Richmond Snows

[Beard]

Hey guys

anyone read the article in the sun about the issues with snows in Richmond? Think more areas may be opened up to hunters? Any richmond guys comment on how hunting is received by farmers and residents? I just thought it was an interesting read. Any other thoughts ?

Cheers

[Swamp mule]

And its interesting that the city is encouraging the public with dogs to chase (HAZE) the geese away b/c of the impacts on grasslands and poop residue. I looked in the hunting regs to find if this approach was legel or not. I did find in the act that it is illegal to have a dog pursue any wildlife. I wonder how the city gets away with this. don't they need to accept this that this area is a natural stop over and was their original habitat. Live with people.

[fowl language]

the city of richmond needs a cws permit to chase the geese.if they don,t have one with all the volunteers names on it they are doing it illegally....fowl

[buck nash]

It would be nice if they were to open up other areas but it's not very likely as the geese seem to hang out where shooting would not be safe anyhow ie school fields. London/mcnair school field is often completely filled with thousands of geese. I wish I could set up there. I could limit out in seconds.

[RayHill]

From 2007-09 I used to work at the south end of #2 road, and the flocks flying in, mornings and afternoons would make the ground white on all the fields. They would land and take off in waves and could take up to half an hour or more to all get air born.

I think hunting them more wouldn't even put a dent in the numbers. I should have taken a video of it one time. Most people can't invision the flock size and the noise the all can make.

[f350ps]

This whole thing makes me chuckle. Many, many years ago a guy by the name of Peter Hamilton from a granola group called Lifeforce was the driving force behind getting Sturgeon banks and Jap Island shut down despite the warnings from CWS that this could in the future cause this very problem. That clown is still around, I'd like to hear how he would deal with this! K

[longshot]

This whole thing makes me chuckle. Many, many years ago a guy by the name of Peter Hamilton from a granola group called Lifeforce was the driving force behind getting Sturgeon banks and Jap Island shut down despite the warnings from CWS that this could in the future cause this very problem. That clown is still around, I'd like to hear how he would deal with this! K

I have heard of him, and I doubt that clown would even care... as long as he gets his weekly supply of "GRANOLA CRUNCH" he is satisfied.

[Sasquatch]

I doubt that hunting them at this point would help much with reducing the numbers. The birds come in to fields by the thousands and shooting a few hundred here and there would not even make a dent in the population.

The city is really reaching if they think that a few part time volunteers with dogs are going to do anything more than move the geese around Richmond. I know they have a similar program at the airport to keep the geese away, but from what I understand it is full time with dedicated staff.

[Chilliwack]

Hey guys

anyone read the article in the sun about the issues with snows in Richmond? Think more areas may be opened up to hunters? Any richmond guys comment on how hunting is received by farmers and residents? I just thought it was an interesting read. Any other thoughts ?

CheersHere is rhe story. http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Politician+seeks+mass+cull+snow+geese/7568971/story.html

[Fella]

They should set up a special extended bag and possession limit in Richmond for a couple months. Have a hundred guys line up in a couple fields for a month, and you'd take care of the problem no sweat! :)

[f350ps]

They should set up a special extended bag and possession limit in Richmond for a couple months. Have a hundred guys line up in a couple fields for a month, and you'd take care of the problem no sweat! :)
I don't think that would go over to well with the school or parks boards. K

[xfactor]

Hey Fella. that would never happen. the liability, and the public perception would be bad!


i'm not saying it doesn't need to happen, i've seen the mess at my kids school grounds.

[Fella]

Just wishful thinking on my part.

[Freshtracks]

The anti's got it closed thru Richmond council back when we were a few of the last to fight to keep it open. Council opening it again for culling? Never happen. The area has been hugely developed from back then. They wanted nature ... they got it. Live with it.

[f350ps]

The anti's got it closed thru Richmond council back when we were a few of the last to fight to keep it open. Council opening it again for culling? Never happen. The area has been hugely developed from back then. They wanted nature ... they got it. Live with it.
I was at those council meetings and I'll never forget the woman that got up and in tears said that her young daughter has been having nightmares every night over seeing a hunter walking the dyke carrying a dead snow goose. Then Peter Hamilton got up and said it's common knowledge that most hunters have criminal records and should not be in possession of weapons. The only person that spoke in our favour was Harold Steves, I'll bet he's getting tired of beating his head against the wall! K

[sae]

They got what they asked for now live with it , funny no geese in the Ladner school yards ,just bunnies

[nor'wester]

Yes the population of Snows on the Fraser Delta has skyrocketed in the past 10-15 years, and yes their feeding habits are damaging, but there's too many people...not too many birds! The lack of foresight in urban development in the Fraser Valley is the definition of stupidity, not that there's anything we can do about it now. Not only is urbanization ruining valuable habitat for all sorts of fish and wildlife, it is displacing incredibly valuable farmland that fed a lot of waterfowl, as well as OURSELVES!! (One could argue that diking the area in the first place to create farms was hard on the ecosystem, but a lot of wildlife benefits from agriculture, and it's sure a hell of a lot easier to coexist with than rooftops and blacktop!) If only we had "too many fish" too contend with also...

[Freshtracks]

f350ps ... Yes that woman .. who btw resided in Coquitlam ... was the intitial downfall for us. Somehow she got to someone on Richmond council, which then got Brodie (the mayor) on board. It was all over. Yes, Harold did his best ... but you know how council politics work. Wash my back, I wash your's.

The funny thing that most people don't know, is that 99.9% of those dike user (Franics Rd. to Terra Nova) back then were quite happy to stop and have a chat with us. Enquired about what we were doing, if successful and wishing us a good day and best of luck next outing. The woman (Carol ? IIRC) then moved on and proceeded to support a group that was looking to have the southern fringe of 152nd and Hghwy 10 area closed ... using the same "my daughter is having nightmares ..." :-?

Again, IMHO would council be smart enough to re-open the Sturgeon Banks area to hunting, as recommended by Jack Evans. I highly doubt they lack the knowledge to make such a wise decision. (1) Brodie is still mayor. (2) Current developement stand out as the top reasons. I suggest every resident of the areas effected attend a council meeting and start a major protest. That might be a start. :?