FISS:
HRSEP 199912000 Final Report
Category (Check one) X RWS (Resource & Watershed Stewardship)
HR (Habitat Restoration)
ST (Stock Rebuilding)
Area (Check One) VI (Vancouver Island & South Coast)
NCC (North & Central Coasts)
-?-- FRB (Fraser River Basin)
IT (Yukon Territory)
Organization Name Alouette River Management Society
Contact Name Ross Davies Jennifer Ljunggrcn
Contact Title Watershed Coordinator Administrator , .. Mailing Address- Box 21117 Maple Ridge, B. C. V2X - I P7
:. 467-6401 467-6478 Phone Fax Ait Phone: Alt Fax: ~======::::: 467-0747 465-3893 , I I E~ail [email protected]
Did you receive DFO input on this project? YeslNo
Name ofDFO COnJact(s): Maurice Coulter-Boisvert, Matt Foy,Harold Beardmore, Mike Landiak r
2 Project Title Alouette Watershed Stewardship
Start Date April I, 1999
End Date March 31, 2000
Project Rationale To continue to provide ARMS with a Watershed Coordinator in (problem being addressed) Order to fulfill ARMS' objectives.
Was afeasibility study or pre-assessmen1 done for this project? Yes/No Ifyes, please describe. All instream works were preceded by input and/or onsite presence by appropriate agency staff.
I4ctivSv TVpej
Check all that apply
Inven10ry & Mapping x Stock Assessment x
Public Awareness x Habitat Restoration x
Stock Enhancement x Stewardship/Community Planning x
Other x Specify Partnerships with District ofMaple Ridge staJ!on stewardship and restoration projects. lPl'o;ect Objectives (from your proposal andlor al:l"eement)1
Objective # 1 : Continue to promote community involvement as well as watershed stewardship and agency accountability.
Was it achieved?: Yes - this was accomplished through landowner contact, media, public Yes/No + Details presentations and workshops and broad based lobbying.
Objective # 2 : To undertake various watershed restoration and enhancement projects.
Was it achieved? : Yes - see attached project list YeslNo + Details
3 lPartnershiP.iJ
List and describe the personnel involved in the project. ARMS: Ross Davies (Watershed Coordinator); Jennifer Ljunggren (Administrator); Geoff Clayton (President); ARMS volunteers Janice Jarvis (Stewardship Coordinator, Coquitlam I Kanaka I AIouette) DFO: Maurice Coulter-Boisvert (Community Advisor); Matt Foy, Harold Beardmore (Resource Restoration) MOELP: Marvin Rosenau (Habitat Biologist) Mmlstrvof Attorn,,), Gel\!;ral: Ron MacLean (Fisherieslnstructor, ARCC); inmate labor li.QJjy.!!.ro:_AIastair McLean (Biologist); Alouette ManagementCommittee District of Maple Ridge: Jim Sheehan (Envii-onmental Technician); Kim Grout (Environmental Manager) NorthEl1Is!'LS'!!r!l_QI1_!\ssist~n_ce Pr~~.<;t: Tony Matahlija (Project Manager) Maple Ridge Community Organizations # ofpersons trained 45 # ofvolunteers involved 60 # ofpersons employed 25 # ofvolunteer hours 24,000 person-days ofemployment created 1,000 Is the local community involved in this project? List and describe the partnerships involved We continue to distribute our newsletters to all riparian property owners within the Alouette watershed as well as our general membership. We also inform and educate the community through the media (see Appendix I). Several riparian property owners have assisted us by collecting water quality information from their backyard stream, and also by alerting us to habitat issues. This liaison between ARMS and riparian property owners has enabled us to carry out projects on private land, often assisting the property owner in the process by reducing costs and obtaining the necessary permits. (See examples in Appendix 2) We have also developed a very positive working relationship with the environmental staff of the District of Maple Ridge, and have worked cooperatively on several projects. The Rivers Heritage Center has provided a venue for ARMS to host events such as the Smartgrowth workshop as well as Streamkeeper training sessions. 1PT0jec/ Locationl Complete as fully as possible. (Details - name, code or other) Water body / System(s) AIouette River watershed (including North Alouette) Watershed(s) Pitt River (Fraser system) Nearest Community Maple Ridge Other Geographic 1riformation Coordinates of Rivers Heritage Center below 4 Latitude/Longitude UTM Coordinates 534200 E: 5455000 N !Results/Quantifiable Measure.\l Species Addressed (Check as many as applicable) ·Coho ·Pi"k ·Chum ·Chinook Sockeye ·Other Steelhead, cunhroat Habitat Addressed (Check as many as applicable) ·In-channel ·Off-channel *Riparian Estuarine/Marine Loke Other For Mapping & Inventory Projects: Was your data collected according to the DFO-HEB Info Mgmt. guidelines? (ref Brad Mason) Yes/No Ifyes, was it submitted in digital format? Ongoing project in partnership with District ofMaple Ridge Linear metres ofarea mapped: 16.000 Other: GPS mapping project ongoing; water quality --- For Stock Rebuilding Projects: # Adult Salmon Enumerated: 45,000 (OctlNov 99) # Juvenile Salmon Enumerated: --r127".rro million chum smolts (Mar-June 99) # Salmon marked/Tagged or released: Other: Springfry trapping- various locations For Stewardship/Community Planning Projects: # Public Presentations/Media Releases: _",'6>-_ # Landowners Contacted: 800 (3 times per year) Other: ARMS attended several public events such as Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Home Show and Rivers Day. Together these events attracted approximately 30,000 visitors. For Habi/at Restoration Projects: Fencing: Stream length protected km Stream area (fence to bank) protected sq. meters Riparian replanting: Area replanted @ aaa sq. meters # trees/plants 3,500 In-channel habitat: Stream area restored ( /0 000 sq. meters \" (Gravel placement) Off-channel habitat: Stream area created/restored @a sq. meters (L WD placement) Estuarine habitat: Area created/restored sq. meters Lake habitat: Area created/restored 2,500 sq. meters 5 Fish Access: Length ofstream made avai/able_2...... 2:-:: Ion Area ofhabitat made avai/able;=3"i,~2::..00=- sq. meters Other: Bank stabilization was completed 9 a 750 s are meter debris slide on Millionaire Creek This involved wattle placement and re-p. anti . IProject Descriptiolil Please enler a general project description below. Please include an overview of the methods and techniques used Ifrequired, you may attach an additional sheel. Project StartlEnd Location Personnel/ Project Project Partnerships rationale Methods DogwoodCr. 05/99- Dogwood Cr. ARMS Re-establish Culvert replacement 05/99 Landowner stream access Dis!. ofM.R Coho Cr. 08/99- Coho Cr. ARMS Re-establish Beaver box 10/99 Landowner stream access Dis!. ofM.R A10uette off- 10/99- 210 St. and 132'" ARMS Create access to Culvert placement channel 10/99 Ave. Landowner off-channel pond Tl4 tributary 07/99- 1.0km below ARMS Create access to Modification of stream channel 08/99 Alouette Dam Bowman & stream Associates Hennipen Cr. 07/99- 24400 Fern Cres. ARMS Removal of fish Remove metal flume, restore channel 08/99 Landowner passage barrier Bowman & Associates Riparian planting 01199/04/ Several locations ARMS Restoration of Cuttings, bare root, site maintenance 99 Landowners denuded areas BO\\lDlan's ·1(fusA'P) Balabanian Cr. 07/99- 0.5 km above JUtMS Creation of side Hand tools 07/99 Abernethy Way Adopt-a-Block channel/barrier removal/cleanup Stream inventory 12/99- Blaney Bog and ARMS Map and GPS, trapping, collect bio-physical data 03/00 Silver VaHey Dis!. ofM.R inventory priority tributaries . Landowners streams Clayton Channel 08/99- 4.0km below ARMS Improve flow Install flow diverter 08/99 A10uette Dam Bowman and diversion to Associates channel Millionaire 01100- 1.0km above ARMS Stabilize slide Wattles, other planting, retention ponds Creek 02/00 A10uette area confluence ~~er Dist.ofM.R South A10uette 08/99- 200m below ARMS, Gravel placement Placed 360 tons of gravel at high water 08/99 A10uette Dam MOELP, mark Corrections Beaver Pond 07/99- I km below ARMS, L WD installation Installed 3 L WD structures in off- channel 08/99 A10uette Dam Corrections channel pond 6 IFollow-up & Monitoriniil Please describe the current status ofthe project. Has the problem being addressed been solved? (see "project rationale ") What are the ongoing issues in the area and your recommendations for future work Project Status Future work Dogwood Creek Complete Upstream fry assessment - ongoing Coho Creek Complete Further improvement to cui vert access Alouette off-channel Complete L WD installation in pond Tl4 tributary Complete As per Dogwood Creek Hennipen Creek Complete As per Dogwood Creek Riparian planting Ongoing ID and restore denuded areas - Balabanian Creek Complete Periodic inspection of site - Stream inventory Ongoing Water quality monitoring: 0712000 - 09/2000; GPS mapping: 011200 I - 03/200 I; transfer of existing data to maps - ongoing Clayton Channel Complete Monitor fish presence as per Dogwood Creek; maintenance of flow diversion structure Millionaire Creek Ongoing Seed exposed earth with rye grass; monitor site South Alouet!e gravel placement Complete Substrate sampling downstream of recruitment site Beaver Pond Channel L WD Ongoing Additional L WD installations as needed placement !Supporting Documentatioi1l You may attach additional dacumenlation to illustrate your project's results. (optional) Documentation Attached (Check as many as applicable) x Maps x Brochure x Photos x News clippings Data report x Other Watershed Coordinator summaries 7 \Financiai SummalJ] Please specifY project costs according to thefol/owing categories for the total budget receivedfrom HRSEP. You may also attach further financial statements in other formats. os produced by your group's financial systems. It is not necessary to forward copies ofindividual receipts and invoices. As per the terms ofour Agreement. please retain these in your files for a minimum period ofthree years. as DFO reserves the right to audit all HRSEP projects. Projected Amount Actual Amount Details Wages / Personnel Costs $ 53,500.00 II 44,507.76 Watershed Coordinator, Administrator Transport / Equipment $ 8,500.{)0 II 3,153.74 Vehicle mileage, field equipment 9,000.00 7,387.52 Office operation, telephone, Office / Overhead $ II communications, office supplies 4,000 2,963.68 insurance, other miscellaneous costs Other Costs $ II Total Receivedfrom HRSEP $ 75,000.00 Contributions to the total budget may be from other agencies or in-kind contributions from your own organization, please specifY: Amount Details Other Contributors to Total Project $ 170,000.00 District of Maple Ridge, E,C.-- Gaming:1)FO---- P.!p, Can@!!J'f!Ist. ~iSheries Renewal B.C., ~~M', ~ orrections, Stew. Coord. Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Nouerte Communications.-___ n.· ____. __ . ______Task . ,_.Team, _.' Volunteers for. ARMS, others. 