we let this one slip through our fingers

[stugatz]

Its a darn shame, that a few bureaucrats have decided that because of a few walkers in the Pitt Meadows dyke system that are paranoid about seeing guns during waterfowl season, they have the almighty power to close the whole darn thing to hunting....bunch of spineless a**holes. To me it was a chance to bring my little boy out early in the season and close to my house.....thanx Pitt Meadows council... you guys made douchebags of the year.

[fowl language]

you might want to look at the dyke closure a little closer as it only applies to the toe of the dyke and no further. i was in that meeting and felt that it was not that big a deal. it certainly gave other areas some security for the future. we have asked for some other areas be open and are still in negotiations. will keep you posted.....dale

[Dano]

I agree with Dale. Some of the dykes on the Pitt River were closed already. Some areas open had houses built near the dykes which made those areas (in effect), closed because you couldn't shoot close to the houses even though the dyke was in a shooting area. One thing that was included in the closure was they made it clear the foreshore was open to shooting but no shooting towards the dyke. The north and south Alouette areas are closed toe to toe on the dykes and the area between the dykes (the Alouette rivers) are also closed now. The houses near the dykes on the Alouette and the proximity to roads really limited the huntability of this area. There were a couple pockets that were still ok but they were small. They left all fields in these areas open to shooting via permission from landowner.
The dykes north of the gravel Pitt at the end of Sheridan Hill are still open, some are 3 days a week, the ones that border closed areas in the Pitt management area are still closed.
Pitt Meadows recognizes hunting as part of the activities that take place in the area and support it. After attending meetings in Coquitlam and Mission the last few years it should be noted Pitt Meadows "bureaucrats" still support hunting in the municipality. They left lots of public hunting areas along the Pitt River open, you just have to intercept the birds before they reach the dyke ( and possibly put on some boots).

[stugatz]

you might want to look at the dyke closure a little closer as it only applies to the toe of the dyke and no further. i was in that meeting and felt that it was not that big a deal. it certainly gave other areas some security for the future. we have asked for some other areas be open and are still in negotiations. will keep you posted.....daleThanx abunch for your hard work on our behalf Dale.....I had a look at the closures map, and in the end it wasn't so clear.... if you could keep us posted it would truly be appreciated....John

[stugatz]

I agree with Dale. Some of the dykes on the Pitt River were closed already. Some areas open had houses built near the dykes which made those areas (in effect), closed because you couldn't shoot close to the houses even though the dyke was in a shooting area. One thing that was included in the closure was they made it clear the foreshore was open to shooting but no shooting towards the dyke. The north and south Alouette areas are closed toe to toe on the dykes and the area between the dykes (the Alouette rivers) are also closed now. The houses near the dykes on the Alouette and the proximity to roads really limited the huntability of this area. There were a couple pockets that were still ok but they were small. They left all fields in these areas open to shooting via permission from landowner.
The dykes north of the gravel Pitt at the end of Sheridan Hill are still open, some are 3 days a week, the ones that border closed areas in the Pitt management area are still closed.
Pitt Meadows recognizes hunting as part of the activities that take place in the area and support it. After attending meetings in Coquitlam and Mission the last few years it should be noted Pitt Meadows "bureaucrats" still support hunting in the municipality. They left lots of public hunting areas along the Pitt River open, you just have to intercept the birds before they reach the dyke ( and possibly put on some boots).Thanx for the info as you can probably tell I believe it has left some of us in a quiet state of confusion.....I hunted across nickerbacker road if that is how one spells the road...has that part close to the pitt river bridge been closed?

[FirePower]

you might want to look at the dyke closure a little closer as it only applies to the toe of the dyke and no further. i was in that meeting and felt that it was not that big a deal. it certainly gave other areas some security for the future. we have asked for some other areas be open and are still in negotiations. will keep you posted.....dale

You are doing a fine and tireless job as always mate. We saw the closure as you discribed, great concession we could have lost it all.

[Dano]

Thanx for the info as you can probably tell I believe it has left some of us in a quiet state of confusion.....I hunted across nickerbacker road if that is how one spells the road...has that part close to the pitt river bridge been closed?

part of that dyke has been closed for years. I'll try and post a map tonight but if I remember correctly that dyke is closed to shooting but the foreshore along the river is open. There is a stipulation that no shooting towards the dyke. If the new special area maps are out, it should be in there.
I think you are referring to Riechanbach rd (I probably spelled it wrong too). Anyone shooting this area should be conscious of the fact there are a lot of joggers and walkers out there on sunny days.

