Shearing Consultants Limited

Like our local bear friends, the SCL Team is looking forward to some well deserved rest. Our Revelstoke office will be closed Dec. 21, reopening Jan. 4, 2021. Our team of 6 has helped 21 clients deliver 26 environmental projects and managed 24 construction projects in 2020. Despite these challenging times, the pace has been steady and the work engaging. We're grateful to all our clients for their trust and are excited for the projects on the books and those yet to come in 2021. From our families to yours, have a restful winter holidays filled with kindness and joy. Giles and the team.

Restoration has begun! Getting ready for some seeding and planting at Blanket Creek tomorrow afternoon! There is still room for volunteers to join in! Event registration in bio #environement #ecofriendly #biology

SCL is excited to be part of this great restoration project at Blanket Creek this Thursday afternoon. Sign up here: https://docs.google.com//1FAIpQLSdnxag6MmUXsrk5aY/viewform

Our team geared up to practice using our #Electrofisher, a tool used to incapacitate fish so they can be moved safely out of an area where construction will occur An Electrofisher works by sending a battery-generated current through the positive and negative electrodes (anode and cathode respectively) which are partially submerged in the water, creating an electrical field in the water The right amount of current should induce taxis, an involuntary muscular response that ...causes the fish to swim towards the anode. Once the fish reaches the anode, they go into a state of unconsciousness and float belly-up, called narcosis. The fish are then scooped up in soft nets and transferred to holding buckets where they can be identified and measured The fish are released back into the water below the exclusion fencing, completely unharmed and safe from the in-stream construction work (Note: No fish were caught in the making of these photos)

Can you tell the difference between Dolly Varden and Bull Trout? How about Brook Trout and Lake Trout? All of these fish are species of char from the salmonid family and can be found throughout British Columbia. Bull Trout are an interior species native to the Columbia Basin and to northwestern North America as a whole. Dolly Varden are closely related species but live on the coast in sea-run and land-locked populations. Brook Trout are native to northeastern North America ...but have been introduced to British Columbia as a game fish. There is concern that introduced populations have had negative impacts on native populations of Bull Trout and Kokanee. Lake Trout are native to most of northern North America including British Columbia north of Shuswap Lake. Lake Trout have been introduced to the Columbia Basin as a game fish and have had negative impacts on some Bull Trout populations to the point of extirpation in some cases. Keep in mind that fish ID is hard! Fish can look different based on the time of year, their age, or even their location. Fish also look different in and out of water, and some species may even hybridize! To learn more, check out the Royal BC Museum’s resource at https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca//l/cbasin/peter_myles/toc.html or the Field Key to the Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia at https://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~etaylor/nfrg/fresh.pdf.

We're a happy team. Especially after a wonderful lunch at Parmanjit's Kitchen

Does anyone know this cheeky fella? Sometimes known as a hamburger bird for his funny call, this #backyardbird is sure to make an appearance in your garden. These guys are naturally curious and looove food, so a bird feeder (or just some bird seed thrown on the grass) is sure to attract these handsome birds.

Can you ID this handsome fella? This little guy was found during a fish salvage last year while we moved fish downstream of a culvert replacement project. A fish salvage is what we call moving fish out of an area (up or downstream) where construction is going to be done in the waterway. This ensures no fish are injured or killed during construction. ... To do this, we first use a net to get most of the fish outside the area where construction will take place, called the exclusion zone. We then use our backpack electro-fisher to round up the stragglers by giving them a shock that makes them immobile for a short time. Making fish-exclusion zones while you work in a stream or river is an important part of protecting our natural fisheries and aquatic ecosystems and helps ensure your project sticks to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Fisheries Act (Section 35).

Here’s our turbidity meter in this great shot up at one of the mines we work at. Did you know SCL does water quality sampling? This service helps YOU keep track of what’s happening in and around the water bodies where you work. Water quality sampling is used to assess parameters of the water such as dissolved oxygen and pH, both of which are important for fish and amphibian populations. ... Water quality sampling can also detect what kind of contaminants might be in the water, and how concentrated they are. We can use this information to help you decide how to keep contaminant levels to a minimum and protect our underwater ecosystems. Water quality sampling is also great for surveying the effects of machinery or disturbance in and around the water, which is where our turbidity meter comes in. This tool checks to see how light passes through water (a proxy for determining the level of suspended solids there are), and how that changes over time, which is important for aquatic plant production, fish populations, and microorganisms.