8 BOX 21117 RIDGE P.O., MAPLE RIDGE. Be V2X 1P7 Telephone: 604-467-6401 Fax: 604-467-6478 E-Mail: [email protected] March 24, 2000 Habitat Restoration and Salmon Enhancement Program Fisheries and Oceans Canada Habitat and Enhancement Branch 360-555 West Hastings Street Vancouver, B.C. V6G-5G3 Attention: Angela D'eon Dear Sir / Madam: Please find enclosed our final report for the 1999-2000 Habitat Restoration and Salmon Enhancement Project. Also attached are the following appendices: 1. Newspaper clippings 2. Examples of correspondence with landowners 3. Project illustrations 4. Project location map 5. Watershed Coordinator monthly summaries In 1999-2000, we completed the following habitat restoration or enhancement projects: Dogwood Creek culvert replacement / access barrier removal Coho Creek beaver box installation - Alouette off-channel pond access creation - T14 tributary access barrier removal - Hennipen Creek access barrier removal / channel improvement - Riparian planting (several areas) - Balabanian Creek access barrier removal/channel improvement Clayton Channel- upgrade of flow diverter - Millionaire Creek bank stabilization South Alouette gravel placement' - "Beaver Pond" (Alouette off-channel) large woody debris installation Collectively, these projects either enhanced or made available approximately 75,000 square meters of riparian habitat. -' Angela D'eon page 2 We also continued to gather information from priority streams - this included water quality and fish presence data. We began to gather GPS data through a partnership between ARMS, USHP, and the District of Maple Ridge. In addition to these projects, we continued to provide coordination for activities associated with the Alouette Management Committee, a technical working group that has the mandate of implementing a monitoring program as part of the Alouette Water Use Plan. In 1999-2000, this included downstream trapping, adult enumeration, substrate sampling and temperature monitoring. The Alouette River Management Society continued to provide a strong voice for habitat protection and stewardship (see Appendix 1). We have applied to the Urban Salmon Habitat Program (USHP) to begin a pilot education program in partnership with the Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society. As in past years, the 1999-2000 HRSEP funding provided ARMS with a level of base funding that not only directly funded certain projects, but also enabled us to access additional funding from other sources such as USHP, Fisheries Renewal B.C., Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, B.C. Gaming Commission, and several others. Presently, the stewardship movement is extremely strong in the Maple Ridge area, and we feel that the ARMS HRSEP funding has been a key contributor to this. Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any questions concerning our HRSEP projects. Sincerely, ~' Ross Davies Watershed Coordinator r I' Project Locations 8 I , J. ,. ! (f) :5 co ~ N (1) Dogwood Creek /(2) Coho Creek BRITISH COLUMBIA v'{3) Alouette off-channel pond /(4)T14 tributary " ./(5)Hennipen Creek v'( 6) Riparian planting areas ./(7) Balabanian Creek j(8) Stream inventory j (9) Clayt0I1 Channel ./(10) Millionaire Creek .f (11) South Alouette gravel placement ",/ (12) Beaver Pond Channel L WD placement BOX 21117 RIDGE P.O., MAPLE RIDGE, Be V2X 1P7 Telephone: 604-467-6401 Fax: 604-467-6478 E-Mail: [email protected] January 5, 2000 24085 BOth Avenue Maple Ridge, B.C. Dear SirlMadam: The Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) is a Maple Ridge based stewardship organization committed to the preservation and enhancement of the Alouette watershed. As such, we make every effort to undertake activities that are designed to protect and/or restore fish habitat. An area of concern has been identified on your property. On December 31 't, I discovered that a mudslide had occurred on Millionaire Creek, approximately 50 to 75 meters upstream of the Mill Road bridge. This slide has contributed heavy loads of suspended sediments to the stream on several occasions over the past few weeks. The sediment loads have been of a level that is considered to be detrimental to fish and their habitat. ARMS is consequently seeking your permission to enter your property in order to stabilize this site. Since salmon eggs are currently incubating in Millionaire Creek downstream ofthis site, prompt action is critical I can be reached'at 467-6401. ~~-~ ) Ross Davies Watershed Coordinator BOX 21117 RIDGE P.O., MAPLE RIDGE, Be V2X IP7 Mr. Ken Stewart January 21, 1999 13193216 st. Maple Ridge, B.C. V4R-2S8 R.E.: Potential habitat improvement project east 01210 St. and 132 Ave. DearKeo, During our ongoing riparian planting program in the above-mentioned area, I took note of a potential opportunity to create a considerable amount of off-channel rearing habitat that would be primarily targeted at juvenile coho salmon. At present, there is a large pond approximately 100 meters northeast of the dike access parking area on 210 St. (see enclosed sketch). This pond is essentially cut off from the Alouette River mainstem at all but the highest flood flow. The pond is bordered to the north by a low berm. Immediately north of the berm a channel runs roughly 200 meters to the Alouette River. My proposal would be to connect the channel and the pond by cutting a small (3-4 meter) opening in the berm. This would allow coho to access the pond at any time during the critical overwintering period. The project would be completed by installing a wooden bridge across the opening. This would maintain the existing trail between the pond and the channel. There is also the added potential of installing interpretive signage. I feel that a project of this nature, in addition to adding saImonid habitat, would be a very worthwhile addition to the Alouette dike area in particular and to the community of Maple Ridge in general. I look forward to your feedback concerning this matter. I may be reached at 467-0747. Ross~ Davies Watershed Coordinator, Alouette River Management Society BOX21117 RIDGE P.O., MAPLE RIDGE, Be V2X IP7 Telephone: 604-467-6401 Fax: 604-467-6478 E-Mail: [email protected] August 31, 1999 Slade Dyer & Associates 33219 Brown Crescent Mission, B.C. V2V-2R3 Attn: Slade Dyer Dear Slade: The purpose of this letter is to clarifY the fish bearing status of two streams in the vicinity of the Maple Ridge Business and Industrial Park in Maple Ridge (see enclosed map). I am sharing this information with you in order to assist you with the imp lementation of environmentally sound land use practices near these watercourses. Tributary Ti 0 originates on Blue Mountain and flows due west to the South Alouette River. This stream contains cutthroat trout from the Alouette confluence to at least 0.5 kilometers upstream of256 Street. Coho salmon are present downstream of the Alouette Dam access road. The cutthroat are particularly abundant near 256 Street and can usually be seen immediately downstream of the culvert. The Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) initially documented the presence of these salmonids in 1996. Tributary Til also originates on Blue Mountain and crosses 256 Street about 1.3 kilometers north of the B.C. Hydro right-of-way before flowing southwesterly to the South Alouette River. Fish presence was determined by electroshocking carried out by ARMS in 1996. Salmonids include cutthroat trout from the Alouette confluence to at least 0.5 kilometers upstream of256 Street, and eastern brook char in the vicinity of 256 Street. Coho salmon are present downstream ofthe Alouette Dam access road. Hopefully, this information will be of assistance. If you have any questions concerning this information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 467-6401. Sincerely, ~ Ross Davies Watershed Coordinator, Alouette River Management Society Cc Rick Isherwood Scott Barrett, MOELP Dave Nanson, DFO Janice Jarvis, Stewardship Coordinator BOX 21117 RIDGE P.O., MAPLE RIDGE, Be V2X lP7 Telephone: 604-467-6401 Fax: 604-467-6478 E-Mail: [email protected] October 22, 1999 Wandering Oaks Enterprises Ltd. 23575 124th Ave. Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X-4K3 Dear Mr.and Mrs. Eikelenboom This letter is to acknowledge your recent donation to the Alouette River Management Society. We derive considerable enthusiasm from the support of private property owners such as you. Your cooperation has assisted our ongoing efforts to improve the quantity and quality of aquatic habitat within our community. You have our assurances that your donation will "go directly back into the river." In light of your contribution, we have placed you on our membership roster distribution list for correspondence such as our newsletter. In addition, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about our watershed. Sincerely, Geoff Cia President, Alouerte River Management Society BOX 2111? RIDGE P,O., MAPLE RIDGE, Be V2X I P? Telephone: 604-467-6401 Fax: 604-467-6478 E-Mail: [email protected] January 7,2000 To: Residents along Millionaire Creek Re: Mudslide st You may have noticed several recent silt events in your stream. On December 31 , I traced the source of this silt to a mudslide on the east bank of the stream approximately 50 meters upstream of 130th A venue, Agency staff from Municipa~ Provincial and Federal governments have been apprised of this situatioIL I have also contacted the property owner by letter. This is a fairly large slide and the site, in my opinion, is extremely unstable. Consequently, further silt events are likely until a proper bank stabilization prescription can be implemented. I would like to thank those of you that took the initiative to alert the Alouette River Management Society concerning this problem. This vigilance is encouraged and greatly appreciated. One of the projects that I would like to implement this year is a neighborhood streamwatch program: essentially, a blockwatch for streams. Landowners could have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities, including stream monitoring, restoration, or simply keeping an eye on things. I am interested in any feedback that you may have regarding this. Please do not hesitate to contact ARMS at the above number. Z2/»J~ Ross Davies Watershed Coordinator Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - April 1999 We are well into the spring juvenile salmonid migration. As of the time of this writing, approximately 2 million chum salmon fry had been enumerated through the traps at 224 St. and 216 St. It would appear that the bulk of the chum migration is now complete, and the numbers essentially support last falls' adult escapement estimation of 120,000 fish. Coho salmon smolts began to move in earnest in late April. Other species captured have included cutthroat and steelhead trout - along with a single eulachon! Two float surveys of the Alouette were carried out in April. The first ofthese