Today along the Bow River - November 2012

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Follow the red fly line.  Spending some time on the Bow this afternoon before the Grey Cup game.

The Patagonia Journal - Fall 2012

The Fall 2012 issue of Patagonia Journal, featuring article about dogsledding adventure at Chapelco Resort in San Martin de los Andes Argentina; a profile on Santiago Oliver, fly fishing guide and luthier of fine guitars; and a photo essay of Patagonia, a Year in the Life..

LINK

Go Stamps Go!

Today's Grey Cup game is about to get underway. Go Stamps! 
 
Calgary Stampeders Trivia: Pete Costanza Receivers Coach - In his free time, Costanza enjoys the local landscape by snowboarding and fly-fishing.

Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Three drift boats. March 2012

Florida Fly Fishing Magazine - Nov/Dec 2012

 

LINK

Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Blue and red through the cottonwoods. March 2012.

'Gross National Happiness' - David Suzuki & Dasho Kinley Dorji

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012.  
David Suzuki signing books at the 'Gross National Happiness' event

We attended a special event earlier this month at the Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival. 

David Suzuki and Dasho Kinley Dorji discussed the Bhutanese concept of 'Gross National Happiness' . 

Here is a short clip from that event. 



What is "Gross National Happiness" explained in 3 min 

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All right reserved 2012

Leaving Banff, approaching Canmore

Environmental groups, First Nations join in opposition to omnibus Bill C-45

Last spring's changes to the Environmental Assessment Act are tweaked further in this omnibus bill. Alamy/CP/Shutterstock

 
Environmental groups, First Nations join in opposition to omnibus Bill C-45 

Massive bill before Parliament further undermines Canadian democracy and environment, groups say in open letter 

Released: Nov. 21, 2012 

Several groups are standing together again today to defend Canadians against another round of cuts to key environmental laws including: 

 - An overhaul of the Navigable Waters Protection Act that would see just 97 of Canada’s approximately 32,000 major lakes protected by the stripped-down act. Major pipelines would also be exempted under the new law, meaning that the scope of impacts considered during environmental reviews will be narrower. 

- More changes to the Fisheries Act that would further dismantle this key environmental law by giving industry the option to request that their existing commitments to protect fish habitat be amended or cancelled, thereby potentially being let off the hook for promised compensation for lost or damaged habitat. 

 - New changes to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act that would eliminate the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, an independent body charged with making science-based decisions to protect Canadians from toxic chemicals and hazardous materials in the workplace. 

 More info & read 'Open Letter' here

Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Rigging up the rods and reels. March 2012

Today along the Bow River - November 2012

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Abandoned barn, on the way to Legacy Island.  From our early November collection.

Eat Sleep Fish - November 2012

Feature articles in this issue of Eat Sleep Fish include "Beaten, Battered and Bruised - The Giant Trevally" and "Discovering Tenkara - One fly philosophy"

Editorial (Calgary Herald): Feds must fish or cut bait on fisheries budget cuts

Editorial: Feds must fish or cut bait on fisheries budget cuts

Calgary Herald November 19, 2012

Something is fishy indeed about the federal government’s overtly two-faced approach to B.C.’s salmon industry.

Three years ago, when the annual sockeye salmon run virtually disappeared from the Fraser River, Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched an inquiry and appointed B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen to look into the matter.

The federal government, however, didn’t bother waiting for Cohen’s report. For all they knew, Cohen might have found some horrific biological cause behind the salmon’s disappearance, necessitating the full attention of biologists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Instead, just weeks before Cohen released his report, leaked government documents showed that Ottawa is planning to make major cutbacks to biologists who oversee protection of the fish.

The optics are terrible. It looks as though the federal government only cares about the salmon industry when Ottawa is flush with cash.

As it turned out, Cohen could not find a single cause for the huge decrease in sockeye in 2009, but he did cite some worrisome observations, including the proliferation of fish farming near sockeye migratory routes, disease, substances contaminating the water, predators and changing climate.

Key to protecting the salmon is more research, something that will require the expertise of those very same biologists who are about to lose their jobs. The feds simply cannot have it both ways.

Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Can you spot the strike indicator at the edge of the photo, center, far right?  March 2012.

Today along the Bow River - November 2012

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

Despite snow covering the gravel bars, another Bow River fisherman took advantage of last weekend's moderate temps.

Western Canada at the Canadian Folk Music Awards

Calgary's "Pear" was nominated for English Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, which took place last weekend in St John, NB. They didn't win. 

However, Western Canada did score a number of awards. Saskatoon's 'The Deep Dark Woods' picked up Contemporary Album of the Year for 'The Place I Left Behind'.

'The Fretless', whose members come from Victoria, Vancouver, Saskatoon and Los Angeles, mix Celtic, folk and chamber music and call it “rad trad”. 

That unlikely blend made the Fretless the big winners. The group won Instrumental Group of the Year as well as Ensemble of the Year for their album 'Waterbound'. The Fretless’s Trent Freeman also won for Instrumental Solo Artist of the Year.

The 2013 Canadian Folk Music Awards are slated to take place in Calgary, Alberta. 

Wild Salmon Advocates Cheer Cohen Commission Report

Supporters of B.C.'s wild salmon were delighted with the release of the Cohen Commission report on Oct. 31, but stressed that it's now up to citizens to put pressure on federal and provincial politicians to ensure that Cohen's recommendations are carried out. 

LINK (via: The Tyee)

Looking back on the Bow River - 2012 Season

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

March 2012. On the pontoons.

Today along the Bow River - November 2012

Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012

A number of fly fishers were out and about this past weekend along the Bow, taking advantage of the somewhat warmer weather. 

Locals are part of the problem in Castle wilderness

Fresh snow blankets a cut block and a stack of waste lumber in the Castle Wilderness Area of Southern Alberta on Wednesday October 3, 2012. Photograph by: Gavin Young , Calgary Herald

Locals are part of the problem in Castle wilderness

By Vic Urban, Calgary Herald October 25, 2012

Re: "Recreation leaving scars in Castle wilderness, groups warn," Oct. 23, "Tensions linger over Castle wilderness logging," Oct. 22, and "Battle for the Castle," Oct. 20.

I have been following your series of articles and was expecting Karl Giesler's assertion that outsiders are causing the destruction. I take exception to that because I have been visiting the area since the 1980s and have repeatedly seen locals building outhouses over the river, shooting clay pigeons over the river, and committing multiple acts of drunken idiocy.

Last summer, my wife and I went to the Castle Falls Recreation Area and witnessed a group of youths drinking beer and throwing the empties into the river. An officer with Sustainable Resources Development came by and attempted to ticket them; they were from Bellevue.

The most astonishing event occurred when the father of one of the youths showed up, asked that the group be let off, and when the officer denied his request, the father replied: "I know your boss; you don't know who you are dealing with."

Logging, oil and gas exploration and other industrial activities do have an impact in the area. However, I believe the biggest impact is the sheer volume of people utilizing, and in many cases, abusing, this beautiful and unique place.

Vic Urban, Calgary

Secret Cinema (Calgary) - Season Finale this Tuesday Nov 20

SECRET CINEMA- SEASON FINALE THIS TUESDAY
 
Join us this Tues Nov 20 for the final installment of this year's Secret Cinema series, curated by local filmmaker Mike Peterson (Lloyd the Conqueror). Mike is presenting a slapstick western film from 1934 starring the era's most beloved comedy duo.
 
Come out to the Old Y Building (223 12th Ave SW) 7:00 pm
 
FREE admission, drinks from Village Brewery + popcorn!
 
Secret Cinema will re-launch in the spring with a new series of outdoor films curated by local film enthusiasts!