Appliance Repair in Riverbank, CA

The ninth annual California Invasive Species Action Week (CISAW) is underway, running from Saturday, June 4 through Sunday, June 12, 2022. Sponsored by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), this week provides an opportunity for Californians to learn about the hundreds of harmful non-native plants and animals that threaten our state’s natural resources, ecology and economy.

Historically, agencies, non-profits and volunteer organizations across the state have teamed up to host events for CISAW. As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, the format now includes both in-person and virtual events such as webinars and videos. Volunteer opportunities can be found in all parts of the state, such as:

• Attend a habitat restoration event at Trinidad State Beach near Humboldt where volunteers will pitch in to pull up ivy and other invasive non-native species.

• Join Friends of Five Creeks in Berkeley in their efforts to eradicate invasive foxtails from near Codornices Creek.

• Protect the American River Parkway in Sacramento by removing broom with the American River Parkway Foundation.

• Help protect and restore coastal dune and bluff scrub habitats at Half Moon Bay State Beach by assisting with the removal of invasive cape ivy, mustard, thistles and hemlock from coastal scrub areas.

• Be a “Weed Warrior” at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego, by assisting with efforts to remove non-native grasses and other invasive plants from the landscape.

Get details for these events and find many more by visiting the CISAW schedule on CDFW’s website.

You can also watch webinars and learn about how you can stop the spread of invasive species by taking small, everyday actions, such as landscaping with native plants, not releasing unwanted pets into the wild, reporting invasive species findings, and cleaning, draining and drying gear when recreating in bodies of water. The CISAW website lists simple actions Californians can take all year long while visiting natural areas, boating or fishing, or at home. Join the Digital Scavenger Hunt and track invasive species in your local neighborhood or park.

On Friday, June 10, CDFW will announce the winners of the annual California Invasive Species Youth Art Contest on social media. This year’s theme was “Unite to Fight Invasive Species!”

The mission of CDFW’s Invasive Species Program is to reduce the impacts of invasive species on the wildlands and waterways of California. The program is involved in efforts to prevent the introduction of these species into the state, detect and respond to introductions when they occur and prevent the spread of those species that have established. For questions or more information about CISAW, contact invasives@wildlife.ca.gov.

The trains are occasionally running from Mill Woods to downtown on Edmonton's new Valley Line, but there's still no passengers on them.

Testing continues on the $1.8-billion line that was expected to open in "summer of 2022," but there's still no date for a grand opening or a first commute.

"It’s this summer. We’ll give you a firm date as soon as we get close. We’re not far from being able to do that," TransEd spokesperson Dallas Lindskoog said Wednesday.

Before the line can welcome passengers, engineers have to test all 47 intersections along the 13-kilometre route.

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"Right now we’ve got five of them fully online, we could have a couple more within the next few days," Lindskoog said.

Construction started in the spring of 2016. The original target was the end of 2020.

Since then, the opening has been pushed back repeatedly, with 2021, then the end of 2021 and then the first quarter of 2022 all promised by TransEd officials.

All of the delays will mean businesses in a Strathearn stripmall along the tracks won’t see the benefits they hoped the train would bring.

"(They've) been testing some trains, haven’t seen anybody on them yet," said Kenny Dario on Wednesday. He owns Juniper Bistro on 95 Avenue and 87 Street.

After years of construction and closed roads, stripmall owner Nearctic is redeveloping the property and some neighbouring walk-ups. Dario has to be out by October, shortly after the train is set to run at full steam.

"No, I'm not really that excited about it. You know, I really think it’s taken a back seat to the pandemic, and now the information that we have to close," he said.

The missed deadlines were mainly caused by the pandemic and the discovery of a concrete mass in the riverbank that delayed work on the Tawatinâ Bridge, Lindskoog said.

He assures that the signalling problems that plagued the Metro Line to NAIT and MacEwan are not to blame for slowing progress on the Valley Line.

"It’s a different system altogether, it’s important to understand it’s not integrated with the existing Capital Line or the Metro Line, which makes it somewhat more simple," he explained.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson

Brian Thomas Isaac, Selina Boan and Aimée Craft are among the winners for the 2022 Indigenous Voices Awards (IVAs).

Now in its fifth year, the annual awards honour works by emerging Indigenous writers in Canada across nine categories in English, French and Indigenous languages.

This year's winners received a total of $34,000. Since the inception of the prize, the IVAs has awarded $143,000 to emerging Indigenous writers.

This year the IVAs also partnered with the Blue Metropolis Festival to award the $5,000 Blue Metropolis First Peoples Prize to Haisla/Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson.

Thomas Isaac won the $5,000 published prose in English fiction category for All the Quiet Places.

Longlisted for Canada Reads 2022, the story follows six-year-old Eddie as he grows up on the Okanagan Indian Reserve in B.C. in the 1950s and faces tragedy as he navigates his culture and the landscape.

Thomas Isaac was born on the Okanagan Indian Reserve, in south central B.C. All the Quiet Places is his first book.

