BC Liberal says province’s control of milfoil on Okanagan Lake ‘half-brained’

KELOWNA – The Okanagan's contingent of BC Liberal MLAs is taking aim at the current government for what they claim is mishandling of Eurasian milfoil control and the subsequent spread of the invasive weed through local lakes and beaches.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan asked for a review of the rototilling ban, warning that the unchecked spread of milfoil could damage swimming areas and damage the ecosystem. The Okanagan Water Basin Board has also weighed in, and in recent months warned the rototilling ban could trigger a substantial increase of milfoil, creating issues near beaches, much like it did decades earlier.

But the government  says the rototilling ban will remain in place in a letter to the regional district.

"The only restriction in the authorization is the use of rototilling in areas where there are known live Rocky Mountain ridged mussels (RMRM); however, harvesting is an acceptable practice in those specific areas. The RMRM is a species listed as special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act," reads a letter from Gerry MacDougall,with the province.

It is currently under review at the federal level for designation as endangered. This status requires adequate protection of the habitat in order to maintain viable, self-sustaining RMRM populations throughout the current distribution and range of this species.

"The province, along with the ministry recognizes the threat that invasive milfoil poses to the recreation and tourism values within the Okanagan Basin," said MacDougall.

"However, these impacts have to be weighed against the need to adequately protect native ecosystems and the species that inhabit them. Staff will continue to work with the OBWB and other partners to discover and implement improved milfoil management practices that also support healthy RMRM populations."

Responding to that letter, the local BC Liberals said they disagree with that tack.

“This is horrendous news for our local lakes and especially for those who depend on them for income,” Eric Foster, MLA for Vernon-Monashee, said in a press release. “The NDP have seized regulatory control away from local experts and are steaming ahead with a half-brained solution that will destroy the balance in our ecosystems.”

A provincially-commissioned report in 1991 found that termination of rototilling would lead to a projected economic decline of $85 million in annual tourism revenue, $360 million in lost property value and over 1,700 job losses in the Okanagan alone. Those numbers will have increased exponentially in 2019.

The OBWB and the Regional District of the Central Okanagan have both written to NDP Minister Doug Donaldson multiple times explaining that uncontrolled milfoil will severely impact local tourism. Minister Donaldson, they say, dismissed the warnings, claiming that the NDP will be looking into future research opportunities.

“Once again, John Horgan and the NDP are contradicting themselves,” Steve Thomson, MLA for Kelowna- Mission, said in the press release. “The ministry continues to insist it knows best despite admitting that it does not yet have all the facts.”

Ben Stewart, MLA for Kelowna West, fears that John Horgan’s dismissive attitude and lack of long-term planning, which has already cost so many jobs in the forestry industry, will begin to cost jobs in the tourism industry as well.

Calls to the province have yet to be answered.

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