To the Editor:
Welcome to Duck Lake, all birds, snakes, turtles, frogs, salamanders and any and all amphibians. Not welcome: any tourists, fishermen, fish, large game, cattle (unless it is on land rented out by the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area) and anybody or anything that could be a liability.
I’m usually fairly patient, so I went back to the CVWMA administration office to find out when the dike would be open. I was told that it was going to be closed for a while yet, so I asked and received money back for my Duck Lake permit. I was also told that they don’t really care about the fact that Duck Lake is arguably the best bass lake in Canada. A lot of tourists from around western Canada, the Creston Valley and the U.S. do care and would love to spend some money here.
I would suggest that you take back your Duck Lake permits, too, tell them you’re not happy and that you want your money back. Oh, and if they tell you that it is good until next March, don’t worry — they will probably have the dyke closed.
What is so wrong with using Duck Lake as a tourist draw? The south end of Kootenay Lake has improved by leaps and bounds with some good management, so why not do the same thing with Duck Lake? The sport fishing industry is a multibillion-dollar industry, and the CVWMA could tap into this gold mine if it really wanted, without disturbing all of the projects it is working on. It’s the 21st century, not 1968 when this was born.
CVWMA, you used to have me as a friend, but until you guys start to do things that make sense, count me out.
Don Melnychuk
Creston