"All the Quiet Places is a haunting coming-of-age story. The power of Isaac's vision of young Eddie Toma growing up on an Okanagan reserve in the 1950s is the novel's unflinching gaze, meticulous detailing, and fierce attachment to family, land, and love," the jury said in a citation.

Undoing Hours by Boan won the $5,000 published poetry in English category.

Boan's Undoing Hours explores the connection between language and power, as Boan reflects on her upbringing as a white settler and urban nehiyaw woman.

Vancouver-based Boan is a poetry editor for CV2 and Rahila's Ghost Press. She was a finalist for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize and her work has been included in Best Canadian Poetry 2018 and 2020. Undoing Hours also won a 2022 League of Canadian Poets award.

"A remarkable debut that thinks through ideas of home and belonging and language. These are pieces that linger on memory and image," the jury said in a citation.

Craft won the $5,000 published graphic novels, comics and illustrated books category.

Treaty Words is a book for ages 10 and up about the importance of understanding an Indigenous perspective on treaties. The book looks at the first treaty, the one between the earth and the sky. Sitting on the riverbank, a man sits with his granddaughter to teach her the power of silence in nature — so that she might learn her standing in the world.

Craft is an Anishinaabe-Métis lawyer and author from Treaty 1 territory in Manitoba. She is an associate professor at University of Ottawa and a leading researcher on Indigenous laws, treaties and water.

Here is the complete list of winners:

This year's jury includes award-winning writers and scholars Jordan Abel, Joanne Arnott, Carleigh Baker, Warren Cariou, J.D. Kurtness, Francis Langevin, Gabrielle L'Hirondelle Hill, Otoniya Juliane Okot Bitek, Eden Robinson, June Scudeler, Richard Van Camp and Eldon Yellowhorn.

Past Indigenous Voices Awards recipients include Billy-Ray Belcourt, jaye simpson, Tanya Tagaq and Jesse Thistle.

The awards are supported by Pamela Dillon, Penguin Random House Canada, the Giller Foundation and the Indigenous Literary Studies Association, as well as Scholastic Canada, the Centre for Equitable Library Access and public crowdfunding.

Road recently turned into a one-way, but a resident worries more needs to be done for safety

The mayor of Fort Simpson said there will be discussion on whether further vehicle restrictions are needed on Mackenzie Drive as the riverbank continues to rapidly erode.

The road was already turned into a one-way after last year's spring flooding, but Mayor Sean Whelly said there will be considerations on if it should be limited to local traffic only.

Drone shots show large chunks of ground collapsing at the edge of the bank, and in some areas the collapse is so far inland that the road is turning into the river escarpment. This stretch of erosion goes from the health centre to the N.W.T. Power Corporation building, a distance of about 500 metres.

The drone images were captured by Brandon Buggins, a resident and council member of ?????dl???? K???? First Nation.

"Since the flood last year, the 2021 flood, a lot of the riverbank has seen a significant change of pace," he said.

Buggins said as a resident, he is concerned for the safety of his community.

The erosion has changed the bank from a natural slope to a nearly straight drop into the swelling Mackenzie River, he said.

There's also undercutting, meaning the ground below the edge is disappearing but it isn't visible from those looking toward the river from Mackenzie Drive. This can be dangerous as people will walk to the edge to check out the bank, not knowing the ground below them is unstable, Buggins said.

"It is a huge concern, especially for the safety of a lot of our members here within our community," he said.

Buggins said he plans to bring the subject up at the next band council meeting on Tuesday.

He said he thinks the road should be limited to local traffic only.

'This is not cheap': mayor

Sean Whelly, Fort Simpson's mayor, said the erosion has been an ongoing concern, but is rapidly becoming worse.

"Probably seeing more big chunks coming off the bank than we've seen in quite a few years. I think it's probably because we've had so much high water over the last year," he said.

When the road was turned into a one-way, cement blocks were placed along the edge to prevent any vehicles from getting too close.

"I noticed even some of the cement blocks that were used to kind of mark off the edge of where the safe zone is, they've started to peel off the bank and go down into the river themselves," Whelly said.

He said the power corporation, which is near the eroding bank, is considering moving to higher ground.

But Whelly said there are other risks to key infrastructure, including the water intake line that runs along Mackenzie Drive to the water treatment plant.

He said there's fear that erosion could damage that intake line and cut off the community's access to water.

Whelly said that rerouting the water intake supply will likely be a part of next summer's capital plan.

But that is only the beginning of what will need to happen to prevent erosion — and flooding — from damaging the island that makes up most of the community.

"I don't think we can stop nature, we're going to just have to mitigate what we've got here," Whelly said.

"See this where the big money starts to happen because you start moving big infrastructure away from the river bank. This is not cheap."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Luke Carroll is a journalist with CBC North who has worked in both print and radio in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Luke is originally from Brockville, Ont., and moved to Yellowknife in May 2020. He can be reached at luke.carroll@cbc.ca.

Vancouver Island First Nations were among the first to plant trees under the federal plan to plant two billion trees by 2030. They are still waiting for longer-term commitments.

