with a song as old as

time. It was thethird week ofNovember andif finer days ex-ist, I have notbeen privy tothem. Brian andFred snored,while Steve

yawned and asked me the time. It was 3a.m., the peak of the rut, and I was gladto be sharing an age-old hunting tradi-tion spanning three million years of hu-man history. But I was 44 years old, theyoungest man in that camp. Like it ornot, I thought, the hunting population isaging. And that is a very serious problemfor those of us who do not want the camp-fires of Maplewood to dim, guns to fallsilent, and a tradition to be lost.

But what are the reasons behind thisdecline, and what can we do about it? De-mographics: The aging population canbe illustrated by the fact that in the USthere were 3.1 million people over 65 in1900; by 2030, that figure will soar to70.3 people. An increase of almost 23times. Obviously the population hasgrown substantially in the last century, butthe percentage of older people continuesto increase. People 65+ will rise from 12.4percent of the population in 2000, to 20percent in 2030. According to the USDept. of Health and Services, the growthof older people “slowed somewhat dur-ing the 1990s because of a relatively smallnumber of babies born during the GreatDepression of the 1930s. But the olderpopulation will burgeon between the years2010 and 2030 when the ‘baby boom’generation reaches age 65.”

Distractions: One major reason fora lack of recruitment of younger people

into the hunting heritage is the amountof distractions available today.

“When I grew up,” said a friend inhis late forties, “we had two TV channels.Now we have 50 or 100 channels, videogames, computers, the Internet, email,chat, stereos, mountain bike clubs, etc.etc. It’s tough competition out there.”

Another factor is theprogressive movement ofpeople from the countryinto the city. With the mi-gration out of a rural life,many young people are los-ing their connection to ru-ral heritage, chief amongthem hunting and fishing.

In 1985, there were114,738 deer licenses sold inNova Scotia. The next year,there were another 110,983.In fact, between 1987 and1991, only once did licensesales fall under 80,000 units.But between 1993-2001,deer licenses slumped toaround 50,000. An alarm-ing trend, but not hopeless.

Solutions: It is a factcarved indelibly in stone that with num-bers comes political power. The morehunters campaigning for their rights, themore likely they will be heard. Con-versely, with declining numbers, huntersand gun owners will lose political power.Recruiting new individuals into the sportis fundamental, both for future and cur-rent hunters/gun owners.

Several strategies are being employed.Bill Jordan closes the Realtree Outdoorshunting show each week with the mostimportant message: “Take a child hunt-ing or fishing so they too can enjoy thegreat outdoors.” Wiser words were neverspoken.

Bringing young people into hunt-ing is key. Women are an untappedmarket as well. Though Tanya up atMaplewood can outlast any of us menwhile hunting rabbits, many more

women could be brought into the sport.It behoves any sportsman to encouragenot only his children, but his wife or fe-male friends to take up the pursuit. Notonly will that introduce them to the joyof hunting, it will increase the huntingcommunity in numbers and politicalpower.

Conclusion: We woke up thatmorning in Maplewood not to the soundof the alarm or someone’s rallying to thehunt, but because a car pulled into theyard with four sons and one daughter, allin their early to mid-twenties and wear-ing hunter orange. I saw not only fourhunters, I saw the promise of tomorrow.

Take a child hunting or fishing. �

Box 173, 2600 #1 Hwy., Aylesford, NS B0P 1C0Toll Free 1-877-866-0667

Manufacturer ofWood-Processing Equipment

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Take a child hunting or fishing. Sound advice for those whowant the outdoors life to continue.

Jim Power has written for: NorthAmerican Whitetail, Safari Magazine,Bowhunter, Fur-Fish-Game, EasternWoods and Waters, Woods and WatersUSA, Canada’s Outdoor Sportsman,The Maine Sportsman, Ontario OUTOF DOORS, Whitetail Strategies. Healso has a feature on Nova Scotiandeer hunting coming up inBuckmasters.

The Nova Scotia Federationof Anglers and Hunters

Call or Fax:

(902) 477-8898


Random CastsBy Don MacLean

Leech !

opinion most leeches are not actuallyblood suckers of warm bodied animals.Most are predacious on cold-blooded fishand snails or eat dead animals and plants.Although they lack eyes leeches have verywell developed senses of smell and touch.The leeches which are blood suckers, of-ten referred to as medicinal leeches, se-crete an anti-coagulant which preventsblood from clotting while attached to theirmeal. My father can remember, as ayoung boy, selling exceptionally largeleeches to local drug stores where theywere sold to people who wanted to “leech”themselves, and I recently read whereleeches are still used today to ensure bloodflow is returned to reattached fingers.

With tough, smooth skin over a multi-segmented muscular body, leeches canalter their body shape from short and thickto long and skinny. When swimming theymove with a smooth up and down mo-tion that is irresistible to trout. Leechesswim at the rate of one foot every threeseconds and it is while swimming that mostare eaten by fish. Ranging in length from1 to 6 inches, leeches in the 2-3 inch sizerange are most appealing to trout. Mostof the leeches found in our lakes are me-

dium to dark in colour in shades of brown,olive, black and grey. While live leechesmake great bait, artificials are easy to tieand, in my opinion, just as effective. Thereare numerous leech patterns, including thetime tested wolly worm, but one of theeasiest to tie is the rabbit fur leech.

Rabbit Fur LeechHook: Long Shank #4-#10Weight: Bead or cone headBody: Strip of black rabbit tanned

hide with fur on about three inches long.Tie strip on leaving about one inch as atail. Wrap the remainder on the fly up tothe head and tie off.