was conducted by Scott Cope and Scott Decker (fisheries consultants) April 8. The second float occurred April 14, with ARMS, DFO, and Ministry of Environment staff taking part. A total of 135 adult steelhead were observed, which is a considerable increase compared to previous years. The majority of these fish were seen in pools, and there was a firirly even distribution between 248 St. and 216 St. Other fish observed included rainbow and cutthroat trout as well as dolly varden char and several species of coarse fish. Our dark, dismal La Nina winter is finally over. However, there may be a silver lining concerning the Alouette River: the long consistent period of moderate storms and the absence of significant high water events or prolonged freezes (in lay terms, it was boring) appears to have resulted in an increased egg-to-fry survival. This is based on Scott Cope's observations as well as our own. Now, all that these juvenile salmonids need to do is avoid getting trapped behind dikes during the high water which now appears to be almost a certainty. We will likely see tidal influence as far upstream as the 22000 block of 13 2 Ave, and areas such as Blaney Bog and lower Kanaka could be inundated for a considerable length of time. Upstream of224 St., the flood threat on the South Alouette River is not appreciably different than any other year, mainly due to the relatively small catchment area (compared to the Fraser) and B.C. Hydro's ability to spill water to Stave Lake. It may be necessary for B. CHydro to spill some water down the South Alouette. Last summer, I identified a need for a flush flow down the river in order to remove an accumulation of fines between the dam and a point 1.0 kilometer downstream. Two spills of700 to 800 cubic feet per second did occur during the winter, but further investigations this spring showed that the fine material had not been cleaned out. We will have to balance the benefits of a large spill in the upper river versus the potential effects downstream, since the majority of the river was in relatively good shape last summer concerning sediment buildup. My Substrate Monitoring report will be complete in draft form by mid-May. This is the very first Monthly Summary that has ever been written in the Rivers Heritage Center. Weare here and almost fully operational. The flooring installation should be complete by May 7, thanks to a Municipal grant of $3,200.00. We already have our first significant activity planned: that is a Strearnkeepers training session that is scheduled for the weekend of June 12 and 13. We were able to take advantage of the recent move by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and secure a considerable amount of office furniture and other toys, thanks to a hot tip by our Community Advisor. Speaking ofDFO, Janice Jarvis, our Stewardship Coordinator, has also set up shop in our building. Janice was responsible for setting up the Streamkeepers session along with spearheading a coordinated mapping initiative between Alouette, Kanaka and Coquitlam. The majority of the funding for this program would be supplied by Fisheries Renewal B.C. At the same time, ARMS has made an application to the Pacific Sahnon Foundation in order to purchase the required GPS equipment. It looks as though we will receive $10,000.00 from Fisheries Renewal B.C. for the 1999-2000 fiscal from a joint proposal between ARMS and Katzie First Nation. The purpose of this funding will be to provide additional technical and administrative support to the fall Adult Enumeration program. Weare still awaiting word on our applications to the Habitat Restoration and Salmon Enhancement Program and the Urban Salmon Habitat Program. Activities April 1 First ever Board of Directors meeting at Rivers Heritage Center - no fooling! April 1-7 Fisheries Renewal B.c. Final Report compilation as time permits. April 8 Meeting between ARMS, Silver Valley Neighborhood Association, DFO Stewardship Coordinator and District of Maple Ridge. Meeting with Tom Blackbird to discuss FsRBC proposal. On-site Alouette Management Committee meeting at 216 St. April 10-15 FsRBC proposal as time permits. April 16 KEEPS / Haney Horsemen Volunteer Appreciation Day at Bell-Irving Hatchery. April 19 Picked up office furniture at DFO and delivered to building. April 20 Second trip to DFO. mspected proposed stormwater management site on 240 St. Attended property on Dogwood Creek to address landowner concerns about flow reductions. April 21 Meeting between ARMS, KEEPS, Coquitlam Watershed Society and DFO to discuss role of Stewardship Coordinator. April 22 ARMS Annual General Meeting. April 25 Open House at Bell-Irving Hatchery. April 27 Katimavik meeting. Ongoing setup of Rivers Heritage Center. April 29 Gave slide presentation to Burrard Wet Marine Enhancement Society. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - May 1999 Two prominent community events took place during the month of May. The first was Home Show. The ARMS booth was busy throughout the weekend, and over 30 individuals and families signed up for involvement with ARMS. Thanks to all who helped with the setup and running of the booth, including the KEEPS members that assisted us. The second event was Conference 99, which was a large forum intended to bring together volunteers and their organizations from throughout the province. This event occurs every second year. This year, it was held at the Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club in Surrey. The venue was simply superb, as was the overall organization ofthe conference. Smaller events involving the public included coho salmon smolt releases with Yennadon and Harry Hooge Elementary Schools, and the planting of 3 60 cedar seedlings on lower Kanaka Creek with the assistance of KEEPS and the local girl guides. On May 6, I toured the proposed area for the new interpretive trail network with Keith Rogalsky, and also inspected a potential habitat enhancement project in the stream. This project will likely be completed this summer with the assistance of a youth crew through Bowman and Associates. It's only May, but we already have our first habitat project of the year under our belts. This involved the repair of a culvert crossing on Dogwood Creek, where the previous culvert had eroded and collapsed, causing a barrier to fish passage. I pleaded the case of fish stranding to Water Management Branch, and subsequently received Section 9 approval for instream works outside of the usual July 15- September 15 "summer window". I am told that the turnaround time for our application was quite possibly a world record. On May 27 I inspected the North Millionaire Creek culvert crossing at 129 Ave. and forwarded some recommendations to the Municipality concerning the design of a replacement culvert, since the Municipality may replace the culvert this year. Another potential project was identified near Mud Creek, where minor manipulation of a stream could open up a significant amount of habitat to coho salmon. We will attempt to undertake this project this summer. The downstream trapping project is essentially complete for the year. Counts of outmigrating coho smolts have been steadily dropping, and the Fraser River freshet has been causing the trap to backwater through a significant portion of the time. The counts are not finalized, but the chum sahnon counts appear to support the adult escapement estimate from last fall. Elsewhere, cutthroat and steelhead fry began to emerge in early May. Activities May 1-2 Home Show. May 6 On-site meeting at Balabanian Creek. May 9 Volunteer planting on lower Kanaka. May 12 Transported culvert to Ginnell property for Dogwood Cr. project. May 13 Meeting with Katimavik at Rivers Heritage Center. May 14 Coho releases with Harry Hooge and Yennadon Elementary. May 14-15 Conference 99 at Surrey. May 10-20 Wrote draft Substrate Monitoring report. May 19 Culvert installation at Dogwood Creek. May 20 Rivers Day meeting. May 25 Attended property at 13 261 224 St. (North Alouette). May 26 Attended Advocacy Workshop at Clearbrook. May 27 Meeting at Rivers Heritage Center to discuss direction of Ridge-Meadows Watershed Council. Inspection of North Millionaire culvert crossing at 129 Ave. May 28 Attended Coho Creek property to discuss possible beaver box installation. May 29 Walked stream near Mud Creek. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - June 1999 The month of June began on a very positive note, as we received word from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans that our application to the Habitat Restoration and Salmonid Enhancement Program was successful to the tune of $75,000. The primary purpose of this contract is to continue the Alouette Watershed Coordinator initiative. Now that we actually have some loot to work with, we can begin to undertake more watershed projects. I have a number of activities scheduled for this summer and fall, and most of them involve at least partial in-kind support. All of them present opportunities for your involvement. Activity Location Purpose Time frame Participants Access ''T14'' - upper Provide salmonid Mid-July (2-3 Bowman & improvement watershed access to >2km days) Associates of stream Side channel Balabanian Improve off- Mid-July (1 day) Bowman & improvement Creek channel habitat; Associates stream cleanup Access Hennipen Creek Provide salmonid Late July (1 day) Bowman improvement access to 1 km of Katimavik stream Completion of Dogwood Creek Apply clay Mid-late July Volunteers culvert headwall material to (112 day) culvert headwall Benthic sampling Silver Valley Add to existing Sept! Oct ARMS technical * baseline data support Site maintenance South Alouette Care of riparian Ongoing Salmon near McKenney restoration sites Assistance Creek Project, Bowman, Katimavik Site maintenance Clayton Channel Repair of flow July or August Volunteers diversion (112 day) Beaver box Coho Creek Maintain August subject to Dist. of Maple instream pond agency approval Ridge AMC projects Throughout Adult Seasonal AMC watershed enumeration, substrate monitoring, temperature monitoring • detaIls and project scope to be finalIzed followmg a multI-agency plannmg meetmg (see next page) In addition to the above, there are a number of activities that come up from time to time. I will keep you informed as best as I can. Altematively, do not hesitate to contact me if you have a question concerning any of the projects, since it would require the killing of a considerable number of trees to explain them in detail here. The Silver Valley project will become clearer over time, since this will likely become part of a larger watershed technical committee. This committee will be basically "a meeting of the minds" for on the ground watershed issues and resource sharing opportunities. We held our first ever training session at