The Case of the Missing Pelicans

Check out the white water committee website: http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/saskatoon-whitewater-park/

Interesting reading, yes? Were you puzzled, as we were, that there is no mention of the pelicans who fish at the weir, or the geese who nest on the river island? In fact, this page is a bird-free zone, a veritable no-fly zone, even though the words "environment" and "environmental impact" are used quite often.

What does the word "environment" mean, if not the wildlife, muskrats and weasels, the gophers and meadowlarks, the geese and ducks, the goldeneyes and goldeye, the pike and walleye, the foxes and coyotes, the cormorants and pelicans, that inhabit it? Could it be that the following phrase is meant to contain all of this, and more: "a whitewater recreational park will creat [Editor's note: we think that they mean "create," with an "e"] a one-of-its-kind facility in the world that will showcase Saskatoon’s commitment to the environment..."?

Many people have voiced their concerns about the fate of our pelicans, and yet, there's not a word about the effect this mega-project would have on them.

They feel free to conclude that hordes of folks in brightly coloured toy boats, whooping and hollering as they bounce like so many overgrown corks down the pseudo-rapids, will demonstrate Saskatoon's commitment to the environment. But they don't dare speculate about the pelicans and other birds and wildlife that frequent the area (or should we say "environment") around the weir.

Could it be that, in the mind of the authors of this page, the birds are already gone?