Regulations have huge shortcomings

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The Environmental Management Act for British Columbia has an Agricultural Waste Control Regulation that is intended to prevent pollution from agricultural waste. Section 1 of the regulation defines an agricultural operation as "any agricultural operation or activity carried out on a farm including an operation or activity devoted to the production or keeping of livestock...."

Taking that statement at face value, one might assume that a cattlefarming operation would be covered by the regulation. However, in spite of what the regulation says, they are exempt from the Environmental Management Act (EMA).

Part 2, Section 6 (2) of the EMA says, "a person must not introduce or cause to be introduced into the environment, waste produced by a prescribed activity or operation." Section 6 (3) says, "a person must not introduce or cause or allow to be introduced into the environment, waste produced by a prescribed activity or operation."

Cattle ranchers and pseudo ranchers across B.C. hold permits to give them access to grasslands and forests to provide pasture for their animals during the spring, summer and fall. Their cattle roam freely on these areas and seek out any and all sources of water to quench their thirsts. In the process they pollute streams and water bodies and they can do so because their owner is exempt from the waste control regulation.

On Sunday, May 8, the cattle that have been wintered on a farm to the east of Grand Forks were released onto the lower portion of the Gilpin Grasslands. From that point they will gradually spread out and proceed upward into the winter range for mountain sheep, elk, mule deer and whitetail deer.

The cows will remain on the grasslands until November when they will be brought back to the feedlot adjacent to Highway 3 to spend the winter.

Cattle do not discriminate when they defecate. They leave their manure everywhere. When they are in and around streams or at watering holes, the e-coli count within those areas rises exponentially.

During their tenure on the grassland the cows do irreparable damage. They overgraze the grass, shrubbery and small trees throughout the area. They destroy riparian areas along streams as they beat pathways along them and through them to reach water.

In spite of the obvious ongoing damage done by cattle to delicate ecosystems, the British Columbia Cattlemen's Association (BCCA) would have us believe that they are the protectors of the land. In a news release issued on April 22, Earth Day, Judy Guichon, a rancher from Quilchina, B.C., in the Nicola Valley says, "Our goal is to leave the land in better shape than when we inherited it."

The news release also tells us, "Historical knowledge of the land allows ranchers to manage natural resources in a way that preserves them for future use. At the same time, ranchers also adopt new technologies that help improve their management practices and can even improve the health of the ecosystems."

The ranchers make the claim that they are harvesting sunshine; turning grass into a product for human consumption with minimal fossil fuel input using land that is too dry for growing fruits and vegetables. They see grasslands as perfect places to raise healthy beef cattle. There is no mention in the news release of robbing wildlife of their food and water sources.

wPerhaps things are different in the Nicola valley from what is witnessed on the Gilpin Grasslands. Where is there evidence of caring for the land, water, wild animals and other resources? Where is the evidence of the land being left in better shape than when the cattle were first introduced? There is none.

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