Date: March 29, 2011
Venue: Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Prince George
TIME: 17:30 to 21:05 pm
Prepared by: Lana Ciarniello
Tel: (250) 964-8404; E-mail:
PRESENT MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, PRINCE GEORGE:
Brian Frenkel / ……………………………… / Avison Management Ltd. – CWG ChairCory Williamson / ……………………………… / Ministry of Environment
Christina Ciesielski / ……………………………… / Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
Cora McIntosh / ……………………………… / Saik’uz and CSTC
Jocelyn White / ……………………………… / City of Prince George
Justus Benckhuysen / ……………………………… / Rio Tinto Alcan
Henry Klassen / ……………………………… / Nechako Watershed Council
Shona Smith / ……………………………… / Department of Fisheries and Oceans
June Wood / ……………………………… / BC Nature
Lana Ciarniello / ……………………………… / Coordinator
PRESENT TELECONFERENCE:
Wayne Salewski / ……………………………… / BC Wildlife Federation
Kevin Gedling / ……………………………… / Fort St. James National Historic Site
Sharolise Baker / ……………………………… / Stellat'en First Nation Fisheries Program Manager
1. Welcoming remarks & Introductions including new CWG members
a. Sharolise Baker, Stellat'en First Nation Fisheries Program Manager
Brian welcomed Sharolise Baker to the CWG. Sharolise is the Stellat'en First Nation Fisheries Program Manager and has returned to CWG after 3-4 years away.
Cora McIntosh attended the CWG meeting. Cora provided an update on the outreach and harm reduction school presentation program she is presenting on behalf of CSTC and NWSRI. The program is funded by NWSRI’s HSP grant for 2010-11.
b. Review of Agenda (Brian)
The agenda was reviewed and approved.
2. CWG Budget and Funding Updates (Brian and Lana)
a. End of fiscal NWSRI CWG budget
Lana reviewed the end of fiscal NWSRI budget (excluding HSP) with the group:
Balance Aug 24th, 2010 / $1,907.86Integris / $2,500.00 / Deposited
River's Day / $120.00 / Deposited / Hat & T-Shirt sales
District of Vanderhoof / $5,000.00 / Deposited
Total CWG Outreach / $9,527.86
2010-11 Commitments
Minus HSP / $500.00 / Committed this 2010-11 yr
River's Day bags / $866.11 / Withdrawal
Randy S. memorial / $50.00 / Withdrawal
Total / $8,111.75
Contingency / $1,500.00 / Leave in bank for bank fees, etc.
Total / $6,611.75
2011-12 Commitments
HSP / $500.00 / Proposed in HSP 2011-12
Greg Stickey Wicket Web / $560.28 / Web site maintenance / Paid
SOS - Integris / $2,500.00 / Proposed in RNA grant to come from Integris
Sub-Total / $3,560.28
Total Available / $3,051.47
2011 Funding Sources:
Nechako Enhancement Society / $19.68 / Deposited - donation
UNBC Fish & Wildlife Club / $150.00 / Deposited - donation
Total / $169.68
Total Available / $3,221.15 / ($3,051.47 + $169.68)
Funding Awarded but not yet received
SOS - RNA / $2,500.00 / Grant awarded but funds not yet received
District of Vanderhoof / $5,000.00
Integris Credit Union / unknown
Funding Submitted Status Unknown:
HSP / $27,600
• Brian informed the group that the District of Vanderhoof has committed $5,000.00 for this year’s CWG budget (in above table under “funding awarded but not yet received).
• Henry talked to Dan Wingham of Integris Credit Union and they are going to have an informal meeting in the near future.
b. FSWP proposal (not funded)
Lana informed the group that the FSWP proposal for this year was not funded. She circulated the letter which stated that there was a “sizeable gap between the amount of funding requested and funding available.”
c. Resources North Association (funded)
The application to the RNA for $2,500 to be used towards the spring Spawning SOS event was successful. Lana circulated the letter which stated that RNA recognizes the proposed Spring Spawning Festival as an integral component of the sturgeon recovery program, and the primary extension tool for raising awareness of the plight of the species at the local level.”
