Rescuers find hiker
Members of Powell River Search and Rescue (SAR) located a lone hiker Monday afternoon, April 15, on Confederation Lake trail.
At approximately 3 pm, SAR received a call from the RCMP that a hiker had become lost in the area.
Search coordinators Derek Poole and Brian Selfridge dispatched the group’s all terrain vehicle, a volunteer on mountain bike and a group on foot from Inland Lake to find the missing woman.
“She did a very sensible thing and stopped when she got turned around,” said Laurence Edwards, president of Powell River Search and Rescue Society. “Using her cell phone she was able to give us fairly good information about what she had seen and where she thought she was. She wasn’t exactly right but it was good enough.”
The hiker was found “fairly quick” and she was uninjured.
“It’s really important that once you get yourself into a situation where you are confused, to stop and think about where you are,” he said. “If you’re still not sure of what you’re doing try to contact the outside world.”
As the weather improves and more people are heading out into the backcountry, Edwards said there are a few precautions that can be taken in case something goes wrong.
“It’s vitally important to inform someone of where you are going,” he said, “and what your estimated time of arrival should be.”
Cell phones aren’t always the most reliable device because not everywhere in the backcountry has cell phone coverage, he said.
“Make sure you’re properly clothed and have food with you,” he said. “And it’s not a bad idea to take a map.”
Salmon survey
A poll conducted by Oraclepoll Research Limited suggests that candidates in the provincial election should take the issue of protecting wild salmon from salmon feedlots seriously.
The poll, which interviewed 1,000 British Columbians between March 21 and 28, and has a margin of error of +/-3.1 per cent, found that over 70 per cent of those surveyed were more likely to vote for a candidate who supports the protection of wild salmon. It was also found that 70 per cent thought it was important to remove salmon farms from salmon migration routes.
The same voters were asked how important it was to have a candidate who thought that salmon farms needed to be removed from wild salmon routes. Voters who identified as Liberal polled at almost 60 per cent, New Democratic Party supporters at 68 per cent and Green Party supporters at over 90 per cent.
“Wild salmon have been dying of politics for decades,” said Alexandra Morton, biologist and co-founder of Salmon are Sacred. “Now it would seem politicians need wild salmon to get elected.” Morton is the subject of Twyla Roscovich’s documentary Salmon Confidential that was recently shown at Evergreen Theatre.
The wild salmon populations in BC are dwindling. While there are other factors, studies reveal a direct correlation between the introduction of salmon farms and the decline of wild salmon.
Wild salmon feed over 190 BC wildlife species. Wild salmon is worth about $2 billion in revenue from wilderness tourism and fishing.
Plan update
Consultants hired by the City of Powell River to review and update its official community plan (OCP) are returning for another series of neighbourhood meetings.
The purpose of the meetings is to review a draft vision statement, land use objectives and trail and cycle networks.
The first meeting is being held on Wednesday, April 24 in Dwight Hall in Townsite. The second meeting is the following night, Thursday, April 25 in the Cedar Room at Powell River Recreation Complex in Westview. Both meetings take place from 6 to 8:30 pm.
The third meeting is being held from 6 to 8:30 pm on Monday, May 13 at James Thomson Elementary School in Wildwood. The last meeting is scheduled from 1 to 4 pm on Wednesday, May 15 at Cranberry Seniors’ Centre.
More information about the OCP and the review process is available online.