Does your project require an Environmental Impact Assessment? What about an Environmental Protection Plan? What's the difference anyways? In a word, probably, and especially if your project has the potential to disturb the environment in any way (ex. water, earth, wildlife, plants, etc.). An EIA looks at what sort of impacts your project is likely to have on the environment before you start. It also lays out guidelines to help you minimize the negative effects and promote ...the positive ones. An EPP is used during the project and uses the guidelines and suggestions from the EIA to help implement best-management strategies. Lucky for you, we do both and so much more! Before you start your next project, give us a ring and we'll help you help our ecosystems.

Meet Sonya Parsad! Sonya joins our team as a collaborator from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, where she currently works as an Environmental Scientist / Consultant for the consulting company Hemmera. Sonya has a thorough knowledge of provincial and federal legislation and the development of construction environmental management plans (CEMPs) and environmental management plans (EMPs), as well as being an experienced project coordinator and manager. ... Sonya is a Geoscientist-in-Training and has an A. S. in Geography from Douglas College and a B. Sc. in Earth and Environmental Science from the University of British Columbia.

Meet Christina Delaney! Christina joins our team as a collaborator from Golden, British Columbia where she currently works as a Contract Consultant and Environmental Scientist for her own company, Columbia Headwaters Collective. Christina has an extensive background consulting as a hydrometeorologist, as well as environmental spill emergency response and project management of soil remediation, habitat assessment, environmental monitoring, soil assessment, riparian areas as...sessment, invasive species mitigation, and the list continues Christina is a Professional Agrologist and has a B. Sc. in Environmental Science from the University of Guelph, and a M. Sc. in Mountain Forestry from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria.

Meet Karlene Loudon! Karlene joins our team as a collaborator from Squamish, British Columbia where she currently works as the Principal Consultant and Biologist for her own company, CoastRange Environmental. Karlene has a diverse knowledge of geomorphic, hydrologic, and biological sciences related to freshwater, riparian and forest ecology, as well as experience managing environmental research programs, writing project proposals, budgets and scientific reports, and provi...ding technical expertise, advice, and guidance on environmental matters. Karlene is a Registered Professional Biologist and has a B. Sc. in Biogeophysical Science from Simon Fraser University, a Bachelor of Tourism Management with a double major in Nature-based Tourism Development and Entrepreneurship from Thompson Rivers University, and a Masters of Natural Resources in Aquatic Science from Oregon State University.

Meet Samantha Legebokow! Sam is SCL’s Field Technician. Sam joins our team in Revelstoke from Prince George, British Columbia, where she is working towards her B. Sc. in Wildlife and Fisheries Management at the University of Northern British Columbia. Sam has spent the previous two summers working for the Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society as a Field, Aquatic, and Outreach Program Assistant. Sam also has experience volunteering for the Revelstoke Caribou Rearing i...n the Wild program doing calf care, and as a wildlife photographer. When not at work (or studying), you can find Sam pulling on rocks at Revelstoke’s finest crags, paddle-boarding with her dog Maggie, or developing her budding ornithology skills.

Meet Amy Clarke! Amy is SCL’s Intermediate Biologist / Consultant. Amy joins our team in Revelstoke from Parks Canada where she previously worked in External Relations as the Public Outreach and Education Officer and Partnering and Engagement Officer, as well as with the Natural Resource Conservation Branch as Project Manager for the Pathway to Canada Target 1 Secretariat. Amy has also worked for the North Columbia Environmental Society as their administrator and project coo...rdinator for the Visual Arts Centre Garden, Garden Guru Workshop series, and the Downtown Community Garden. Amy graduated with a B. Sc. (Honors) in Biology from Ryerson University, and is currently working towards a certificate in Project Management from the University of British Columbia, with the goal of earning her Project Management Professional designation. When not at work, you can find Amy working in her garden, spending time with her dog Abby, or recreating in the mountains.