The Canadian government’s plan to plant two billion trees by 2030 is largely on track after 97 per cent of the 30 million trees slated for planting in 2021 made it into the ground.

The tree planting program is designed to boost the natural environment’s ability to absorb atmospheric carbon, thereby fighting the climate crisis, while trying to slow biodiversity loss across the country.

In areas near human settlement, the trees could also act as buffers against extreme heat and cold, filter water and help reduce peak flood levels.

Last year, 29 million trees of 150 different species were planted at more than 500 locations across Canada.

In a prepared statement, Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson said the government is “on track to plant two billion trees over the course of 10 years.”

In announcing the numbers, the ministry pointed to the planting of 51,070 new saplings along the banks of the Hi?syaq?is (Tranquil Creek) and Atleo rivers in British Columbia. The saplings are meant to help recover the two watersheds and restore critical spawning grounds for endangered chinook and chum salmon, while offering employment for the Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations.

Roughly 20 kilometres east of Tofino in Clayquot Sound, Hi?syaq?is has seen a sharp decline in wild Pacific salmonids since the 1970s. While it’s estimated to be able to support up to 3,000 returning adult chinook and up to 25,000 adult chum, in 2018, only 59 chinook and 2,672 chum returned,

The Redd Fish Restoration Society, which oversaw the tree planting effort, says much of the declines are due to industrial scale logging, which began in the two watersheds in the 1960s.

“They historically logged right up to the riverbank,” said Mandala Smulders, the society's director of operations.

That’s left forest stands dominated by a handful of species and prevented the growth of important underbrush — diversity required to evolve into the old-growth stands that support a healthy river.

The society has identified a number of problems caused by logging and preventing the recovery of healthy fish populations. Those include channel instability, bank erosion, lack of habitat and limited cover overhead.

To rehabilitate the watershed, the group has engineered log jams to recreate natural pools and, with funding from the two billion tree program, has planted tens of thousands of alder and native conifers like Sitka spruce, western red cedar and fir.

“This last year, we’ve had the heaviest rainfall we’ve seen in years,” Smulders said. “The banks are eroding. There are more landslides.”

“We’re not just planting the trees, we’re able to create this watershed that’s more resistant to the impacts of climate change, such as flooding or drought.”

Similar restoration efforts have been rolled out at Alteo River, 10 kilometres northeast of Maktosis on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Located on Ahousaht First Nation territory, the river provides several kilometres of low-gradient spawning and rearing habitat for fish. Once home to five Pacific salmon species, their populations have dwindled, impacting the health of the entire surrounding ecosystem.

But it's not just about supporting fish. Smulders said the two billion tree program helped directly employ 10 staff for four months in 2021, including five from local First Nations communities.

“It’s a huge contribution,” she said. “Having long-term sustainable work out on the West Coast, particularly for people living in remote Indigenous communities, is life-changing for sure.”

Keeping that work going can be a challenge. The Redd Fish Rehabilitation Society has to clear several hectares of brush before it can plant the trees and that has required finding more money elsewhere.

So far this year, the two billion trees program received more than 200 project applications that represent several multi-year projects that if approved would plant about 425 million trees.

“These multi-year agreements will create predictable, stable, long-term demand for nurseries and others supporting the supply of seedlings, ensuring that the right tree is grown and planted in the right place,” said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Natural Resources in a press release.

Smulders said her restoration society has applied for long-term funding through the two billion trees program to back the planting of 200,000 trees over the next decade. If it goes through, it would be the first time the organization got long-term stability and would allow them to double staff at peak planting times.

“We put our last application in maybe five months ago and we haven’t heard anything,” Smulders said.

The federal planting targets are designed to grow significantly over the coming years. While contracts for 30 million trees were signed in 2021, its first year, in 2022 and 2023, the federal government plans to double that to 60 million trees planted annually. By 2027, the number of trees planted across Canada under the program is expected to peak at 320 million per year.

That will require ramping up contracts with tree nurseries several years in advance to ensure a steady supply of saplings.

A bigger barrier, say some B.C. tree planting companies, is labour. Earlier this year, several companies struggled to fill their tree planter quotas, a sign some say could spell trouble in the coming years.

“People just have lots of jobs. We got the positions filled but it was certainly leaner pickings,” said Jason Krueger, owner and CEO of Summit Reforestation in Smithers. “It takes a special kind of person to go out and bend over 3,500 times a day.”

Roughly 40 per cent of Summit Reforestation’s planters are hired as first-time planters every year, with about a third travelling from Ontario, 20 per cent from Alberta and another third from B.C.

All of those workers have to fly or drive out on their own dime to get to work for the season at a time when soaring inflation pushed up Canada's consumer price index 7.7 per cent in May compared to a year earlier.

In May, Statistics Canada reported the price of groceries jumped 9.7 per cent — the largest increase since September 1981 — while gasoline prices were up 36.3 per cent year over year.

In response, Krueger said he has had “to beg” clients to pay more per tree in order to keep up with the rising cost of almost everything.

“If those trends continue until next year, the fed's two billion tree program is going to be in trouble,” he said.

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