• Lana informed the group that in the RNA application it has matched funds of $2,500 from Integris Credit Union. These funds have already been set aside in the budget (see above budget table) in anticipation of a successful RNA application.
d. Outreach Materials for 2011 (waiting to order)
Brian discussed the outreach materials we currently have in our possession:
Materials that we have / NClay Sturgeons / 48
Magnets / 1000
T-shirts Jr. Sizes / 35
Wooden Rulers / 35
Floater key chains / 100
Materials to Print
Colour your sturgeon (on our web site)
Draw by numbers (on our web site)
Sturgeon crossword (on our web site)
Sturgeon word-find (on our web site)
Lana discussed the outreach materials that Brian and Lana decided to cost out in January:
Outreach Materials / Unit price / Cost / Set-up fee / Shipping / HST / TotalWater Bottles n=50 / $5.65 / $282.50 / $45.00 / $47.45 / $44.99 / $419.94
Water Bottles Plastics n = 300 / $1.25 / $375.00 / $60.00 / $174.95 / $73.19 / $683.14
Hats n = 72 (wave sandwich cap) / $6.95 / $500.40 / $0.00 / $56.45 / $66.82 / $623.67
T-Shirts adults sizes (colour) n = 72 / $6.99 / $503.28 / $123.04 / $44.45 / $80.49 / $751.26
Rulers in cm n= 500 / $0.55 / $137.50 / $65.00 / $38.95 / $28.97 / $270.42
Mag lights n = 250 / $0.95 / $237.50 / $40.00 / $41.48 / $38.28 / $357.26
Pencils (for boat kit as well) / $0.32 / $160.00 / $30.00 / $40.98 / $27.72 / $258.70
Tattoos (.40/1000; .21/2000; .01/5000) / $0.10 / $500.00 / $60.00 / $560.00
Total / $2,696.18 / $363.04 / $444.71 / $420.47 / $3,924.40
Total Available in CWG budget: / $3,221.15
Over Available Budget: / $703.25
• The outreach material that is not highlighted in the above table was from 4imprint (4imprint.ca). Although in Canadian dollars this is an American company and the shipping fee reflects boarder costs.
• The tattoos were quoted from Fairware 178 West 3rd Ave. Vancouver, BC V5Y 1E9
Henry asked how much weight we/CWG place on the principle of control of the outreach materials on the public?
• Brian discussed the value of our NWS fridge magnet: it keeps the image available for long term.
• Henry stated that with the outreach material we are trying to put a visual reminder in as many hands as possible when we are not there to talk sturgeon. He thinks the weight is pretty high in favour of doing this and if it is within the budget in terms of getting the word out there then it is worth doing.
• Justus does not like running a deficit. He also noted that 50 stainless steel water bottles do not go very far but pencils do. Pencils can go to all the schools. Justus does not like the mag lights or stainless steel water bottles.
• Henry noted that if we have an annual anticipation of getting outreach material in the hands of the public then he suggests placing it into as many hands as possible.
• Christina noted that the logo should include the web site page. The group agreed that the logos should have our website address. Lana will add the web site address to the logo for future orders.
• Justus stated that we should only have to pay the set up fee once.
Two places in Prince George have our logo:
Promo Plus for outreach material and
Custom stitch for T-Shirts and hats (has our logo).
From the outreach material suggested the group decided to: (1) omit the mag lights, and (2) order more pencils.
It was suggested that the funds may be better spent on other CWG initiatives.
• Henry noted that two years ago we had no money and now we have a lot of money. He would like to see some money put towards the Chair(s) going to speak to some politicians. We need a balance between getting our message out to the public and getting our message in the political realm.
• Cory noted while that is a notable idea in our funding application to DOV we said we were going to use these funds for outreach materials so we should order the materials.
• Overall the group agreed with spending the budget on outreach materials but that we may now be in the position to secure some funds for other initiatives, such as political visits.
• Lana noted that the $5,000 for this year from DOV has not been counted for in the budget (not yet received) and maybe some of these funds could go towards those types of initiatives.
We have two types of outreach materials: those we give away and those we sell (shirts and hats).
• Wayne noted that the least to give away the more valuable.
• Kevin noted that he is not opposed to swag. He also suggested that we target at the right venues to get the maximum exposure. Swag is a good thing to get the word out.
• Sharolise noted that she has not been involved in the CWG for awhile but has seen the outreach material around and that is a good thing.
• Justus noted that if we have a company like Integris that is very interested in the initiative the other thing we can say is “can you buy us 1,000 pencils” and then it gets our logo out there and theirs as well.
Roy Argue took t-shirts to try to sell – Shona will look into where these t-shirts are located and if any sold.
ACTION: Shona to determine where the t-shirts Roy Argue took to sell are located.
Kevin has a gift store contractor and could sell outreach material in the park. Brian suggested selling the clay sturgeon for $20.00
ACTION: Kevin to drop by Brian’s office on Thursday (31 March) to see if they can set up sturgeon outreach sales. Kevin will also talk to the Park’s contractor to determine commission for sales and/or sales through Park’s front desk.
• The park opens May long weekend.
• Kevin noted that if we want to sell them separately they may be able to take care of the sales through their front desk.
