QUESNEL,
BC, June 27, 2024 /CNW/ - A complex six-year
investigation into major habitat destruction along the Chilcotin
and Kleena Kleene rivers has concluded with a total of $545,000 in fines, following three court cases.
The investigation was conducted by fishery officers from Fisheries
and Oceans Canada (DFO) in Williams
Lake and Prince George, British
Columbia (B.C.) in conjunction with provincial natural
resource officers and biologists.
The major habit destruction involved in these cases resulted
from the removal of riparian habitat vegetation, infilling of side
channels, fish passage obstructions, stream diversion, unauthorized
changes in a stream and unauthorized works on crown lands. The
purpose of the work was to increase available land to be used for
agricultural purposes. None of this work had Fisheries Act or
provincial authorizations.
The first trial in the case concluded in October 2022 following a guilty plea by Altherr
& Schellenberg Cattle Co. LTD, when the company was ordered to
pay a fine of $280,000 for serious
violations of Canada's
Fisheries Act habitat provisions.
The second court case concluded on February 28, 2023, following a guilty plea by
Altherr & Schellenberg Cattle Co. LTD. The company was ordered
to pay a fine of $175,000 for serious
violations of Canada's
Fisheries Act, B.C.'s Water Sustainability Act, and
the BC Forest and Range Practices Act.
The third court case concluded on May 28,
2024, following a guilty plea by the contractor, Bayliff
Enterprises, Ltd., hired by Altherr & Schellenberg Cattle Co.
LTD to perform land clearing activities along the Kleena Kleene
River.
Bayliff Enterprises Ltd. was ordered to pay a fine of
$90,000 for serious violations of
Canada's Fisheries Act
and B.C.'s Forest and Range Practices Act. $45,000 of the fine was levied by Judge Mulder of
the Quesnel Provincial Court to discourage companies or individuals
from earning money when performing unauthorized activities.
A total of $545,000 in fines was
handed down to the company and the contractor involved in these
violations. Of this, $440,000 was
ordered to be held in trust with the Environmental Damages Fund
(EDF) for the purpose of the conservation and protection of salmon,
salmon habitat or the restoration of salmon habitat in the
Chilcotin region of B.C. The remainder of the fines went to General
Revenue. The Court further ordered the company to provide a total
$1,250,000 in bond to remediate the
impacted sites along both the Chilcotin and Kleena Kleene Rivers
within two years, and provide four reports comprehensively
documenting work done and survival rates of plantings on riparian
land adjacent to the rivers for the next decade.
DFO has a mandate to protect and conserve marine resources and
to enforce the Fisheries Act. As part of DFO's work to
disrupt and prevent illegal activity, the Department asks the
public for information on activities of this nature or any
contravention of the Fisheries Act and
regulations. Anyone with information can call DFO Pacific region's
toll-free violation reporting line at 1-800-465-4336, or email the
details to DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Quick Facts:
- The violations to fish and fish habitat by the company occurred
between 2017 and 2020 on two privately-owned ranch lands along the
Chilcotin and Kleena Kleene Rivers, near Redstone and Kleena
Kleene, B.C. and on Crown Land.
- The Chilcotin River system supports important salmon
populations, including coho, chinook, and sockeye. Within those
populations are COSEWIC-listed salmon populations: Interior Fraser
population of coho (threatened), Middle Fraser stream spring
population of chinook (endangered), and Chinook (endangered).
- The habitat destruction outlined in these cases include
de-vegetation in the riparian areas and side-channels of the
Chilcotin and Kleena Kleene Rivers, removal of top-soil and the
filling in of river side-channels, and the installation of berms.
They also diverted water and changed flow conditions/direction at
the Chilcotin site. The work was done without any permits and did
not have any Fisheries Act authorizations.
- Fishery officers work closely with biologists from DFO's
Federal Fisheries Habitat Protection Program to ensure any work
undertaken near water complies with the fish and fish habitat
protection provisions of the Fisheries Act.
- It is a legal requirement that measures must be taken to avoid
causing the death of fish and any harmful alteration, disruption or
destruction of fish habitat in any work, undertaking or
activity.
- There are serious consequences for non-compliance with the fish
and Fish habitat protection provisions - Fish and fish habitat
protection policy statement, August
2019 (dfo-mpo.gc.ca).
Associated Link: Projects near water
(dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Image: Image entered as evidence during the
trial
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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region