The latest news is that tomorrow afternoon they will be delivering 2,000 Pennask rainbow trout at a size of 1.2 grams. The weather forecast is good so we should be good to go.
limləmt | Thank You
Norm Johnson Facility Operations Biologist Location kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery 155 Enowkin Trail Penticton, BC Mailing Address Okanagan Nation Alliance 101 – 3535 Old Okanagan Hwy Westbank, BC V4T 3L7
Norm Johnson, Fish Biologist RB, Fish Biologist Brain Eli, Councillor, Westbank Indian Band Raf De Guevara, Westbank Indian Band, Aboriginal Rights & Title Andrea Alexander, Secretary of Council WIB
Dear Sirs:
Today is Tuesday September 25, 2018 and fish plantation day is Wednesday September 26, 2018 or (24) hours until we have fish planted in Derickson Lake and our joint progress has been roughly as follows:
* Derickson Lake Fish Study completed years 2015/2016 * Letter of support from Westbank Indian Band to Howie Wright, Fisheries Manager May 22, 2018 * Wednesday September 26, 2018 will be fish plantation day by helicopter cannot provide exact time of day * Ceremonial and cultural fishery ceremonials held Sunday August 26, 2018 by Westbank Indian Band membership, Okanagan Language & culture Instructor Delphine Derickson & Corrine Derickson, Masters Degree Student & Derickson Family Trap Line Trappers Steve Derickson & Ray Derickson * Derickson Lake conditions determined to be ideal for rainbow trout fish plantation * Okanagan Nation Alliance have contributed fish and donor stock for out plant * two trained crew members for fish transfer and release * to be done follow up monitoring of fish harvest statistics & prepare biological material for ONA fish health lab * other unmentioned duties & donations
Contributions, efforts and time have been put forward by Government of BC Fishery & ONA & membership of Westbank Indian Band, all in support of this fishery. Westbank Indian Band leadership please do submitt $(5000) financial contribution to Okanagan Nation Alliance re: letter of May 22, 2018.
A day in the life of Derickson Trapline by Ray Derickson. A trapper in the Okanagan.
Gentleman this is an update on Derickson Family Trap Line
Saturday March 04, 2017 Thumper & Amber drove me to the trapper cabin and met my friend Stan there and we unloaded wood brought from property of Derickson family below home of Arron Derickson and piled in front of trapper cabin, cuz we had no use for the wood in fire shed this wood is in slabs and good for developing table tops beside the steel chairs to sit around out-side fire pit this can hold the coffee & beer, etc. Now for an explanation of snow conditions at trapper cabin the snow is ab out (5) feet deep crusted & frozen & fresh & powder, etc. Thankfully it is not summertime and raining but if it were, we would be sure to purchase a good rain jacket!
Stan & RND went up Two John Trail and the snow quickly became powder & hard & crusty & etc, I got stuck in the snow about half way to Two John Creek bridge and took us about (30) minutes to dig the ski-doo out of the snow hole of (5) feet deep and as Stan was driving the ski-doo out of the hole behind him and the hole filled with snow from the (20) inch track of ski-doo so we decided to turn around before circumstances got worse like going into deeper snow, etc. Or we could say when ski-doo play or hard work is on the agenda be careful cuz the powder snow is extremely a difficult part of nature to understand, I really do not mind the ATV for the bush roads much easier to handle than 4 or 5 feet of snow.
We went to Derickson Logging corner checking for grey wolf or wolves or coyotes but found none: too much snow. There was two feet of fresh snow and the crows & ravens had a few sticks of bone to chew on, taken from a dead animal nearby, but no sign of wolves or coyotes or Lynx Cat. But there was good sign of Lynx Cat(s) around the open cat cages but they did not go for the bait.
IF time allows I will rtn by March 20/17 just to do a day’s work checking the wolf snares and then at month end cuz wolf season closes at March 30/17 and then rest time till summer seaon or if I could see a bear that would be a good animal to skin and have tanned here at Westbank Youth Centre bldg.
The Okanagan Nation Alliance wildlife program is pleased to say that we’ve concluded our lynx live-trapping and collaring effort for the 2015-16 winter. Our target was to capture and collar three lynx as an operational trial toward a better understanding of lynx movements through the Kettle River landscape and genetic relationships to lynx in Washington State.
Three lynx, all males, were successfully captured, GPS collared, ear-tagged and released; all on the Derickson Family Trapline in the West Kettle River drainage, Syilx Territory. Trapping, handling and release went smoothly in each case. The ONA wildlife team will now move into monitoring each cat at least monthly by VHF radio with the intention of recovering data stored onboard the drop-off GPS collars later this year or as soon as practical in 2017. Each cat is permanently ear-tagged with small matching blue swing tags marked with a unique number and the letters “WDFW”. If sighted or reported, please convey the information to me!
Photos L-R: Trappers Ray & Graeme Derickson with Amber; Trapper Russell Baines with Russell; Amber in the live trap; ONA biologist Al Peatt with Thumper.
The capture and trapping team consisted of: ONA wildlife staff: Al Peatt, RPBio (project lead & primary handler) and biologists Autumn Solomon and Alexis Friesen. Trappers Ray Derickson (Westbank FN); Russell Baines (Westbank FN); Graeme Derickson (Westbank FN); and TJ Gooliaff (UBCO MSc student).