[stugatz]

part of that dyke has been closed for years. I'll try and post a map tonight but if I remember correctly that dyke is closed to shooting but the foreshore along the river is open. There is a stipulation that no shooting towards the dyke. If the new special area maps are out, it should be in there.
I think you are referring to Riechanbach rd (I probably spelled it wrong too). Anyone shooting this area should be conscious of the fact there are a lot of joggers and walkers out there on sunny days.Yup you are right about the joggers....although all the years I hunted there the ones I met were not a problem. I think a few years back they closed a section that butted against the highway and the rest remained open, I guess that all changed now. Like I said council really did a knee jerk on this one. IMHO

[Dano]

I don't think council did a knee jerk at all. As more people use the dykes and more and more of the agricultural land is used for housing we loose huntable areas. The trend over the last 20 or so years has been for people buying acreage along the Pitt River and Alouette dykes and building their houses way back from the road and close to the dykes. They build them there so the upper floors have a view of the river and sadly this practice eliminates that section of dyke within 150 meters of the house and sometimes some of the foreshore along the river too. More and more of the land along the dykes is getting built on, we were losing quite a lot of hunt-able dyke along the Pitt and Alouette long before the bylaw was changed. There were areas still hunt-able though but as that area shrunk, the likelihood of an incident where a shooter shot too close to a house, a winged bird sailed through a window of a house or greenhouse (heard of that happening), or something more serious happening, was increasing. I've hunted out here for 40 years and wasn't comfortable shooting in a lot of the now closed areas, a lot has changed since my dad and I would park the car and walk into a field looking for a pheasant or duck getting out of a ditch. Hunters have a lot to lose if anything negative would have brought about these changes. I feel we would have had a really tough time keeping the whole area open if certain situations had arose.
Having council on record as supporting hunting and shooting in the Pitt Meadows area is very important. Like I said earlier, Mission and Coquitlam were heading in the opposite direction with regards to hunting and shooting and if it wasn't for dedicated enthusiasts like Paul J., Dale, the BCWF, and all the supporters who turn up at the meetings and got up and spoke or just showed support by being there; we would have lost most of what we still have.
I agree, most of the joggers are ok, and the farther up river you go the more outdoorsy the walkers are and the more receptive the walkers are to hunting and shooting. The Alouette system is the opposite though, most walkers there are not outdoorsy, they watch a lot of TV and when they see a gun they figure someones going to get shot. I think this area being closed will work for us in the future, it will be an area where we can point to it and tell anti's they have an area to use. Because of the housing and pedestrian activity on the Alouette, it was a closure waiting to happen..........

I found a copy of the proposed bylaw map, this is intended to give you an idea of what was proposed but I don't know for sure if this is the accepted final draft.

YOU MUST GET A FINAL COPY OF THE MAP FROM PITT MEADOWS COUNCIL OR THE AMENDED SPECIAL AREA MAP!!!

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa264/Canso_Dan/pittmeadowsbylaw105_zps6212e151.jpg~original

[Foxton Gundogs]

I think you put the picture across well Dano, Its a shame this stuff happens but sometimes you have to "fight" smart to win. give a little win a lot. It makes me sad in a way tho. I remember shooting the Fraser right off what is now the By-pass, the buck brush marshes at the end of old 5th ave.(22?) behind Trethewey's farm and it was not hard to take a limit walking the dykes west from Neaves bridge after school. Things change and we must change with them or be rolled under. Keep up the good fight guys.

[stugatz]

I think you put the picture across well Dano, Its a shame this stuff happens but sometimes you have to "fight" smart to win. give a little win a lot. It makes me sad in a way tho. I remember shooting the Fraser right off what is now the By-pass, the buck brush marshes at the end of old 5th ave.(22?) behind Trethewey's farm and it was not hard to take a limit walking the dykes west from Neaves bridge after school. Things change and we must change with them or be rolled under. Keep up the good fight guys.x2 on that.... although I would just like to say that shutting down an area because something "might" happen is like saying...we have to get rid of cars because someone could get in an accident or we have to ban knives because someone could get cut....it just seems to me that if they had been truly hunting sympathetic they would have not been so quick to shut most of the dykes....seems more like they were caving in to the few joggers and walkers that used the dyke....while us hunters that only use the dykes three to four months a year were used as scapegoats. If that doesn't sound like they were being stupid.... I guess I am sorry.

[fowl language]

while I appreciate what you are saying as I too have lost some hunting ground over the years ,I hope to get a trade off for further hunting possibilities in pitt meadows. i hope that the people I talked to were going to approach mayor and council to rekindle the hunting committee in pitt meadows. as an example the delta hunting committee is about to reopen an area that has been closed since I was a teen, which is quite a while ago I must say....dale

[stugatz]

while I appreciate what you are saying as I too have lost some hunting ground over the years ,I hope to get a trade off for further hunting possibilities in pitt meadows. i hope that the people I talked to were going to approach mayor and council to rekindle the hunting committee in pitt meadows. as an example the delta hunting committee is about to reopen an area that has been closed since I was a teen, which is quite a while ago I must say....dale
Dale although I don't know you I can tell you are passionate about this issue, and waterfowling in general, which is highly commendable....because unlike a lot of hunters (including myself)that are reactionary in our response, you are proactive in your approach....again thanx for your hard work on all of our behalf....and please if any other issue like this pops up....pm me and I will try to get involved. Better to be a participant than a spectator....John