the Rivers Heritage Center June 12 and 13. This involved five modules of the Streamkeepers program. Topics covered preliminary habitat assessments, water quality and quantity monitoring, planting, invertebrate assessments, and stream mapping. Approximately 10 participants from KEEPS and ARMS went out onto Millionaire Creek, got wet, and had a wonderful time. You are probably already aware of the "Development Pennit Area 30" initiative that the District of Maple Ridge has been working on. We will see over time just what net effect this has on development in Maple Ridge, particularly after the Fish Protection Act is implemented. Ironically, our suggestions for improvements and modifications are likely at least partially responsible for Council's recent deferral of this item. Once again, I have continued to be impressed by the efforts ofIGm Grout and Jim Sheehan. Another item of note on the municipal level was the workshop held June 26, involving the District, Silver Valley Neighborhood Association, ARMS, and other interested individuals. Patrick Condon from UBC made two presentations concerning alternative development techniques. One of the major issues that was dealt with during the day was the fact that the existing public hearing process does not allow for meaningful and balanced input from all stakeholders during the development process. We will be following up on this issue in the future. There was a setback at AlIco Hatchery on June 22. Somehow, a trough of Alouette coho experienced a flow interruption over the lunch break, and several thousand of the one year old fish perished before the problem was detected. Hatchery staffhas since discussed a number of possible preventative measures with myself, Janice, John Heaven and Maurice. It is unfortunate, but anyone who has spent time around hatcheries knows that these things are inevitably going to happen. All we can do is try to reduce the risk as much as possible. And finally, we received official word that our application to the provincial Urban Salmon Habitat Program was approved for $21,500. This news was received directly from the Minister under a portable shelter in the pouring rain at Latimer Channel. As in the past, the USHP money is mainly watershed project oriented. Speaking of water and pouring rain - this has been one soggy June. However, we appear to have dodged a major bullet in terms of a large Fraser flood. As of the time of this writing, the Fraser had been steadily declining for several days, and 50% of the snowpack had already melted. Local flooding did occur on 224 St. north of 136 Avenue, where the road was under water for a number of days in June. Activities June 2 Meeting with Stewardslrip Coordinator to discuss alterations to DPA 30. June 3 ARMS Board meeting. June 4 Meeting with Kim Grout concerning DPA 30. June 5 Preliminary survey of ''T14'' near Mud Creek. June 7 Rotary trap removed from Alouette and moved back to ARCC. June 11 Meeting at District to prepare agenda for June 26 workshop. June 12-13 Streamkeeperstraining. June 14 Meeting with AI McLean re: temperature monitoring on Alouette. June 15 Meeting at Mud Creek to address debris torrent situation. June 17 Rivers day meeting. June 18 Meeting at property on Coho Creek to discuss beaver box installation. June 22 Fish kill at Allco Hatchery. June 23 FsRBC meeting at Vancouver. June 25 USHP event at Latimer Channel. June 26 Workshop at Old Library. June 28 Field inspection of south and west portions of Blaney Bog. Update to June Monthly Summary- Nonnally, I would wait until the next month's sununary to report on current activities, but I feel a need to share with you a couple of very important and exciting developments. On July 13, ARMS and the DFO Stewardship Coordinator organized an infonnal meeting involving biological stafffrom DFO, USHP, the District of Maple Ridge, and B.C. Hydro. Tony Matahlija from the Salmon Assistance Program was also present. The purpose of this meeting was to begin to fonnulate a game plan for the Alouette watershed over the next 12 months basically, a "meeting of the minds." The meeting went extremely well and I am confident that this process will lead to a number of watershed initiatives, including ajoint ARMS / District of Maple Ridge stream mapping and classification project. The potential implications for ARMS and this watershed are huge. The meeting also resulted in concise action items for two other projects. Personally, I feel that this is exactly what has been missing from the Ridge-Meadows Watershed Council. It looks as ifthe details of these projects will begin to come together in August. I will fonnulate and distribute a detailed suggested work plan for ARMS to the Board of Directors at the earliest possible opportunity. You may recall the brief presentation from the Bowman and Associates representatives at the last Board meeting. We commenced working with 8 young adults from Bowman's July 13, and we already have a habitat project close to completion. The group has also been researching and planning a native plant nursery for the Rivers Heritage Center. They will be calling the Center home from now until mid-August. To me, this is like the fulfillment of a dream; that is, to see this building functioning as a significant resource for the conununity. It's looks as ifI've stolen my own thunder for the July sununary, but I'll worry about that later. See you at the next Board meeting - or before! Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - July 1999 Happy summer to everyone. This has easily been the most active July in the history of ARMS. One of the more prominent highlights has been the involvement of participants from Bowman and Associates. This group of young people effectively used the Rivers Heritage Center as a base camp over a period of four weeks. During this time, they took part in a variety of activities, both in and around the building as well as out in the field. These included: (1) Access improvement to tributary "T14" This stream originates on Blue Mountain and flows into the Alouette River approximately 200 meters upstream of Mud Creek. Biological staff from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans assessed this stream earlier this year and noted its potential for coho salmon spawning and rearing. Unfortunately, there was a gradient barrier at the mouth of the stream. ARMS agreed to remedy this situation, and this work was done in mid-July by the Bowman's crew. We will follow up later this year by gee trapping in the stream in order to determine if coho juveniles have successfully colonized this system. (2) Access improvement on Hennipen Creek The crew assisted with the removal of an artificial barrier that had been preventing the upstream movements of cutthroat trout for at least the past 10 years. In addition to opening up this access, the removal of the attached weir should help prevent occasional algae blooms in the stream upstream of the work site. (3) Repair of flow diversion at Clayton Channel The diversion structure originally installed by DFO staffin 1997 was repaired and upgraded. A subsequent inspection of lower Clayton Channel showed flow right down to the AIouette confluence - a first for July! (4) Maintenance of planted streambanks on lower Alouette The crew trampled reed canary grass in order to speed the growth of recently planted saplings in the area. (5) Building projects A considerable amount of landscaping occurred during the four-week period. This included placing topsoil and planting grass. In the building, participants were busy organizing newspaper articles, producing a new ARMS brochure, and making canvas hangings. The Bowman coordinator, Gail Finnson, was relentless in her pursuit of donated goods for ARMS. Her efforts paid off, as we received a variety oftools, equipment, native plants, and a nucrowave oven. The Bowman crew also assisted the Hyde Creek Streamkeepers with an emergency on Hyde Creek in Port Coquitlam with the salvage of over 1,000 coho and cutthroat juveniles that became stranded as the stream began to dry up. Elsewhere in the watershed ... tributary Tl received a setback July 20 when I discovered a municipal works crew digging the substrate out of this stream that parallels 216 Street north of 128 Avenue. After speaking to the work crew I contacted the environmental staff at the District of Maple Ridge. It was quite clear that the lines of communication between the District's various departments were not as open as they should be. I am told that the environmental staffhas since July summary - Page 2 met with engineering staff and that a new protocol for ditch maintenance is being developed. Tl was also (again) the target of the dumping of animal remains. I made this putrid discovery on July ll. We are still experiencing the effects of La Nina. I have collected 2 sets of water temperature data from tributaries throughout the watershed. The temperature in North Alouette River is down significantly compared to previous years: "normal" for late July would be 18 to 21 degrees (data collected in late afternoon). This year, we are seeing temperatures of 12 degrees. At the same time, the pH is hovering around 5.9 or 6.0. In lay terms, the North Alouette is still receiving snowmelt. It will be interesting to see if this pattern persists throughout August. A minor habitat violation occurred on Hennipen Creek, where a landscaping contractor apparently thought that the trucking of fill on and off a property was not a big deal. The only problem was that he did this work during a thunderstorm and 20 mm ofrain. Fortunately, I was able (thanks to a tip from a landowner) to halt this sitnation in its early stages, and the silt discharge to the stream was kept to a minimum. I far prefer a diplomatic neighbor-to-neighbor solution to handing things over to the enforcement agencies. Janice Jarvis and I established the Alouette Watershed Technical Committee this month. Our first meeting took place at the Center July 13. The Technical Committee will be an action oriented, hands-on group that will likely become an extension of the Ridge-Meadows Watershed Council. We have already implemented several of the recommendations that came from that first meeting, including the placement of automatic temperature monitoring devices in the South Alouette and planning further monitoring activities for priority streams, including those in the Blaney Bog area. To this end, ARMS has written and submitted a proposal to Fisheries Renewal B.C. FsRBC recently received some extra cash from B.C. Hydro. This proposal also includes two instream projects - a "beaver box" on Coho Creek and creating access to an off-channel pond on the lower Alouette. If we are successful, this work will occur in early September. The monitoring component will nicely complement other field activities such as stream mapping and fish presence/absence that is scheduled to occur under USHP and HRSEP. The Dogwood Creek culvert project was completed. This entailed obtaining a considerable amount of clay material from the Mud Creek settling pond and transporting it to the culvert site, where it was used to seal the headwall. This activity was made possible by the efforts of Tom Saare and Gerry Miller (along with Gerry's truck and trailer.) Of course, it was pouring rain. To me, standing knee-deep in colloidal clay during a monsoon is the true Alouette experience. And finally, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to our volunteers, board members, and everyone else that contributes to ARMS and the river. Whether it is a fisheries project, manning the (outstanding) booth at Maple Ridge Fair, or even stuffing envelopes, you people really do make a difference. July summary - Page 3 Activities July 1 Inspection of Blaney Bog area west of 224 Street. July 2 Habitat violation on Hennipen Creek. July 6-8 Sensitive Habitat Inventory Mapping course at Langley. July 11 Discovered animal remains in Tl. July 13 Meeting of Watershed Technical committee. Installed temperature monitors at 3 locations. Bowman's crew started; gave hatchery tour and slide show. July 14-15 Tl4 project with Bowman's. July 20 Repair of Clayton Channel flow diversion. Habitat violation on Tl (ditch cleaning). July 21 Fish salvage at Hyde Creek. July 23 Meeting at RHC with Mike Henderson ofDFO. July 24 Completion of Dogwood Creek project. July 27 Hennipen Creek project with Bowman's. July 28 Finance Committee and ACTI meetings. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - August 1999 Oh my goodness - is it September already? Read on, and I will attempt to explain where Augost went. This has certainly been one of the cooler summers that I have experienced in my fisheries career on the Lower Mainland, as we are still under the influence of La Nina and probably will be until late winter. The primary effect of this pattern has been to virtually eliminate the prolonged dry period that normally sets up in Augost, and we were doused with Pacific frontal systems on a fairly regolar basis. The end result was that several streams that dry up seasonally maintained flow throughout Augost, and water temperatures were well below normal on all streams. Our busy project season continues. The Hennipen Creek access improvement project was completed early in the month. We also conducted a stream cleanup and minor channel improvement on Balabanian Creek near Harry Hooge Elementary School with the assistance of Maple Ridge Adopt-A-Block. Wood debris and gravel placement is commencing in the Alouette upstream of Alouette River Correctional Center. We provided assistance to a property owner on upper ''T2'' concerning a minor culvert maintenance project. I began the Wolman substrate sampling this month, and to date I have examined 7 of 25 sites. All of the sampling indicates that the level offine silt is increasing in the river, particularly at locations upstream of Mud Creek. In addition, I observed a considerable level of compaction at Sites 23 and 24, which are fairly close to Alouette Dam. Although we will have to remain in suspense until I have completed all of the sites, I strongly suspect that I will be recommending a fairly significant flush flow to the Alouette Management Committee (AMC). Another AMC project is the fall Adult Enumeration program, which is scheduled to begin at the end of September. It will be interesting to see the effect that the 1995 flood had on Alouette fish stocks in general and chum salmon in particular. Fisheries Renewal B.c. is co-funding this project to the tune of $10,000. The AMC is also partnering with ARMS on a temperature monitoring program. Temperature recorders were placed in the Alouette July 13 at Alouette Dam, Mud Creek, 2 kilometers upstream of232 St. (e.g. at my house) and 216 Street. Unfortunately, the Alouette Dam probe was vandalized and consequently lost a considerable amount of data. Fisheries Renewal B.c. also sent out another call for proposals this summer. This was a result of an influx offunds from B.C. Hydro. ARMS submitted a proposal for $7,000 in order to complete two habitat enhancement projects as well as to undertake tributary monitoring. We have not received formal approval yet from FsRBC, but there is every indication that our proposal was successful. August summary - Page 2 Rivers Day is rapidly approaching, as is our Rivers Heritage Center Grand Opening. Both events are scheduled for Sunday, September 26. If you haven't already been drafted to help with Rivers Day, we could certainly use you. There is a particular need for people to conduct hatchery and fish fence tours as well as possibly providing direction to volunteers involved with vehicle parking. If you can do nothing else, at least cross your fingers and make a wish for a dry day. It definitely was NOT a dry day at the mid-summer festival in Maple Ridge Park this August. As the rain came down, so did the attendance. Another gift from La Nina ....thanks to all the volunteers that set up and manned the ARMS booth in extremely difficult conditions. Activities Aug 1 Inspection ofHennipen project. Aug 4 Completion of Hennipen project. Meeting ofFsRBC sub-committee. Aug 5 Tour of upper watershed with Matt Foy and Harold Beardmore (DFO) Site inspection at private property on Coho Creek. Aug? Water quality sampling - throughout watershed. Aug 11 Wrote FsRBC proposal. Attended private property on T2 and advised landowner. Aug 12 Inspected development on 102 Ave.; passed along concerns to Janice and KEEPS. Aug 19 Rivers Day meeting. FsRBC sub-committee meeting. Aug 21 Stream cleanup and enhancement project at Balabanian Creek. Water quality sampling - throughout watershed. Aug 24 Wolman pebble count sampling. Aug 25 Wolman pebble count sampling. Aug 30 Meeting with Guillermo Giannico from Salmon River group. Aug 31 Lunch meeting / presentation with Rotary Club. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - September 1999 The month of September was highlighted by two parallel events on September 26: B.C. Rivers Day and the Rivers Heritage Center Grand Opening. Tom Cadieux and Geoff Clayton officially cut the ribbon (and the cake) to launch our building. The opening was attended by approximately 50 people. Rivers Day took place in A1lco Park as in past years. An estimated 1,200 visitors attended the various booths or took part in the children's fishing and the two bus tours to A10uette Dam. I thank all the volunteers that assisted us with both events as well as the work party at the building on September 25th We simply could not have done it without you. We received official word that our latest Fisheries Renewal B. C. proposal was fully funded. There were 3 activities associated with this proposal: first, a beaver box installation in Coho Creek; second, the opening of an isolated oxbow on the lower South A1ouette; and third, tributary monitoring. The beaver box installation on Coho Creek has been essentially completed while the other two projects are pending. I have completed 14 of the 25 substrate sampling sites as of "press time." I am continuing to observe an overall increase in the level of fine sediment in the river, depending on the site. I will be wrapping up the field component of this project this month and producing a draft report this winter. The fall Adult Enumeration program began on October 1st Scott Resources is doing the field work and will also be producing the project report. The project will be somewhat expanded this year in order to attempt a population estimate of additional species such as coho. To date, the crew has tagged and released 40 chum, 8 pink, and one chinook adult. Pink, chum, chinook and coho salmon all began to appear in the river in late September. It will be interesting to see what effect the 1995 flood had on returning 4 year old chum salmon. If any of you would like to get out on the river with the crew, let me know and I will set it up with the Scott Resources crew. AIlco Hatchery is gearing up for the fall brood stock collection and egg incubation season. The hatchery broodstock collection targets include one million pink eggs. Obviously, there are simply not enough pink salmon adults returning to the South A10uette to facilit.ate an egg take of this magnitude, so the present plan is to obtain the eggs at Weaver Creek Spawning Channel. A second alternative would be to collect eggs from the upper Chilliwack River. However, our plans may be foiled due to a developing situation on the Harrison River. There has been a considerable amount of pre-spawn mortality among sockeye salmon on the Harrison this fall and a disease outbreak may be the culprit. Consequently, the powers-that-be that regulate fish and egg transplants may be a trifle nervous about moving affected fish or eggs to another system. My best advice would be to stay tuned. September summary - Page 2 Activities Sept 2 Rivers Day meeting. Water sampling in watershed. Sept 7 Inspection of Eikelenboom property. Sept 9 Meeting of ARMS Board of Directors. Sept 11 Substrate sampling at Sites 15 and 16. Sept 16 Rivers Day Committee meeting. Inmates constructed beaver box for Coho Creek. Sept 19 Substrate sampling at Sites 6, 9, 10. Sept 20 Meeting at RHC re: grand opening. Sept 26 Rivers Day / Rivers Heritage Center Grand Opening. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - October 1999 It is FINALLY starting to rain in earnest at the time of this writing. It is admittedly not too pleasant for humans, but the arrival of the rain is something of a relief for us "fishy" types, as most of the small streams in the watershed were at typical August levels as of the third week of October. Since coho salmon are now present in the Alouette, and will soon be looking for spawning areas in the tributaries, the rain is a welcome sight indeed. The chum salmon run is at or near its peak. It is clear that the return is very good, especially considering that we are on the 4-year anniversary of the 1995 flood. There is a consensus that the fishing closures on the B.C. coast this past summer paid dividends in terms of small stocks such as Alouette. Pink salmon have been widespread in the river, and it would seem that the species has successfully re-established itself. The return of pinks is being supplemented by transplants from Weaver Creek Channel, where approximately 200,000 eggs had been collected by late October. The disease affecting primarily sockeye that I reported on in September did not appear in pink or chum salmon. Chinook salmon, both adults and jacks, have been arriving since early this month. 