Ugly Duckling??

On our Easter Sunday hike through the trails of McIntyre Creek, we spotted this lone swan hanging out with a flock of ducks. It brought back the memory of the children's story, where the swan was considered an "ugly duckling". I thought it was rather strange to see a single swan, and wondered how it had gotten separated from its flock.

Spring is on its way & Jane Goodall Comments

Spring is quickly melting the Creek. Only a week ago, this was still frozen, and now it is rushing towards the Yukon River.

I was reading a Readers Digest (November 2010) interview with Jane Goodall, the world famous primatologist, and found these comments relevant to our City's development plans.

"RD: Is our planet better or worse off today than it was when you first began your work in 1960?

Goodall: In most ways, it is worse off. The human population has soared, as has the damage to the ecosystem. We still face the loss of species and the threat from climate change . I think we've lost wisdom. We don't ask how decisions made today will affect generations to come, but instead how they affect the bottom line. Perhaps there has been a separation between the clever brain and the heart - the seat of love and compassion."

I believe this is where our City officials are, in that they only are concerned with the bottom line, and not how their decisions will affect future generations and the ecosystem. It is up to the people like you, members of the Friends of McIntyre Creek who still care about the ecosystem, to make their voices known to the Officials as well as the public, and hopefully we can make them see the light before it is too late, and the wildlife corridor is destroyed with Porter Creek D. The City of Whitehorse advertises itself as a Wilderness City, so we need them to step up and prove it by not destroying the wilderness that is easily accessible from our neighbourhoods within our City.

Bridges Across McIntyre Creek - December 2010

I have to admit, that with the weather being so cold, and the work closing the bridge closest to the Yukon College, I have not been hiking my usual trails. However, today with close to zero temperatures, I took the hike to see what changes had happened.

The bridge closest to the water station had been finished weeks ago, and is now a busy snow mobile trail. As I feared, more snowmobile access has also increased the snowmobiles on trails where they are not to go, but the tracks in the snow tell the tale, as well as attempted blockades to prevent their access.

The bridge closest to the College was the biggest surprise. For years I complained to the City that the pole barriers were often set too wide, which still allowed motorized vehicles on some of the trails & bridges, where they were not supposed to go. I was told that they had to have them wide enough for wheel chair access. Now honestly, I doubted very much any wheel chair would want to traverse those hills and trails, but that was their explanation. The new bridge nearest the College has steps on both sides to get onto to the bridge. Hmmmm....I wonder how a wheel chair is supposed to access the bridge now? Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying that the steps should be turned into ramps, but it makes me question the reasoning in the replies I got from the City.

At any rate, here are some photos of the bridges being built and finished. Now that the weather has warmed up, I am sure more folks will be out and about enjoying the McIntyre Creek trails.

Gerry

Which Side Are You On?

Which Side Are You On?

The screaming is so loud I have to cover my ears.
I look around wondering why no one else is listening.
“Stop!” I yell
But when they look at me
I see dollar signs where their eyes should be.
The sights and sounds of devastation surround me.
Clear cuts
Slash piles
Bareness where there once stood a forest.
Cut down
Massacred
For the almighty dollar.
Majestic beings
Trees
Screaming
As their life blood drains upon the ground
Men wielding chainsaws searching for their next victim
Tears
Screaming
Engines roaring
No time to mourn
Trucks piled sky high with lengths so long
Bits and pieces left behind
Like a warning that they will be back.
Screaming
Then crying
Homes destroyed
Bodies mangled
Loved ones gone.
A war zone
Disaster
The ultimate sacrifice given
Did anyone ask?
Or pay their respects to the lives taken?
Trees
Animals
Birds
Reptiles
Fish
All giving up something,
For us humans
Dwellers of wooden structures
Do you appreciate the sacrifice?

Written by Kathryn Marynowski

Housing Development being Pushed by City Planners

If you care about McIntyre Creek and other wildlife and outdoor recreation areas in Whitehorse you may want to attend the City council meeting on Monday evening.

City planners will be presenting their recommendations for the OCP revisions at that meeting and Council will be discussing them. We fear City planners may recommend that Porter Creek D be zoned for housing development. This would block the wildlife corridor between the Alaska Highway and Mountain View Drive. We have tried to reach a compromise by asking for this area to be zoned for planning so that a scientifically justified, effective wildlife corridor can be designed and THEN some housing can be planned where appropriate. Most City Councillors seem much more interested in developing Porter Creek D regardless of wildlife, recreation, and the opposition of local residents.

Please come show your opposition to developing PC-D by attending Monday’s Council meeting, writing letters to the editor, and calling and emailing city counsellors. To email all City Counsellors and the mayor send to mayorcouncil@whitehorse.ca.

To write letters to the editor use the following email addresses: rmostyn@yukon-news.com and letters@whitehorsestar.com.

Thank you!

