President's Report for 2012

Les amis de la rivière Kipawa
Report from the President
26th Kipawa River Rally, June 23rd, 2012
Hello again and welcome to the Kipawa River Rally.

This has been a relatively relaxing year, but there have been some interesting events and high lights.
First, here is a list of our executive members:
Francois Diebolt -Treasurer
Peter Karwacki - President Rick Issaacson - Vice President
Wendy Sladen - Secretary/Membership Chair
Wayne Donnison - Rally Coordinator
Sandra Kiviaho - website coordinator

Thanks to all of our executive members and volunteers for their efforts to support LARK over the past year.
While Rick and Francois are not attending the rally this year they have agreed to run again in their positions should others not step forward.

We had some new folks on the executive last year, Wendy Sladen notified the membership of the meeting, 30 days in advance to comply with our by-laws. Sandra Kiviaho worked with Francois Diebolt to update our website which is now chuck full of images, video and french translations. It is much improved and a ready resource for others. Etienne Green and Tommy Allan have been our eyes and ears on the ground during the past year and their help has been greatly appreciated. As usual we thank Jim Coffey, Scott and Pat Sorensen, and Doug Skeggs for their ongoing support.

2011 Financial Summary Report
June 2012                                       Credit      Debit
Balance April 2011 - March 2012 (CREDITS) $1,918.34
Donations + Membership $624.90
interests $0.21
Total income $625.

11 April 2011 - March 2012 (DEBITS)
 Portage trail signage CK 156 $121.57
coded wrist bands CK 155 $60.00
Registraire du Quebec – fees $32.00
 LARK income tax report $51.27
Total expense $264.84 $360.27
Closing Balance $2,278.61

Not show above: A trust cheque from Birchall Northey LLP in the amount of $948,36 refunding an unused balance in our account. This puts our balance at around $3226.97 (less monthly webhosting and corporate registration fees of about $150 since the end of March)

 By way of comparison, here is the report for the previous year:

2010 Financial Summary Report June 2010
Credit Debit Balance April 2010 - March 2011
(CREDITS) $1,342.46
Donations $775.00
Membership $40.00
 interests $0.22
Total income $815.22

April 2010 - March 2011 (DEBITS)
Web hosting fees $152.55
Registraire du Quebec – fees $36.00
LARK income tax report $50.79
 Total expense $239.34 $575.88
Closing Balance $1,918.34

During the course of the last 12 months, Les amis made petitions to the provincial government of Quebec to: 1. have standing as a stakeholder in the developmenot of Opemican National (provincial) Park. Thanks to Tommy Allan, Doug Skeggs and Scott Sorensen for bringing the message forward. We are informed that the Hydro Quebec project, Tabaret is no longer excluded from the proposed Opemican Park which seems to mean that the project is "dead".

 2. allow Bonne Rouge camp ground to continue to operate on the Gatineau River Les amis was recognized by the Ottawa Riverkeeper at its 2012 annual general meeting for its tireless work to protect and preserve the Kipawa River, one of the key tributaries of the Ottawa River.


Lately we have been witness to the general malaise in the environmental movement. We are called radicals and obstructionists by our own government. Omnibus Bill c-38 has gutted the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. It is clear that our ability to protect the environment through legitimate means has been lessened. This does not diminish our desire to continue to do so.

Ask yourselves, what does it mean to have a healthy Kipawa River: how do we know we are there?

 Things we try to look for include:

A natural flow (except our rally release).

Transportation of sediment and nutrients but not too much erosion or excessive scouring of the riverbank and riverbed.

Strong and varied plant communities that provide critical habitat for fish and other riverine animals,

Productive and diverse habitat that can support numerous animal species.

Good water quality with minimal amounts of pollution and toxics.

Many macro invertebrates (bugs!) as food for many riverine species.

Diversity of fish and wildlife species.

A community that protects it through organize river clean up days and engages other community members in issues related to river health.

A healthy, caring community is an essential facet of a healthy river. Staying on top of these issues show the "authorities" we care about OUR river. We neeed to build up a larger body of knowledge about the river and build up our network of individual experts and public support that make us the "river experts" With this "expertise" and recognition from various decision makers - we can begin encouraging a partnership with the appropriate authorities to help maximize the use of the PUBLIC SPACES associated with the river.

With regards to Tabaret: is the recent Opemican announcement a victory? The half life of a political promise is about 60 days. If the area previously earmarked for Tabaret is now PART of Opemican then maybe that means that Tabaret is dead. We should celebrate anyway! So tonight after the AGM we will set off some fireworks. A modest display. Thanks again to all of you. Enjoy the river, the lodge, and safe paddling.