17,000 eggs have been collected from Alouette chinook, while an additional 200,000 will be obtained from Chilliwack Hatchery in November. The Scott Resources crew has been busy on the river, both with seining and tagging as well as deadpitch. The other Alouette River Management Committee project, substrate monitoring, is complete for the year. I have not yet organized the data, but my observations indicate that there has been an overall increase in fine sediments, particularly in "run" type habitat. Ironically, the Wolman technique that was used mayor may not reflect this. A workshop was held at the building October 1 where future potential AMC activities were discussed. There was general agreement that chum salmon and steelhead trout should be the two key indicator species, since they rely most on "mainstem" habitat. The Blaney Bog situation continues to be sometimes frustrating, sometimes encouraging, and always interesting. The purchase of the eastern portion of the bog appears to be imminent, and ARMS has submitted a proposal to the provincial Habitat Conservation Trust Fund in order to undertake habitat restoration in this area. There is much potential :- not only for direct enhancement, but also for a future interpretive trail network through the bog. Meanwhile, we have agreed on a partnership with KEEPS to share a technician for several months commencing in mid-November. This will be Lucyna Kresinska, who will gather biophysical data from priority streams including those adjacent to Blaney Bog. The Coho Creek beaver box was installed October 2. The project is essentially complete - I will likely play around a little more with the culvert outlet in order to provide the best possible fish access upstream into the lake. Another Fisheries Renewal project that involved providing fish access into an off-channel pond on the lower Alouette was completed as well. October summary - Page 2 th On October 5 , Geoff Clayton and I toured the development near Balsam St. (Silver Valley area). We were quite impressed with the job that Envirowest had done on the site. Balsam Creek, which flows through the area, has been configured so that the stream should remain wetted through a greater portion of the year. This was accomplished by lowering the stream channel. A considerable amount of wood debris was then added, and ARMS is donating 200 cedar seedlings to the developer. It certainly has been a busy month at the Rivers Heritage Center. The AMC workshop mentioned th previously was followed by the Smartgrowth workshop on October 9 • This forum, that dealt primarily with alternative development techniques, was very well attended. Special tbanks go to Jennifer Ljunggren. who was the main driver behind the organization of the workshop. Janice Jarvis and I held our second Strearnkeeper training course October 15 th and 16th with students from Thomas Haney Secondary. The field component took place on Dunlop Creek (Kanaka tributary). th Our first ever school group (Dogwood Elementary in Surrey) visited our facility October 27 . The students completed two Project Wet classroom activities before touring Allco Park and getting close and personal with spawning pink and churn salmon. It was a very enjoyable experience, and the first of many more. Other news: we re-submitted a proposal to the Pacific Salmon Foundation for the purchase of a high-end GPS unit that would be shared by ARMS, KEEPS, and the Coquitlam River Watershed Society. The other PSF project, which is the upgrade of the hatchery water supply, is back on the rails following a meeting between ARMS, Allco Hatchery, and DFO staff. Activities Oct 1 AMC workshop. Oct2 Beaver box installation at Coho Creek. Substrate sampling at Sites 20 and 21. Oct 5 Meeting with Scott Resources to discuss budget effects on coho enumeration. Inspection of Balsam Creek development. Oct 7 ARMS Board meeting. Oct 8 Minor manipulation of culvert access at Coho Creek. Oct 9 Smartgrowtb workshop. Oct 12 Telephone conference with Rich Chapple (pSF) concerning GPS proposal. Oct 13 Meeting with Stewardship coordinator and technician to discuss ARMSIKEEPS projects. Oct 15 Streamkeepers. Oct 16 Streamkeepers. Oct 19 Inspected Balabanian Creek after rumor offish kill (rumor was false). Oct 20 Posted signage on Alouette at various locations. Oct 21 Pink salmon egg take at Weaver Creek Channel. Oct 22 Sampled Sites 17, 18, 19. Oct 23 Sampled Sites 3, 5, 8, 11, 12. Oct 26 Meeting with Janice, Jennifer and Jim Elliott to discuss upcoming Empowerment Workshop. Meeting with Allco Hatchery and DFO to discuss hatchery intake project. Oct 27 School group to building and Allco Park. Inspected habitat alteration in Blaney Bog. Oct 29 Pacific Salmon Fouodation staff visited RHC and Allco Hatchery. Oct 30 Completion of Oxbow project on lower Alouette. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - November 1999 The most significant watershed issue of this month was the siltation events that occurred in several of our local streams. Of particular concern were two sites on lower Kanaka Creek in the vicinity of the 240th Street bridge. Over the past several months, roadwork and extensive land clearing and alteration had resulted in a huge area of unprotected, disturbed ground. And then, it started to rain. The resulting silt run-off into Kanaka Creek and several of its tributaries was predictable, and unfortunately, in my opinion, largely avoidable, since concerns had been raised with the authorities regarding the potential for problems on these sites as fur back as August. Since space is somewhat limited here, I would encourage those who desire more detailed information to contact either Janice Jarvis or myself, since we have diarized accounts of ARMS' and KEEPS' involvement. Another serious event occurred November 24'" on Latimer Creek, when development of a site south of Meadowridge School on 240'" Street resulted in a release of silt so high that our turbidity meter was unable to measure it. The resulting plume of silt significantly affected the South Alouette River from the Latimer Creek confluence to at least 5 kilometers downstream. I have collected samples from this site and will have them analyzed. At any rate, it is very obvious that this "after-the-fact" damage control is still a major issue in Maple Ridge. Elsewhere in the watershed: I reported a habitat violation November 2nd at a property on 128'" Avenue, where a stream had been channelized and stripped of its substrate and riparian vegetation. A Fishery Officer subsequently attended, and I am awaiting the result. The first controlled dam release of the fall occurred between November 10th and November 16"'. The spill began at 700 cubic feet per second, and was increased to 1,400 November 12th. At the Rivers Heritage Center, we hosted two classes from Meadowridge School November 5"', with a brief look at the hatchery and fish fence followed by an inspection of spawning pink and chum adults at Alleo Park. We also hosted an Empowerment Workshop November 3,d, where representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Ministry of Environment, ARMS and the Stewardship Coordinator (SC) all put their heads together concerning the general future and direction of the SC program and other related issues. And if you haven't heard about the dramatic switch on the local political scene, you must have been living on Mars. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the new Mayor and Councilors aboard, and to congratulate the returning incumbents. As always, there is much more happening than a two-page summary can capture. Please feel free to contact us at the office anytime. November summary - Page 2 Activities Nov 2 B. C. Rivershed at Rivers Heritage Center. Meeting with Katimavik. Nov 3 Inspected Latimer Channel intake. Empowerment workshop at Rivers Heritage Center. Nov 4 Chinook egg take at Chilliwack Hatchery. ARMS Board Meeting. NovS Meadowridge School students to Rivers Heritage Center. Nov 6 Chum salmon sampling in Alouette River. Nov 10 Water sampling at lower Kanaka streams. Release of 700 cfs begins. Nov 12 Release increased to 1400 cfs. Inspected gravel recruitment at Alouette Dam. Nov 13 All-candidates meeting at Yennadon. Nov IS Familiarized technician with streams for water quality project. Nov 16 Release from Alouette Dam stopped at noon. Nov 17 Gave presentation at Smartwood workshop at UBC Research Forest. Nov 20 Attended properties on T2 and at 129'" Avenue. Nov 24 Collected samples from habitat violation site at Latimer Creek. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - December 1999 Seasons greetings to everyone. There are certainly some things to be joyous about on the river. It appears that the South Alouette and its tributaries are experiencing the largest coho return in several years. For example, total coho egg takes at Allco Hatchery over the past two years has been 25,000 to 30,000. However, this year to date the hatchery has 275,000 eggs on hand. All other egg collection is complete for the year, with 25,000 eyed chinook eggs from Chilliwack bringing the final total to 117,000. On December 3'd, Geoff Clayton and I met with staff at the UB.C. Research Forest to discuss, among other things, how the Research Forest could best collaborate with ABMS, other community groups and the District of Maple Ridge in order to facilitate the creation of a "roundtable" involving these groups. We will keep you apprised of the status of this. A very exciting initiative could well be in the works in the New Year. There is a new program called Bridge River Coastal Compensation, in which funding will be allocated to watersheds that have suffered impacts as a result of hydroelectric operations. ABMS has submitted a proposal that, if approved, would lead to significant steps being taken towards the re-establishment of th anadromous salmonids upstream of Alouette Dam. On December 16 , we toured lower Gold Creek and several of its tributaries, and there certainly appears to be potential. You probably recall that we have a number of fish bearing municipal ditches within Maple Ridge. I recently sent Kim Grout a list of possible candidate streams for enhancement works, including the addition of Newberry weirs and the placement of artificial cover over the streams at selected locations. I am awaiting the response of Municipal staff - ifwe receive a favorable response, this work would occur during the summer of2000. We are also entering into a partnership agreement with the District of Maple Ridge where a number of priority streams will be mapped using GPS. Rod Stott will be our field technician for this project. The District's involvement means that we can receive the deliverables of a project worth over $50,000 for an investment of just over $6,000. On the "down" side ... the silt event at Meadowridge School on Latimer Creek that I reported on in the November summary was analyzed at 1,300 parts per million (the accepted limit is 75). Elsewhere, Geoff Clayton and I were disappointed to discover that brush clearing along the Alouette Dam road had resulted in over 200 meters of riparian vegetation being eliminated along a fish bearing Alouette tributary. Efforts to repair this damage are currently underway. If you haven't seen our latest newsletter, you should. They are hot off the press - contact either Jennifer or me. Thanks to Jennifer for assembling a very classy looking document, primarily due to her superior patience with MS Publisher. I think I will stick to writing articles! What will Y2K bring? December summary - Page 2 Activities Dec 1 Inspected development site at Abernethy and 227"' St. Dec 2 ARMS Board meeting. Dec 3 Meeting at UBC Research Forest. Dec 9 Meeting at Rivers Heritage Center with Gary Logan. Obtained riverfront property information from Pitt Meadows staff. Attended Silver Valley Neighborhood Association AGM. Dec 10 Walked Clayton channel. Attended hatchery intake project. Dec 14 Meeting at District of Maple Ridge concerning mapping proj ect. Dec 15 100 mm of rain in 24 hours; North Alouette leaves its banks. Dec 16 Tour of Gold Creek and tributaries. Dec 17 Delivered Chilliwack eggs to Coquitlam and River springs in order to backfill as a result of crew emergency. Silt event in lower Millionaire Creek. Dec 18 Coho adults observed in Hennipen Creek. Dec 22 Inspected unstable slopes in upper watershed and discussed a planting prescription. Discovered riparian vegetation removal on Alouette tributary. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Snmmary - January 2000 It would seem to me that this is something of an historical event - the first Monthly Summary of the millenium. Fall and early winter salmon returns to the Alouette River are now complete. Scott Resources, who conducted the 1999 adult enumeration program, estimate that approximately 47,000 chum salmon returned this year. This is down substantially from 1998, when the chum return was 123,000. We sampled 100 chum this fall for scale aging, and the results were extremely interesting. We found that only about 28% of the fish sampled were 4 year olds - this is down from the south coast "norm" of 70% to 80%. Last year, similar sampling showed very few 3 year olds. To make a long story short, our data clearly indicates that something happened in 1995 - and the first thing that comes to mind is the 1995 flood. We also obtained scale age data from coho salmon this fall, and we found that just over half of the fish that were sampled had stayed in fresh water for an extra year prior to migrating to the ocean. One possible theory is that the combination of the 1995 flood followed by a relatively cold winter in early 1996 led to a temporary shortage offish foods in the tributaries as well as the main river. This could have resulted in juvenile coho needing two years as opposed to the usual one in order to reach "smolt size". The December 17" silt event in Millionaire Creek that I reported on in December was traced to a mudslide upstream of Mill Road. I have met with the property owner and the government agencies, and we have designed a site prescription for the property. The work will occur in February, with the assistance of the North Fraser Salmon Assistance Project. On January 12'h, we met with B.C. Hydro staff at the Beaver Pond channel to discuss various strategies to mitigate December's vegetation removal along the stream. Re-planting is scheduled to be completed by early March. Another problem occurred on the B.C. Hydro road in early January, when a small slide blocked the feeder stream for Clayton Channel. A crew from Alouette River Correctional Center was able to remove the debris and restore flows the following week. Two other field projects are ongoing. The first is the GPS mapping project that is occurring by way of a partnership between ARMS and the District of Maple Ridge. The second is the water quality and fish presence monitoring that has been underway since December. The next major field activity will be the South Alouette juvenile enumeration program, which is set to begin in late February. As in past years, January has been a month of proposal writing. We have submitted major proposals to the Habitat Restoration and Salmon Enhancement Program as well as the Urban Salmon Habitat Program, with the types of proposed activities essentially similar to previous years. One change for this year is the addition of the pilot education program to the USHP application. We will be applying for additional funds later this winter and spring, both to complement HRSEP and USHP activities as well as obtaining funds for the Rivers Heritage Center and its operation. If you wish to view any proposal in detail, contact either Jenny or me. January summary - Page 2 Activities Dec 31 Inspected lower Millionaire Creek and determined location of mudslide. Jan 5 Meeting with Rod Stott and Janice Jarvis concerning mapping project. Jan 7 Attended habitat alteration on 256th Street. Jan 8 Slide in feeder stream to Clayton Channel. Jan 10 On-site meeting at Claytou Channel with ARCC staff to discuss repair options. Jan 11 Telephone conference with Carol Lamont concerning Bridge River Coastal. Jan 12 On-site meeting at Beaver Pond channel with BC Hydro to discuss re-planting. Jan 13 Attended property on Alouette at 228th St. to discuss tree retention with landowner. Jan 18 Traced ongoing silt source on Bosa Creek to gully above 248th St. Jan 19 Organized placement of beaver fencing on 256th St. upstream ofbeaver pond project. Jan 21 Telephone conference of Alouette Management Committee. Jan 24 Meeting with Rob Knight concerning USHP applications. Responded to report of chemical smell on Clayton Channel. Jan 27 Planted willow at private property on Latimer Channel. Watershed Coordinator Monthly Summary - February 2000 Spring is just around the corner, and chum salmon fry are now beginning to migrate out of the Alouette River. On February 25th, we installed fry and smolt traps at two locations: at 224th Street, two incline plane traps are fishing, while a rotary screw trap is operating immediately downstream ofthe 216th St. bridge. The trap operation will be supervised by Scott Cope of Interior Reforestation, and staffed by two technicians. Additional support will be provided by the North Fraser Salmon Assistance Project (NFSAP). The contribution of the NFSAP is very welcome; in fact, we quite likely could not have completed last year's project without their assistance. The NFSAP was also active at the Millionaire Creek slide that I reported on in January. The crew placed "wattles" (live willow fences) along the face ofthe slide, then created a series of silt ponds on the toe of the slide. The toe area was then planted with willow whips as well as salmonberry. The project will be completed in March with the placement of grass seed on all exposed earth. I would like to thank the District of Maple Ridge for their donation of filter cloth, stakes and sandbags for this project. Two potential field projects were identified this month. On February I, Janice Jarvis, Jim Sheehan and I inspected a historical side channel ofthe South Alouette that could be rewetted as mitigation for a previous land use activity. On February 12, I traced a plume of silt on Hennipen Creek to a property on 12S1h Avenue, where the landowner had been crossing the stream with a tractor. I spoke with the landowner and secured a verbal agreement where ARMS would install a proper crossing of the stream. This project would occur during July or August 2000 subject to agency approval. We have suddenly become a very popular destination for students that wish to undertake watershed research or school projects. A Kanaka Elementary student is writing a report concerning sedimentation of streams, and we are also working with a Douglas College student as well as a BCIT student. Other watershed activities in February included a volunteer planting event on the lower Alouette with the SP ARC group; a reconnaissance of McKenney Creek in preparation for a joint ARMS / Adopt-a-Block cleanup; and the streamside re-planting at Beaver Pond Channel. February summary - Page 2 Activities Jan 28 Sent proposal to Mountain Equipment Co-op (landowner contact and education) Inspected 256th St. area for potential willow and cottonwood salvage sites. th Jan 31 Inspected property on 128 Crescent after landowner complaint about activity on the site. Feb I Obtained willow stake materials with NFSAP crew. On-site meeting with Jim Sheehan to discuss possible side channel project. Feb 2 Met with Kanaka Elementary student to discuss school science project. Feb 3 On-site at Millionaire Creek with NFSAP crew. ARMS Board meeting. Feb 4 Meeting at RHC with Chris Hillier from Comox Valley. Feb 5 Found dump site on Mill Road - contacted Adopt-a-Block. Feb 6 Reported habitat violation on Vincent Creek - Whonnock tributary. Feb 7 Submitted plan to District for habitat complexing in ditches. Road access public meeting at RHC. Feb 8 Meeting at Kanaka to coordinate volunteer. Feb 9 Planting event on lower Alouette with SP ARC. Feb 10 On-site at Millionaire Creek with NFSAP. Feb 11 Meeting with Richard Bussanich from Rivers Inlet re: Alouette fence design. th Feb 12 Silt event on Hennipen Creek: traced problem to property on 128 Ave. Feb 14 Reported on minor silt event in Tl; reported to Jim Sheehan. Feb IS Inspected repair work on Clayton Channel diversion. Feb 16 Updated authorities about South Alouette property on 128 Crescent. Inspected 240th St. near Kanaka Creek; passed along concerns to S.C. and KEEPS. Feb 18 Met with property owner re: gas bar proposal on Dewdney Trunk Road. Drafted submission for public hearing concerning same. Inspected traps at Research Center and prepared them for trapping project. Feb 21 On-site meeting at McKenney Creek with Debbie Wilkinson to reconnaissance future stream cleanup. Feb 23 Allco Hatchery operations meeting at RHC. Met with Lucyna and Sandra to discuss progress on stream inventory proj ect. Feb 24 Submitted funding proposal to Shell (native plant nursery and riparian planting). Feb 25 Installation of traps in South Alouette River. Feb 29 Mapping Task Group meeting at RHC. I \ Figure 1: Off-channel pond on lower Alouelle (right). This pond was previously inaccessible /0 salmonids. Figure 2: This culvert was installed on order to apen the pond to overwintering salmon ids. Figure 3: Gravel placement area in South Alouelle downstream ofAlouelle Dam. Adult coho were observed spawning in this gravel in December, 1999. Figure 4: New wood structures at the Beaver Pond project. Figure 5: Volunteers planting on lower Kanaka. Figure 6: Latimer Channel. Wire caging was supplied to area landowners in order to proteci streamside trees from beavers. Figure 7: Culvert installed on Dogwood Creek. This created an off-channel pond and enabled salmonid access to over 1.0 km a/stream. Figure 8: "T14 " tributary to South Alouelle, 1.0 km downstream 0/ Alouelle Dam. Channel manipulation provided salmonid access to this stream. Figure 9: Beaver dam and blocked culvert on Coho Creek. Figure 10: This beaver box was installed on the site in order to solve both the flooding and salmonid access problems. Figure i i: This ditch on 224'" St. is 0 tributGlY to Anderson Creek. Investigations by ARMSfound that coho salmon use this habitat extensively. ARMS is proposing to undertake habitat complexing in fish bearing ditches such as this. Figure 12: Blaney Bog, north Maple Ridge. The area in the foreground has been the subject ofan affempt to purchase by way ofa multi-agency partnership. ARMS and other groups have actively lobbied for the protection of this area. Figure 13: Muds/ide on Millionaire Creek. Bank stabilization activities were carried out on this slide in Februmy, 2000. Figure 14: Water diversion on Clayton Channel. Bowman and Associate participants improved the diversion, which provided summer flows to the channel. Other maintenance has included the removal ofa small slide (this was done by stafffrom Alouelle River Correctional Center.) Figure 15: Janice Jarvis (Stewardship CoordinatOl) and Debbie Wilkinson (Director, ARMS) assisting with chinook salmon eggtake at Chilliwack HatchelY. 