Before the rain came I went for a walk

[Steve]

I knew the stream had got to this state, but felt I couldn't raise this issue again while still a Councilor with CSI F&G, so I've resigned.


Deep Creek Rangitata River - Protected by a Conservation Order...

I resigned not just because of this stream but because in the time I was there not one item that I bought up had a satisfactory outcome; for instance I asked that the meeting minutes and agenda be published on the website to inform anglers what's going on, I asked that the next highest pollster in the recent election replace a councilor (who only ever made the very first meeting) who had resigned, everything I raised was shut down, so I resigned.


Salmon spawning section - those are old redds...

Anglers need to know what's going on, as frustrating and as disappointing as it is



Early season and this stretch that's been dewatered would have had something like 8 - 11 fish in it, I counted one in the new diverted flow. Deep Creek was the epitome of New Zealand fly fishing, stunning scenery, big fish - yes trophy potential, crystal clear waters, but it has been so very badly neglected by an organisation whose prime job is to manage the fisheries for anglers



I've tried hard to get them to see sense, when I put a motion to restore Deep Creek it was met with concerted effort to undermine any progress, the chairman stating it wasn’t even an illegal diversion, the manager saying natural processes had shaped it, and staff member presented a document that had been deliberately altered to show that gaining a consent to do the work was unlikely and on it went...



I've gathered expert angler opinions, gained an engineers report on a fix, asked the minister to intervene, still nothing. I've written (it was a very long document) to the Auditor Office, they have responsibly to see that Government entities operate as they should.

But in the meantime DC is in a sad state, but that state is symptomatic of the state of CSI F&G - they should be sacked! That's my opinion - sacked so it can start again, allowed to refresh and get back on track

[Johnno]

Good luck with that. Sadly similar stories in many other F and Gs.... the whole system needs a serious overhaul throughout the whole country..... won't happen till it's too late.

[Boisker]

That's depressing to look at Steve.
Some of our chalksteams can suffer terribly from low flows, but then at least over here they have the excuse of 8.5 million people leaving on the doorstep in London... still a piss poor excuse but even harder to understand in SI setting

[Johnno]

Why not try and get some media outfit like 20/20 involved. Get the problem out there into the living room and embarrass f and G!!

[flyfish]

That is bullshit Steve, I admire your passion and share your frustration. I would seriously talk with Hamish Carnachan (PM me if you need contacts), he'll have a field day with this, he's extremely passionate about this sort of thing, it will get his blood boiling and he can make an example of it in the next issue of F&G.

[Steve]

Thanks for your thoughts guys, I'm exploring some options.

[Wacker]

Your post makes for a very depressing read Steve I bet banging your head against a brick wall becomes progressively less enjoyable but the hope must always be that eventually the wall does get knocked down and people start to see things as they really are. Who knows how long this will be and if it will already be too late by then (as it looks like it is for DC)

[Andy W]

Sorry to see things have go to this point – both in terms of the degradation of Deep Creek, and your resignation. Can we as a group do anything to push this through the minister’s office?

[upstream]

Keep up the good work Steve. I suspect that drumming up some publicity may be the only way to achieve anything.

I must say that driving across Canterbury last month and stopping at all the bridges, my main thought was "Where is all the water?" I suppose that all the pivot irrigators provide a clue...

[Erik Moller]

So sad
Have wanted to visit DC for many years but never got around to it. Now it seems too late.
Such an iconic water, it was.
I have heard of and to some degree witnessed the decline of a number af low land rivers, but this is the first high country water kill I've heard of.
I hope NZ govenment will open its eyes to what a great resourse you have and put a stop to the raping of it...