Karen Baltgailis,

Director, Friends of McIntyre Creek &

Executive Director, Yukon Conservation Society

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Surveyors at McIntyre Creek - July 26, 2010

Today the surveyors were out and about, preparing for the new bridge for motorized vehicles to cross the McIntyre Creek at the Pump House in the Takhini/College area. Since the City extended their fence around the Pump house to narrow the trail, I have been enjoying peaceful walks, listening to the creek bubble over the rocks, to the singing birds, and hearing the wind rustling in the trees. Unfortunately, the the scent of the many flowers will soon be replaced with the stench of exhaust from the motorized vehicles. The peaceful hikes will be no more, as the sounds of motors echoing into the trails from the snowmobiles and ATV's will carry throughout the trails.

Even if these motorized vehicles stick to the "roads" to cross the new bridge, and not invade the trails, they will be allowed to surround the Creek hiking area, as there is the service road for the power lines on one side of the Creek, and the service road for the Pump house on the other side, and with the bridge approved for motorized vehicles to cross the Creek, it will encourage more vehicles to use the area, and take away from the quiet enjoyment of the trails.

For myself, and many other hikers/joggers in the area, the peaceful quiet is one of the simple pleasures of the trails. I have met one woman in the woods, even in the winter, who sits and meditates above the Creek. Unless her timing is great, where she can catch a time there are no vehicles in the area, she will have to find a new peaceful area to enjoy.

So people, get out and hike the trails while you can still enjoy the simple pleasures of the sounds and smells of nature along McIntyre Creek!!!

McIntyre Creek happenings July 25, 2010 - Ninja

Photos by Gerry Steers

It was another beautiful day for a hike along McIntyre Creek, and two eagles were watching the creek for their next meal.
As well, a few young movie producers were taking advantage of the great day to film a Ninja movie.
The small beaver pond in the Takhini College area near the pump house, has the lowest water levels I have seen in the 24 years I have been hiking the area. There are mud flats, and marshes forming where pond water used to be. I have no idea of what the problem is, but the water flowing in the Creek above this pond is also low. Does anyone have any ideas?

Warning - This Could be Whitehorse!

This type of thing could happen in Whitehorse, with a moose, bear, or other wild animal that is trying to pass through the McIntyre Creek wild life corridor, if it is choked with houses. We need to keep the wild life corridor along the McIntyre Creek open, to prevent this type of encounter.

Thank You Mackenzie Morgan

It is very touching and encouraging to see that we have such great supporters, even in our young people. We thank Mackenzie for her fund raising and we promise we will do our very best to protect this area for a Park, so even her children will be able to enjoy it, as she and her mother do today. See email below:

"My daughter Mackenzie and I travel the trails often and she has raised/saved $19.10 for the Friends of McIntyre Creek. She wants it to help save the beavers, the ducks, the eagles, the foxes and the honeysuckles. She is very upset about the human houses being built by the animals' houses. She is eight years old and very concerned about the situation.How can she get these funds to you?

Thank you, - Cindy-Anne on behalf of Mackenzie Morgan"

Strange Happenings at McIntyre Creek

If you happen to be in the McIntyre Creek area behind the Yukon College this week, you may have come across some strange beings inhabiting the woods. The Aikido Yukon Club were holding a samurai camp during the week of June 21 to 25, and with their costumes, masks and "weapons", were having fun conducting their wars in the woods. This is another indication of how our valued area is utilized by many Yukoners, for sport, recreation, education, and just plain fun!
Photos by Gerry Steers, Gerry's Computer Magic copyright.

Spring Celebration 2010 Report

"The Friends of McIntyre Creek Spring Celebration held June 11, 12, 13, 2010 was well attended, and enjoyed by the people who took part. The weather was windy and chilly but there was no rain for the event. Several people attended the Yukon Invasive Species weed pulling, (there are a lot of weeds at Yukon College). The dog powered sports dry land racing was an interesting event, and dry land casting was very educational with Dennis Zimmerman and Bruce Ross demonstrating the techniques. Exploring nature with your child was poorly attended as it seamed the soccer and ball tournaments took all the youth. The Bird walk on Friday evening revealed many birds in the wetlands, and a visit to the salmon fish incubation hatchery along Mountain View was very educational. During this event we sampled many of the bugs and things that live in the creek and make it a great place for fish to live"










Photos by Dorothy Bradley.

Schedule for the June 11, 12, 13, 2010 Events

Time	Event and Sponsor	Details
6:30 – 7:00 PM	FOMC: Tami Hamilton Registration for June 19th & 20th Wetland Keepers Program	Yukon Arts Center parking lot.
7:00 – 9:00 PM	Bird Walk Yukon Bird Club led by Katie Aitken	Meet at Yukon Arts Center parking lot.

