River Access Update June 2008

I had such great hopes and expectations of the new Policeman's Flats river access. After all, we waited 3 years for it to be resurrected after the flood of 2005. As with all things under Government control we seem to get far less than what is requested or required, and far too often don't get value for money spent. The Gov't rebuilt the access essentially in the same place. They will give all sorts of reasons for doing this but they are all irrelevant. A mistake under any circumstances is just a mistake. A definition of stupidity is the inability to understand or profit from experience. Experience tells us to place a river access on the outside bend of a river is just plain folly. Can you imagine another big flood comes along in the next 5 years and again damages or destroys Policemans because of it's location? Do you think the Gov't will have the money to repair it once again? I wonder what excuses they will use when this happens!

Although I had yet to see this new access first hand (I've been launching upstream of Police) rumor is it is a disappointment and falls far short of expectations and the very definition of acceptable infra-structure. According to one prominent guide on the Bow, "If you don't know it is there you will miss it. Even if you do know about it, it is tough to row into the access. The launch area is too narrow, only one boat at a time, and the V shape of the area is awkward. When your boat is in the back water you can't row because your oars hit both the upstream and downstream banks of the access." 

It is now early July and I've had the "pleasure" of launching my Clack from Policeman's Flats. This is my impression of this latest Fish & Wildlife project: The parking lot is a big improvement over the old Policeman's. There is ample space for a staging area and to park your rig. However, this is where the problems begin. The single boat launch is a bottleneck. Once your boat is in the water, boats waiting to launch must wait for the person to park and then move out of the launch. There is no room to park your boat and allow another to launch. Why you ask? Remember - you are on an outside bend of the river and the flow is too fast to allow boats to move into the current and anchor. The launch area is too small and too narrow. I must admit that there is ample water in this access to easily launch your boat. I reserve the right to withdraw this small praise after I see how it functions under low water conditions.

Now I want to address trying to access Policeman's to take your boat off the river. This is the first scenario - Imagine this, you are lining yourself up to "make your attempt". You are on the outside bend, slowing the boat as much as humanly possible given the velocity of the current. After avoiding the boulders at the upstream edge of the access (placed there to deflect the current) you pull hard on the oars to rotate the boat and then to attempt to move out of the current into the back water of the launch area. If you are proficient as an oarsman you are successful. If not you look very stupid, incompetent and end up missing the access all together. Now the task is to stop the boat and then pull it back up river into the launch area. I've spoken with a few guides about attempting to take out at this access in high water. Everyone of them indicated it was very, very difficult. I suspect some of them missed the access and had to drag the boat up the bank. Here is another scenario and a much more dangerous one. You are lined up to make your attempt to row into the back water and just as you approach the upstream boulder you see a boat leaving the access and it is maybe ten feet in front of you. There is not enough time to react and Crack - there is a collision! The situation rapidly deteriorates into a FUBAR ( FU Beyond All Recognition ). The best case scenario here is a flurry of confusion, the oarsmen get the boats under control, there is minimal damage to the boats resulting from the collision, no one fell in the river and no gear was lost. The boat that tried to enter Policeman's eventually gets to the bank and is dragged back up to the access. The other boat continues on its way - not exactly the way the guide or the anglers expected to start their trip. A more deadly version of this is that people fall into the river, a boat is swamped and capsizes, gear is lost and someone drowns. An exaggeration you say, not bloody likely you say, well maybe you have to sit in the rowing seat to understand the nuances of rowing and then think of all the possible situations that could occur. However plausible these scenarios may be, just think that it would all be moot if the Gov't and Fish and Wildlife exercised due diligence and found a more appropriate location for the new access. Should this worst case scenario actually play out the Gov't and everyone involved in this misguided river access better retain good legal council. 

Simply stated, this is another river access that is unacceptable. We have Fish and Wildlife to thank - again. Seems everything these people touch is a mess. When you speak with them they offer up nothing but excuses. The best excuse is, "We don't have the money." This is laughable - how much is a barrel of oil as of July/08 - around $142.00. A local news outlet recently reported the Alberta Gov't estimates the surplus should be about 10 times the original forecast. Why we believe any forecast made by Gov't is lunacy. THEY ARE NEVER RIGHT. Gov't talks about the Alberta Advantage and small business in the province - I don't see it in the guiding industry. It is more the case that we will do anything and everything we can to make it difficult for them to operate. I don't think that the boys at Fish and Wildlife even fish the river. Other than putting in the electro-shock boats for about a week every other year you don't see them on the river. If they don't fish/float the river how could they have a clue what is required for a boat launch. If they don't fish the river the sad state of the access points on the Bow doesn't impact them ergo they don't give a damn. 

One way to know what is needed for access points is to look at Montana or Idaho. Another is to look at what Jim Stomp has done in Fish Creek Provincial Park. I've spoken about the job done here and won't repeat myself. Suffice to say it is first class in every respect while everything F&W has touched is a disgrace. We are now at the tail end of run off and already McKinnon Flats is a joke. We are forced to trailer or launch boats in 3 inches of water. This isn't enough water to float a boat. As the river drops it will become more and more difficult to operate here. Driving into the river to access deeper water is not advisable, you will get stuck. When the river has dropped enough and the area dries out we will be able to drive up stream to access the gravel bar that Mother Nature provided after the 2005 flood. I should point out that we drive over or around the boulders put in place to prevent us from doing this. Makes you wonder just what idiot came up with the plans for McKinnon Flats access. This has been the same procedure since repairs were done back in 2005. Why we put up with this is beyond me. A full scale protest should be launched by the entire fishing community. This is not likely to happen for one reason - human nature. People say, why should I spend time and energy to facilitate improvements when I can wait for someone else to do it? The only problem is no one else is stepping up.

I don't expect much will come from writing this. I will, of course be labeled by Gov't types and especially the minions at F&W, as a lunatic, a trouble maker, someone not to be taken seriously. I suggest that the ones not to be taken seriously are them. No one more lame than the boys at Fish and Wildlife. It is my hope that they will read this and be ashamed and actually do something to rectify the situation.

This is not written to upset visiting anglers. Be assured that the guiding community continues to operate safely and to show their clients a good time on the Bow River regardless of the state of the infrastructure. 

It's now almost mid September and the flow rate is still high for this time of year. It remains to be seen how this access will function under low water conditions. For now the launch is fine. The threat of a collision however, remains. 

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