To make this project possible, many other people and agencies assisted in project planning, support and implementation by provision of funds, supplies and/or expertise. These include: Dan Thornton (Washington State University); Jen Watkins and Joe Scott (Conservation Northwest); Scott Fisher and Paul Jensen (DNR); BC Min. of FLNRO; BC Min. of Environment; Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife; Ross Everatt; Dr. Barrie Hume; and Dr. Allan Gill. Thank you all!
Highlights: Live trapping with daily trap checks commenced February 27 on the Derickson Family Trapline in the upper West Kettle River drainage; a total of eight live-traps were deployed during several trapping sessions.
February 28: “Russell” a 12kg male lynx captured, successfully collared and released. Russell became somewhat trap-happy, has remained in the area. He was caught and released three times in total. March 24: all traps disabled for the holiday and crew break. April 7: four traps re-opened. April 17: “Thumper” a ~13kg male lynx captured, successfully collared and released. April 19: “Amber” a 9.6kg male lynx captured, successfully collared and released; all traps closed and live-trapping discontinued for the season.
Should you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact me! Best regards, Alan
Hiking throughout the Okanagan and other interesting places in British Columbia, I have come across a number of unique geographical features that have not been named on any map that I am aware of and these spots have not been mentioned in local hiking anals etc. I have always thought it would be helpful to name unique geographic features so and to have them shown on hiking maps and official terrain maps so others could also find the points of interest and so the spots could be referred to in missing person searches etc. Please read the following British Columbian official notes on how to get a place named if you know of places that should be named and give input via the comments on place I would like to submit to have named.
I have two features that I would like to have named.
Proposals should be submitted in writing directly to the Geographical Names Office of the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations, and must include the following information:
precise delineation of the feature to be named on a photocopy of a 1:50 000 or similarly detailed map
a valid reason for naming the particular feature at this time
the significance or meaning of the proposed name
itemization of all research undertaken, including a list of local sources contacted, copies of correspondence received from local authorities and experts, and reference materials examined to ascertain that the feature doesn’t already have another local or historic name (note that the absence of a label on published maps does not guarantee that the feature is unnamed).
If the proposed name refers to the appearance of the feature (eg.Turtles Head Point), a photograph or sketch demonstrating the appearance would be appreciated; if applicable, please identify the time of day, season or aspect when the namesake markings, outlines or resemblances are particularly noteworthy.
If proposing that a well-established local name be made official, photocopies of documents, maps or correspondence containing or showing prior use of the name should be included; information about the earliest use and likely provenance of the name is of particular interest.
A commemorative name proposal must also include the following information:
a statement of the proponent’s relationship to the person(s) to be commemorated;
objective evidence that the proposed name is acceptable beyond a single or special interest group;
a brief biography of the person(s) to be commemorated, including a description of their association with the area where the feature is located, and an explanation of their unique contributions that tend to single them out for commemoration in this fashion.
Proposals must be signed and include a complete return address and the optional inclusion of a daytime phone number or email address. Geographical Names Office
GeoBC: Base and Parcel Mapping Section Ministry of Natural Resource Operations PO BOX 9355 STN PROV GOVT VICTORIA, BC V8W 9M2 (250) 952-6572 BC Geographical Names Information System: http://archive.ilmb.gov.bc.ca/bcnames/ Policy revised January 2000 Ministry name changed October 2010
East of Kelowna on Highway 33, Big White Road will take you to Big White Ski Resort but for real outdoor recreation you need to head North East on the 201 Forest Service Road just a few km up the Big White Road. Graystokes protected area and official snowmobile trails can be accessed from the 201 the area is also known as the West Kettle. The West Kettle encompasses many streams and two lakes, Derickson Lake and Two Johns Lake. My friend Ray Derickson is the registered owner of the age old trapline that is on the West Kettle and this track is one of several that document some of the country on the trapline. You can follow the track and find numerous crown land camping locations for some free camping. For an awesome camping experience plan for a backcountry stay and be prepared to fend of grizzlies, elk, moose, cougar and squirrels.
The track above ends just before we got to Two Johns Lake because I lost a satellite connection for my BlackBerry. Interesting to note that when I was at the lake and took the picture of the cabin, the latitude and longitude were noted and uploaded though! That is cool as the location of the cabin picture on the track is exactly where it is. The cabin wouldn´t give much shelter but in a pinch, one could use the supplies there to “hole up” if he/she was hurt or lost.When we hiked to Two Johns lake, we stayed on the high side as the lower section had a lot of water. Typical though, we went a little too high and had to double back through brush. Nice hike none the less. Coming back, you can see in satellite view that we took the cut block back – found the beginning of the block and stayed to the bottom of it until we were back at the parking lot.
Wow - the matches still work!
Two John Lake
The side road we took was Derickson Logging Road. As I look on the map, I see that if we parked and stayed to the high ground, with a gps waypoint of Derickson Lake, we could have a little hike right to Derickson Lake.
Also, on the drive to Two Johns, there was a road that went to the south east – I am thinking that road will take us near Big White, we will try to explore that area next time. A look on this map in satellite view will help determine the way for the next exploration trip to Big White and Derickson Lake.