Saturday June 12^th

9:30 – 10:00 AM	FOMC: Tami Hamilton Registration for June 19th & 20th Wetland Keepers Program	Meet at far end of Yukon College parking lot, closest to student residences.
10:00 – 12:00 AM	Yukon Fish and Game Association: John Carney Dry Land Casting.	Meet at far end of Yukon College parking lot, closest to student residences
12:00-1:00 PM	Yukon Environment: Bruce Bennett Exploring Nature with your Child	Meet at far end of Yukon College parking lot, closest to student residences
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM	Yukon Invasive Species Council: Bruce Bennett Invasive Species Walk and Weed Pull	Meet at far end of Yukon College parking lot, closest to student residences. Wear sturdy shoes and bring work gloves.
3:00- 6:00 PM	Northern Research Institute Open House McIntyre Creek Salmon Incubation Facility: drop in any time between 3:00 and 6:00 to tour the facility, see incubated salmon and fish from McIntyre Creek, invertebrate sampling, etc.	We suggest walking down the trail from the Yukon Arts Center toward Range Road, then north along Mountain View Drive to the hatchery. If you decide to drive to the fish hatchery and park at Mountain View Drive please be very careful of traffic.

Sunday June 13^th

6:00 PM

Dog Powered Sports dry land racing with Jonathon Lucas

Meet at Icy Waters on the Fish lake Road.

First Annual General Meeting June 14, 2010

Friends of McIntyre Creek are having their first Annual General Meeting, Monday, June 14, 2010, 7:00 pm, at the Yukon Public Library. This is a very important meeting for us to choose officers, and set our course for the work required to protect the McIntyre Creek wildlife corridor, and begin our planning for the proposed park. Please plan to attend this meeting with us and share your views.

Flowers

It is easy to walk by the many blossoms that are flooding McIntyre Creek these days, but this blossom caught my attention. Do you know what it is? Yes, it is the common dandelion, the plant we all consider a nasty weed, yet if you let yourself observe the flower, you will see it is truly beautiful. We fight so hard to grow flowers in our gardens, and hate the dandelion, but it really is an amazing plant. You can eat the leaves, it has beautiful flowers, and it doesn't need to be babied, as it grows in even the most difficult soils. So maybe we should slow down and observe some of the beauty nature offers us, which requires nothing from us, but to enjoy.
Photo by Gerry Steers

Garbage at the Creek

I was very disappointed to see that sometime last night, against the fire ban in Whitehorse, that some one built a fire in McIntyre Creek at the beaver pond near the Takhini sub division. I think they might have felt they were being responsible, by putting the fire out with sand, but they also left their cans and garbage in the sand pile. It never ceases to annoy me that people find it so easy to carry their drink cans & their food bags into the Creek area, yet once they are empty, they find it too difficult to carry their empty containers out. How do we educate people to be responsible to the environment??? I expect they enjoy the environment, or why else would they be there, so why do they not respect it? More mysteries to be solved...

Family Enjoys McIntyre Creek Picnic

This photo was taken today, of a family enjoying the little "beach" at McIntyre Creek, with a family picnic. The temperature was 19C, and the cold water cooled the children, as they played in the water, and on the rocks. Most people might not consider this a "beach", but our McIntyre Creek provides much enjoyment for many people without leaving the City, even if our "beach" is micro sized.
Photo by Gerry Steers, Gerry's Computer Magic

Email from Dennis Zimmerman toTami Hamilton thanking the Friends of McIntyre for the talk to the children

Hello Tami:

Thank you so much for the wetland talk on Friday. As a parent with two kids at the event I can tell you that they got a great deal out of it.

I really appreciated it and hope we can work together again. One of the kids wrote you a nice thank you letter.

Sincerely, Dennis
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Friends of McIntyre Creek - A Registered Society

The Friends of McIntyre Creek have been registered as a Society which we hope will give us a bit more recognition when fighting to save the McIntyre Creek watershed. If you would like to join us as a member, please send a request to friendsofmcintyre@gmail.com and we will forward you an application form to your email address. Our membership fee is very reasonable - $10.00 for one year single membership, $15.00 for one year family and $25.00 for one year corporate membership.

We look forward to your support to protect this area from development, and in establishing a wilderness park for McIntyre Creek.

TD Great Canadian Shore Cleanup September 19, 2009

We were extremely happy to have so many people turn out, and collect over one ton of garbage and 28 bags of garbage from the McIntyre Creek area. There are still some very large items, appliances, furniture, etc. that were too heavy for us to bring up the cliffs without heavier equipment. Thank you to all our volunteers who came out to help.

August 9, McIntyre Creek Walk

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Plants of McIntyre Creek

Meet at the Kopper King parking lot, Whitehorse, 4:00 pm

Come for a walk into McIntyre Creek with Wildlife Viewing Biologist Bruce Bennett.

Learn about the area's native, introduced and invasive plants

Check out the website below or go to http://www.yukonwild.ca and follow the links.


http://environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/wildlifebiodiversity/wildlifetalks.php
Photo by Gerry Steers, Gerry's Computer Magic