Cheryl Ashlie has returned as president of the Alouette River Management Society, after ARMS held its annual general meeting on May 2.
Ashlie is well known in the community after having served nine years as a Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District trustee, and six as a City of Maple Ridge councillor. The realtor has also been involved in numerous community groups, including on the board of directors for Community Services, the Ridge Meadows Educational Foundation, and more. She is also a past president of ARMS, and said she enjoys working with the sincere people on the staff and board of directors.
“Everything about ARMS is from the heart. There’s no ego, there’s no political alliances – it’s all about the river and protecting the watershed,” said the new president.
“The work is purposeful, it always benefits the river, and it’s done on a shoestring budget.”
She takes over from Ken Stewart, who had been president since 2020, and said she will lean on the outgoing president as she enters discussions about fish passage with BC Hydro. ARMS has a longtime goal of seeing the utility company build a fish ladder, so spawning salmon can get around the Alouette Dam that has blocked them from traditional spawning grounds since it was built in 1926.
Hydro’s water use plan will be another topic, as ARMS voices its position that higher flows on the river would benefit all aquatic species.
Ashlie said the Katzie First Nation will also be a key voice in these discussions.
As ARMS enters into a renovation for its Rivers Heritage Centre, having raised $100,000 for the project, she said the need for a secure source of funding becomes apparent.
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In the coming year, the group will continue to involve the community in restoration projects, and offer public education activities. ARMS does invasive species removal and plantings in riparian areas that give volunteers the opportunity to drop in and donate a few house of work that “can really make a significant difference.”
Matt Kennedy, who is an aquatic biologist, will step up from director to vice-president. Doug Stranger returns as treasurer.
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