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You are cordially invited to attend a public forum in conjunction with the regular Salmon Enhancement and Habitat Advisory Board Meeting scheduled February 16 – 18, 2007

“Improving Protection for Fish Habitat”

View notes from this meeting at this location

Agenda
SEHAB Friday Forum
February 16, 2007
Time 7:00 PM
Location Holiday Inn, North Vancouver

7:00 – Welcome and Introductions
7:15 – Presentation by EPMP Workshop Organizing Team on Progress, Participant Selection Criteria and Workshop Design
7:25 – Presentation on the EPMP by DFO OHEB, process mapping and next steps
7:50 – Discussion
8:10 – 8:15 - Break
8:15 - Community Q & A, input and suggestions
8:55 – 9:00 Wrap Up

Background

Members of the Stewardship Community have partnered with Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Oceans and Habitat Enforcement Branch (OHEB) by forming an Organizing Team (OT) to present a two-day workshop scheduled to take place in March on the implementation of the Environmental Protection Modernization Process (EPMP).

The Habitat Protection Committee of SEHAB has been instructed to make all attempts to garner public input into concerns around these legislated tools and make these concerns and suggestions available to both DFO and the Province.

The purpose of this Forum scheduled for Friday evening the 16th of February is threefold: 1) to provide a further opportunity for you and/or your group to speak to protection issues generally, 2) As space is limited to 30 participants at the March Workshop to identify individuals with whom you feel comfortable and confident will represent YOUR voice at the Workshop and 3) to give input and suggestions to the OT regarding Workshop design.

Email notice was sent out to all groups in the Province giving notice of the March Workshop and to invite individuals and groups to identify the key issues for the OT to take forward as the agenda is built.

We have, to date, received many comments from the community and have grouped them under the following headings:

1. The Environmental Processes Modernization Plan
2. Working Together Better
3. Enforcing the Fisheries Act
4. Accountability: Ministerial, Government, Industry and Civil Society

Other Potential Workshop Inclusions/Outcomes

1. Participants gain a better understanding of the process for policy / regulatory development / changes.
2. Participants understand the linkage of FA to other regulations and how DFO works internally and with other departments to discharge its regulatory duties.
3. Other jurisdictions and federal departments concerns with fish habitat management and regulation should be present and involved in the discussions.
4. Comparative review of recent changes in DFO’s mandate, mission and vision statements, what these word changes mean to DFO’s overall direction.
5. Discuss and document the different protection modalities between rural, less populated areas that may have ongoing or potential effective NGO conservation and protection activities and urban centres where development pressure is profound and a real challenge exists to monitor impacts in different areas of the Province. (Within each of these different modalities there may be a need for different approaches to protect / restore immediate damage as well as accumulated damage.)

Other Issues

Several members of the community who responded to the call for feedback on the Workshop design identified fish and fish habitat related issues which they would like to have discussed at the workshop. These include:

1. Strategies to deal with the impacts of climate change on fish and habitat.
2. Fish health and fish community issues that arise from aquaculture operations.
3. Logging regulations and practices have a direct impact on stream habitat and should be included in any discussions relating to habitat protection. Logging on private lands has been identified as a particular concern.
4. The need for DFO to work with other jurisdictions to control development in areas that will impact fish habitat and to ensure adequate riparian corridors in fish-bearing streams.
5. The ability of the department to enforce the Fisheries Act needs to be improved.

We invite you to attend this session on February 16 either as an individual or representing your group. We hope to see YOU there.

Jack Minard, Chair, SEHAB Habitat Protection Committee