2005 flood govt response

August 16/05 - Conversation with Trevor Rhodes of Fish and Wildlife. Talks are on going with Gov't about repair or replacement of access points on the Bow. Although Trevor is doing all he can, it doesn't seem that the Gov't values the fly fishing industry. I'm told that we probably won't have the lost access points replaced this season. The hold up is a funding issue. They can't find the funds to fix the damaged access points let alone the sub par infrastructure. The surplus is 2.8 billion, but no money for fishing. How's that for the Alberta advantage?

The Alberta Government has been shamefully absent - post flood. It seems the only thing they are interested in is photo opportunities, paying lip service and buying votes with the so called "prosperity bonus cheque". It is now September 22 and nothing has been done to resurrect Policeman's or Jensen's. Over a week ago I emailed Minister Coutts of Sustainable Resource Development and still have not received any response. These people do what they do best - nothing. When the questions become too hard they run and hide. Shame, shame on the Alberta Government.

Above is a map of the Bow River access points. The flood wiped out, totally destroyed, Policeman's Flats and severely disabled Jensen's. As of this time, October 1/05, Policeman's is still dead and Jensen's is now available as an access point - but is a mess. The Trophy Stretch runs from 22X to Carseland. The flood eliminated Policeman's and until recently, Jensen's - 40% of the Bow River access points. And the Alberta Gov't does nothing!

October 1/05 - Had a conversation with Fish and Wildlife and there is talk of doing some "out of stream" repairs to some access points before the end of the year. "In stream" repairs could be scheduled for April of 2006. Talk about repairs is just that - TALK. I will believe it when it is done. Net result for this fishing/guiding season is the Gov't failed to respond to this 200 year flood event and are guilty of negligence. The flood of 2005 is the Alberta government's hurricane Katrina.