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6ENVIRONMENTFORESTMANAGEMENTTuesdayFebruary1020152015TownofFortSmithNoticeAllresidentsofFortSmithwhoownadogarerequiredtoregistertheirdogwiththeTownofFortSmithasperDogControlBylaw678Section3.1.PossessionofanunlicensedandoruntaggeddogintheFirstOffenceSecondOffenceThirdOffense-7500-15000-30000FinesforDogsNotRegisteredwithintheMunicipalityofFortSmithNWTreseasontopickupwhereitleftoffministerLackoffallrainsnowsuggestshighdroughtcodeforspring2015ByMEAGANWOHLBERGForthosetryingtoforgetthesmokeroadclosuresandclosecallswithtower-inginfernosofflameoflastsummersfu-riousfireseasonintheNorthwestTerri-tories2015isboundtojogyourmemoryaccordingtotheterritorysenvironmentminister.MichaelMiltenbergersaidlastweekthatthe2015forestreseasonislikelytopickupwherethelast-consideredtheworstinNWThistory-leftoff.Theunfortunaterealityforusisthatalltheindicatorsareatthispoint-andanybodywhowalksoutinthebushwillsee-theresnotalotofsnowandtherewasntanyfallraintospeakofhesaidduringaconstitu-encymeetinginFortSmith.Unlesswegetalotofsnowintherestofwinterandthenalotofrainthedroughtcodesaregoingtostarttheyearasbadastheyendedlastsummerwhichdoesnotbodewellforthetypeofreseasonwemayencounter.Thedroughtcodeacomputer-generatedformulathatcountsprecipitationhumid-itywindtemperatureanddrynessoflargefuelsliketreeshitanall-timehighintheNWTin2014reachingarecordlevelof1024outsideofFortProvidencelastAugust.With400considereddroughtDanielAl-lairesaiditwasthemostseverereadinghehasencounteredNorthof60.Ivebeenintherebusinesssince1978andIveneverseendroughtcodeover1000intheNorthwestTerritoriestheEnviron-mentandNaturalResourcesENRSouthSlaveforestmanagertoldTheJournal.AllairesaidstaffwithENRwillbecon-ductingsurveysinMarchandApriltode-terminethesnowswaterequivalencywhichwillbeusedalongwithlastfallsnumberstocalculatethestartupdroughtcodefortheseasoninMay.Ifyouhaveahighdroughtcodeinthefallandyouhaveaveragetobelow-averagesnowfallthentheresaverygoodchancethatyourdroughtcodewillbequitehighinthespringtimeAllairesaid.FortSmithstartedlastreseasonwithacodeof251andwasat430whenENRstoppeditscalculationsinSeptember.Attheinter-nationalCrownFireModellingExperimentsitenorthofFortProvidencejustsouthoflastyearsmassiveBirchLakerecomplexspringstartedwitha498droughtcodeandendedat810.AccordingtoEnvironmentCanadadatasnowfallisgenerallybelowmonthlynormalsforcommunitiesacrosstheterritory.Forex-ampleFortSmithreceived18cmofsnowlastmonthcomparedtoitsnormof24cmandjustshyof12cminDecemberorhalfoftheexpected23.8cm.WhileFortProvidencehasmoresnowAl-lairesaiditmightnotbeenoughtoquellaspringdrought.Theyhavemaybe30cmoralittleoverofsnow.Thatwouldntproduceenoughwaterequivalencyhesaid.StillthedroughtcodewilldependonMayandJuneprecipitationlevels.AccordingtoAllaire2.9mmofrainisneededtoaffectthedroughtcodewhichincreaseseachdaythereisnorain.Thelengthofspringwillalsobeafactor.Ifitsaspringwherethesnowgoesre-allyquickthenmostofthesnowevaporatesbecausethegroundisfrozenandthewaterdoesntgettothegroundAllairesaid.EvenifwegetournormalprecipitationforthemonthofMayandwedontreallygetalotofsnowImafraidthatwewillbeinadroughtagain.WewillspendthemoneyministerLastyearsreseasoncostawhopping55million-wellbeyondthebudgeted7.5mil-lion-withanadditional20millionspentonbailingouttheNWTPowerCorp.afterlowwaterlevelsontheSnarehydrosystemessentiallypushedYellowknifeontodieselthiswinter.Apartfromthereghtingcostsmassiveblazesconsumingarecord3.5millionhect-aresofforestacrossthesouthernhalfoftheNWTthreatenedcriticalhighwayandelec-tricalinfrastructureperiodicallyclosingroadscausingpoweroutagesthreateningcommunitiesandevendestroyingtwowil-dernesslodges.Despitethethreatlastweeksbudgetshowednoadditionalfundingforforestman-agementintheNWTinfactmainestimateshavedroppedbyaround50000.Miltenbergersaidheknowsthenumberisnotadequatebutsaiditwontpreventthegovernmentfromspendingthemoneyrequiredtoprotectcommunities.WhiletheresamodestamountofmoneyinthecurrentfirebudgetaswedemonstratedlastyearwhentheneedisthereourfirstcommitmentisprotectingthepeopleandpropertiesandlandintheNorthwestTerritories.Wewillspendthemoneyhesaid.PhotoKellyPennycookENRTheBirchLakerecomplexburnsnorthofFortProvidencelastsummerwherethedroughtcodebrokerecordsafterpeakinghigherthan1000duringtheworstreseasoninhistory.