As typical, the month of April has brought showers and windy conditions through the Arrow valley. While many of us welcome the spring rains, not so, as far as the winds blow.
Historically, winds at this time of year have proven to be problematic, especially for Burton residents and highway travellers alike. While reservoir levels are low, high winds swirl dust from the flats reducing highway visibility, irritating eyes and throats, generally heightening allergies for local residents. It makes a supreme mess of homes and vehicles.
In order to alleviate this problem, BC Hydro in partnership with the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program initiated a grass seeding program for a portion of the Burton flats many years ago with measurable success. Miraculously, the grass thrived through elevated water levels just to reappear the following spring season. The dusts resided and the flats were eventually designated as an environmentally sensitive area with several informative pictorial signage posted by local volunteers asking to respect the flats. Burtonites felt a sense of accomplishment.
That success has been short lived however. Thanks to a years-old tradition of coming to Burton to bog, this ongoing thoughtlessness, short sightedness and complete disregard by several enthusiasts mind bent on destroying our collective achievements by bogging the flats during spring long weekends is deemed as an inherent right to have some fun, apparently.
Enter the provincial dragon with signs posting “No mud bogging,” with fines attached for violators. However, within the past few years these signs mysteriously disappeared and guaranteed, they were not removed nor destroyed by Burtonites.
As expected during the recent Easter long weekend, locals once again witnessed a dozen or more fun-seekers park their motor homes, campers and trailers on the flats establishing their presence by doing their stuff on motor bikes, ATVs and pickups – bogging across the alluvial fan, criss-crossing the creek, and of course, getting stuck.
In response to complaints by locals of non-compliant activities, it became apparent the dragon had no teeth. Being the long weekend, the only jurisdictional compliance officer was off duty while the local blue and white’s response was “it’s a Forestry thing, we have a limited staff on call for the weekend and I’ll pass it along to the others.” This response should really put a smile on the boggers’ faces as they once again plan for the upcoming May long weekend.
At question: Will the smiles continue while Burtonities express environmental concerns for destroying collective efforts to eliminate site specific dust storms and related ill health effects? Will the value of tax dollars spent on seeding or risk destroying downstream migration of depleting juvenile Bull Trout continue to excite the select few? Will planning a weekend continue to subject the community to days of noise from out-of-towners and risk the consequence of being fined as a result of being Observed, Recorded and Reported?
Although bogging the flats has become traditional, Burtonites have become more environmentally aware and collectively more educated about the negative effects on natural habitats resulting in the environmentally-sensitive designation.
Times change and with new information about the effects humans are having on sensitive areas, habits must also change. This coming May long weekend will tell whether traditionalists can change as well.
Hans Dummerauf,
Arrow Lakes Environment
Stewardship Society