3. Community Working Group Outreach Updates (Brian, Lana and Christina)
a. School Presentations – Harm Reduction and Outreach (Christina & Lana)
The school presentations for our Harm Reduction and Outreach Initiatives are funded through NWSRI’s HSP 2010-11 grant and carried out by CSTC and Cora McIntosh. Originally the HSP funds were proposed to “support an extension position in each of five First Nation communities within the Nechako Watershed. This would allow for one on one targeted outreach and delivery of key communications messaging”; however, since there was no coordinator during this time this program did not happen. Lana spoke with Louvi and had the funds transferred to school presentations.
The presentations were targeted towards Grades 4 and 5 elementary school children and Grade 10 high school students that reside primarily within the Nechako watershed. School presentations were designed to increase awareness regarding the decline of the Nechako white sturgeon population, habitat loss, and recovery activities in hopes that these children will grow up to be our future white sturgeon ambassadors and promote stewardship of sturgeon within their communities. We got started later in the year than we anticipated but they are going very well. Cora has delivered presentations to:
• W.L. McLeod Elementary School located in Vanderhoof BC. Completed to all Grade 4 and 5 students (Feb. 18, 2011).
• Nak’albun Elementary School (Nakazdli) located in Fort St. James, BC. (March 1, 2011).
• Tlazt'en Elementary located in Tlazt’en First Nation Community, BC. (March 9, 2011). (note: high school students from Tlazt’en First Nations attend Fort St. James Secondary School).
• Fort St. James Secondary School located in Fort St. James, B.C. (March 10, 2011). Presented to two classes of science students.
• Fraser Lake Elementary and High School (March 11, 2011). Three presentations total - one was to a grade 10 science class.
• Nechako Valley Secondary School in Vanderhoof, BC (March 17, 2011) two presentations.
• Takla lake First Nations Community (March 17, 2011)
Cora had a good response and some said it was better than expected. The presentations are now complete.
Henry asked for a quick content of the presentation. Cora stated that presentations focus on the basic parts of the sturgeon, where they live, why they are endangered, what CSTC and DFO are doing to protect sturgeon and who to contact if they see or find something sturgeon related.
ACTION: Lana to provide the presentations to Cory for distribution to the CWG.
• The budget for the presentations and follow-up was $10,000.00
• Christina noted that we also had some give away materials, primarily t-shirts and magnets. We also had children’s activities that are available on the web site.
• The number of students ranged from 15-25 per class.
• We attempted to assess changes in knowledge by handing out a pre-and-post survey with similar questions. Cora will be analyzing the surveys shortly.
Phil and Jocelyn presented sturgeon material and presentation at Glenview Elementary Environment Days (March 8th and 14th) in Prince George, BC.
b. Emergency Sturgeon Release Boat Kit (Lana)
Lana showed the group the materials contained within the boat kit, minus the twine which has not arrived yet:
Boat Kit / Unit Cost / 20 Kits / HST / Shipping / Total / Purchased From:Knife / $19.75 / $395.00 / $47.40 / Free / $442.40 / Mountain Eq Co-Op
Pliers / $17.00 / $340.00 / $40.80 / $380.80
Waterproof bags / $22.00 / $440.00 / $52.80 / $492.80
Soft measuring tape / $3.50 / $70.00 / $8.40 / n/a / $78.40 / PG Sewing Centre
Net mending kit (mending needles and 2 types of twine) / Pacific Net & Twine
Hanging twine / $10.96 / $219.20 / $83.51 / $85.00 / $387.71
Mending twine / $12.50 / $250.00 / $250.00
Needles: Norwegian - net needle 3/4 x 10 10900308 / $5.26 / $105.20 / $105.20
Needles: no. 5 white net needle 6 3/4 x 7/8 in / $1.83 / $36.60 / $36.60
Webbing (or mesh for small patch (12’ X 12’) / $40.60 / $812.00 / $812.00
Cut up webbing for small patches / $15.00 / $300.00 / n/a / n/a / $300.00 / Betty Webb
Camera (waterproof & disposable) N = 17 / $12.98 / $220.66 / $26.48 / n/a / $247.14 / Wal Mart
Camera (waterproof & disposable) N = 3 / $14.98 / $44.94 / $5.39 / n/a / $50.33 / London Drugs
Pencils (donation CWG) / $0.00 / $0.00 / $0.00 / n/a / $0.00
Cotton gloves (for sharp scutes) / $2.85 / $56.95 / $6.83 / n/a / $63.78 / Princess Auto
Electrical tape / $0.79 / $15.80 / $1.90 / n/a / $17.70
Datasheets (waterproof) / $42.88 / $5.15 / n/a / $48.03 / SpeeDee Printers
Quick notes data instructions form
TOTAL / $180.00 / $3,349.23 / $278.66 / $85.00 / $3,712.89
• Lana noted that Jim Webb stated the boat kits would be distributed at the end of July-August.