This fly moves with a very lifelikeaction in the water. Fish by retrievingline in short strips. The lead weight atthe head allows the fly to move up anddown in a pattern similar to the naturalmovement of the leech. So, if you get achance, tie up some leeches and give thema try. You won’t be disappointed. �

Leech! The one word guaranteed to clear out the localswimming hole and strike ter-

ror into the hearts of many people, youngand old. One of our most feared freshwa-ter inhabitants, the leech is widely distrib-uted throughout Nova Scotia in a variety ofhabitats, but slow moving water such as lakesand ponds are where they are most com-monly found. While I have to admit I havenot always been a big fan of leeches, myopinion of them changed when I found outhow much trout and bass love to eat them.

Leeches belong to the family of seg-mented worms and are related to our com-mon earth worms. In contrast to public

©2002 Don MacLeanDon MacLean is the Assistant DirectorInland Fisheries Division for NovaScotia Department of Agriculture andFisheries, in Pictou, NS.

Ph: 468-1539 Fax: 468-4301

140 THORNE AVENUEDARTMOUTH, N.S. B3B 1Z2

4101

2A

25 YearsNoel Shore Game ProtectionAssociation

By Betty Densmore

conservation of wildlife and habitat.The members gave freely of their

time to patrol the roads looking forjackers. As a result jacking in this areahas dropped to near zero.

In 1978 the association joined theNova Scotia Wildlife Federation and waspresented with the “Curtis Cup” the firstyear. Since then we have been very activewith N.S.W.F. now known as the NovaScotia Federation of Anglers and Hunt-ers, and have received many trophies.

In recent years we have stockedponds, put in fish eggs, raised and releasedpheasants, adopted a brook, sent boys andgirls to conservation camp and startedrecycling in the area.

Since 1980 a bursary has been pre-sented to a student at Hants North Rural

High School, who is attending universityand taking courses in a field of work re-lating to our aims.

A note to all hunters and anglers:stop complaining amongst yourselves andjoin a local wildlife club so your voice canbe heard where it counts. If there isn’tany club near you, start one or join theN.S.F.A.H. �I n October of 1977, Paul

Densmore decided that the resi-dents of Noel Shore had done

enough complaining among themselvesabout the large amount of deer jacking inthe area, so he called the then Departmentof Lands and Forests and had two offic-ers, Ivan Myers and Paul Spike, attend ameeting at his home. From there the as-sociation was formed and meetings wereheld in the community hall.

The objective of the organizationis to promote, stimulate and advance

Best WesternMicMac Hotel

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R.F. Welsh Plumbing& Heating Ltd.

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Fax: 455-3502 Ph: 454-400041054F


Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters ORDER FORM

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CAN YOU HELP? The NSFAH is always looking forvolunteers to help with its projects. Work on wildlifeor environmental committees or just to stuff andaddress envelopes. We need all types of workers.Just say “YES” on the order form. Thanks.

* Please check box if you require a tax receipt for donations over and above $20.00 membership costPlease make cheque or money order payable to and send to:

NOVA SCOTIA FEDERATION OF ANGLERS AND HUNTERSP.O. Box 654, Halifax, NS B3J 2T3

NSFAH Guarantee All our merchandise is guaranteed to give you100% satisfaction. If for any reason you are not completely satisfiedwith your purchase, just return it to us within 30 days of receipt. Wewill replace or exchange the merchandise, refund your purchase price,or credit your charge card.

Phone Orders Credit card holders may order memberships andmerchandise and make donations by calling 1-902-477-8898 between10 am and 3 pm - Monday to Friday. To ensure accuracy andconvenience please have your Visa or Mastercard handy as well asyour completed order form. Please note that this telephone number isfor placing orders only and that we do not accept collect calls.

Returns and Exchanges If you wish to return or exchange anymerchandise: 1-Package item securely. 2-Include the packing slip thataccommodated your order, if available. 3-Write a short note explainingwhy you are returning your purchase and what you wish in exchange.We will make every effort to handle your exchange as quickly aspossible. Please remember, however, that it takes time for us toreceive your goods, process your request, and ship you package backto you.

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www.honda.ca

Sutherland Equipment Ltd.336 Lincoln Road

Fredericton, N.B. E3B 5C2Ph: (506) 452-1155

Leonard C. Comeau Limited467 RR#1 Comeauville

Digby Co., N.S. B0W 2Z0Ph: (902) 769-2425Fax: (902) 769-3161

Toys For Big Boys633 Salisbury Road,

Moncton, N.B. E1E 1B9Ph: (506) 858-5088

email: [email protected]

Corbett’s Quality Outdoor Products

45 Union St.Liverpool, N.S. B0T 1K0

Ph: (902) 354-4341Fax: (902) 345-5929

Ramsay’s Cycle & Sport616 Keltic Drive

Sydney, N.S. B1L 1B6Ph: (902) 539-7644Fax: (902) 567-0832

MacKay Bros.281 Main St.,

Tatamagouche, N.S. B0K 1V0Ph: (902) 657-2650Fax: (902) 657-3076

Adriaan’s Cycle Service204 Church Street

Moncton, N.B. E1C 4A2Ph: (506) 382-0262


GET BEHIND THE RED SHIELDIf crisis has never touched your family, thank God.When it happens, it can destroy lives in an instant.Whether the cause is a job loss, domestic violence orpersonal tragedy, you can be sure of one thing – TheSalvation Army will be there to support. Last year weassisted over one million Canadians. Help us continueto be there. “Get Behind The Red Shield.”

Please give from your heart toThe Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal

To donate call: 1-888-321-3433 (24 hours)www.salvationarmy.ca

P.O. Box 8954, Halifax, NS B3K 5M6

For local information or events, check out the Maritime Web Site atwww.salvationarmymaritime.com

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Documents

The Nova Scotia Federation Of Anglers and Hunters - Nova FREE … · 2018. 9. 12. · Nova Outdoors Official Publication of the Nova Scotia Federation of Anglers and Hunters Vol