1999 was the fourth year for egg transplantsji-om Chilliwack to Alouelle. Figure 16: Floating fish fence on Alouelle River at Allco HatchelY· Figure 17: This flume on Hennipen Creek was removed by participanls ji-om Bowman and Associates, and the channel was restored, both 10 re-establish access and to solve a recurring "oxygen crash" problem in the upstream pond !I!J!Im :...IUmi ~ ~ : it. ~ Si ...... -~ ...... ";,: Figure 19: 1999 Rivers Day event at Alleo Park. Figure 20: Rivers Heritage Cel11er. "," , InaKersoll,me yea. " ' : .. -' Clayton ,and ARIVIS fipi~h' ~u~y',yeari~ It is a sign of the iictivist way", but3lso for Sustain,'--oarid stiPpOrtirig 'events like Meanwhile, November While' ",fusirig to ,N e i g h b 0 u rh o,,-d times in which we, live iIlM arid qilaiitY l8l\d use.' ,',Rivers DI\Y which are dedi- saw ARMS backiri the endorse any, Candidates, Association, proveaio be when a locill environrnen-,ARMS st.3rtedtlui year~' 'e3t¢dtO the conservation , spotlight when the group ,the ARMS aU-candiqates ,one of the ,most ,foCussed W ,group , cah command', with a bang ,~hen'{jlil,ytori 'and"fuihaiicernimt of B.C:s '" playedan'~ve rol~ in, the' meeting, jointly sponsored . imd well-attended ,meet almost as much ntediacomplained to, B.C. Parks , rivers. , , ,'_"';'''' muruclpal election. ',with" ,.the; Silver ,Valley irigs of the, c,ampaigit .. ,.':': ; attention -lislocillpoliti-' 'that excavation 'Work at a:"'" 'pei-hapsone of::A'RMS":;""":', '''", " , ' ' , ... -':~---.-~. clans. ' ~yelpit 'if\GOlden' Ears croWning ,achieveihents, But that's what the envi-,provinclaIpark'wa.,'cau&-' "howevei',c~treq,around ronrnenW" watchdoiF'mg some silt to:C!oud the ':tiie'sep~bei"opirung,of group the AlouetteRiver' Alouette River. ,,~O:"'ltS"~~ivers' Heritage , Man"gernent Society, man- ,":'iTh'e'piit~":agency inve8;' , Ei\1,icauoii. it~:;;'llrId;: age>; to do monti! in aria'~anQth!!Pifw~per" -,';CommiiniCation~:C~~,,:!, m6nthout ,: t'·:, , mariently shU(~:ft waS'Siti#tiia:;ou~de:"of,j;'h~;/ Led by president Geoff ;~etermm.~,tliew.qr~.was "'Ald"et.te','·'; '!.X~Rive( Clayton; watershed cooidi-~;J.oo;eiMrOnrnentaUySeiisic ' CorreCtioria!Cenfre;i:,the~; nato: ,Ross Davies' ~d,,>tf~!l- , ,,',>t~'/'; -: ~ iri~retive ,ceritii\:#I,:~:'i adri1inistrator ,Je'!PY"~;;!:;-o,:pupughpllt :,'-S"' ,1999,: ed w -be u5e r--... '-V :" Friday, September 10, 1999 ne\NS PHOTO CONTRIBLITEO An overhead view oj tM Blaney Bog area at the north end oj 224 Street. Group stirring,:interest in saving Blaney:'Bog The president oC the "Even if the three levels uthere will be no question Alouette River of government are succes w of us losing our environ Management Society is ful in their purchase of the ment." calling on conservation Aquilini package, there are Added Clayton: "ARMS agencies and foundations smaller packages that still is·pensively looking to the to help finance the pur have to be purchased to <:lay when we can enhance chase of lands necessary make the protection com the front portion (of the to protect the entire plete," Clayton said. "We're bog) adjacent to 224. St. by Blaney Bog. still looking for further reconnecting the old feed Geoff Clayton said funds to in order to secure er streams that ran while all three levels of Blaney Bog." through that area and government have Both the GVRD and' therefore expanding the expressed concern for the Maple Ridge district have aquatic habitat." protection of the bog, it made cash and other com will be necessary to have mitments to purchase and other agencies involved to preserve the bog, but no completely protect the commitments have yet wetlands north of the been made by the B.C. gov 13600-block of 224 St. ernment. The majority of the bog Clayton said the munici lands are owned by the pal, provincial and federal ,-\quilini Investment Group governments have to Inc. Although appraised, accept the fact that at the (he land's value will not be rate Maple Ridge is urban released until some pur~ izing in some of "the wilder chase options have been areas," that if conservation discllssed. measures are not taken, Preliminary deal in Blaney Bogt.alks . . . be 'Ched " 'd Gill, director of . mental treasure. The ann IS to'not only pre- By KARIN .. MARK . . deal cart.. rea. 'ansaId .protectIVe' ...... :: . serve the. bog .from development," but to R cotpOtate planning ~ STAFF EPORTE~ .' vices; ,_'",f.",", . ": ': .. ;. -".:: .ril3ke it.an environmental, recreational . Adeal that would preserve Blaney Bog The ,.'. ,;,po.,d.;.;usirn be and educational resoun:e- . IS WIthin Slgbt. . P . .' . '.' .:. 'GeOff Clayton, ,president of Alouette A verbal agreement In. '. was River Management Society, said the group' reached this week in •. , is excited abOut .the prospectS but doesn't Maple Ridge and .'. wail, to get its.hopes up until the:deal .~ which o~ ,:,os~ of. signed. ". . .' _.. <\: The mUJllqpalitylS. '. ',.'''We congr.>tulate eyeryone outhe goOO. ::.' plan to pun;hase the ..workthat hits ~ done on itt.he 5ai4.;:· to ptotecUt from . "We're certainly' encournging peop)e".io; lnvestInen", had .,move.-forwardart~ we certainlY'give,llie:.-' an of its . ,'outgoing councili:red,it for bringinj: -it tb,is i er the .- -"faiIolWal.U. ".:. !",l/,:'':;'!'-'. : . ,;'\~'~:,~~.. {:_;_!.: put them '·.COun. eanCjireGorrlon said she~~I60k,:r the municipality's ;c. i,:ing forwoIdtil theruCcessfui compl<;tioli~f' talks, ... . ''''>, ..... " . }",1he.deaL "ReallY,'.)t's~ch awond~", "I left that meetirtg.very.hopiiful that a the::'bi>i;~: arVin:. ,n.. :".,' ;,,~~n::.' '.::>-" ',- ~~.:~.:;i:~::':e,~)~.r .: ~.:::.~ , . . ':"'; . ... "... Dffel!madiifJI~Dllirl8Qft~laDD!,"-. .- --'.f ..... ~:.::.:-::.. ; .:"";''., ;,~;,~~: ;)[:jB,~ :-:·:~'~".,:~;'-':--~'~·~~~~..:.'-~':;:-7't.t:~~~"(:~J:;~:~"1T:":::'--.l .. Ji;<'.''f;-7::'.~",;.!~;<;;::",:~{; ...... ,i~'!:~~.{';t .. :,•. ~. " ,'.,::; .. .. JoanneMacDOnald .. 'all land.'~;m~t:be';;;.'; By KARIN MARK sian to sell the land. STAFF REPORTER "I think first of all, the public: sentiment is Mayor Al Hogarth said Thesday he feels cem- that loss, . ... 'o' , ••• fortable with the agreement, providing no more The educationaiaspect'of·the.bog is also changes are introduced, Now, all parties ..irnl'0;tant,·.:CIayt,on .~o~; .. Supernwker,<,,_taP. involved will have to sign off on the tenns' and ~terand. ele.Ctricity·.insu)lite hllJlUUl!i ®@ the conditions before the Jan. 31 deadllne, .envjronmei!t'tci'.the 'poinr:tliarwe often forget The 27B-acre Blaney Bog, located at the north :.. ounei.ti9nship .With. the anin:tals,'plar>!S'~'ruid cnd of 224 Street, is the only documented bog" ·micioorganismS: .. ···,::c;.l.. :",,;:. :; !:.:-' .. ,;.;~\. ren wetland system in the.Lower Fraser Valley,·,··!fhis.bogcan,beeome·our·way.back;4n·the According to the municipality, its four different furure, to Wlderstanding. ;hose 'basic tenets ecosystems - riparian, marsh, fen and bog - are which will !Jerome critical to· the earth's sur· overlapped by sensitive transitional zones called vival/' he said. . ·.·.::-···r::' _.,.~.;-.-<., . :~.;~' . " Tuesday, June 29. 1\J~~ SERVING MAPLE RIDGE AND 1~lll MEADOWS The Times 13- communitY Flow of funds streams into KEEPS' coffers JoannelVlBcDonald. - of Fisheries ana Oceans, the Alouette River Management unteers, who've worked to restore and enhance the TIMES STAFF REPORTER Society, the Bell-Irving Hatchery, biology students from aquatic habitat of the Alauette River for several years, Thomas Haney Secondary, and local displaced fIsher and have also lent their expertise to several KEEPS pro A local environmental group has its work cut out for it men, who will provide a combination of people and sup jects. this year, after receiving a windfall of funding to make an plies to the project. "You can't say enough nice things about working with inventory of fIsheries data and traln volunteers and stu The Pacific Salmon Foundation, has also committed ARMS. We're luckY that we've had them here for a num dents in streamkeeping activities. $4,500 to KEEPS, which will pay for two fully-loaded ber of years as proponents of the 'Let's slow down and The Kanaka Education and Environmental streamkeeper tralning kits. The foundation is a federally take a look around here' attitude," Smith said. "With our Partnership Society will receive a $10,000 .grant from incorporated, non-profIt charitable organization dedicat projects, there will be ongoing training and public educa Fisheries Renewal B.C. to map and document fIsheries ed to the conservation and healthy growth of Pacific tion and trying to document. and share information in and habitat data, using volunteers and tralned fIsheries salmon stocks. ma:a.l[ ways. " technicians. Dave Smith, a representative of KEEPS, said The organization works with the MELP and DFO to some streamkeeping tralning has already started, which foster salmonid enhancement. consists of teaching community members how to protect In addition, Smith sald and restore aquatic habitat within the Kanaka Creek KEEPS also plans to use a watershed. . . portion of the overall . Part of the funding will be used to produce a Kanaka funding to produce a regu Creek stewardship guide for creekside property owners, You can't say enough lar newsletter about the said Smith. The guide would include historical informa nice things about Kanaka watershed, with a tion about Kanaka Creek, including a'discussion about databas~ of information to the glacial action that created the Kanaka. It would also working with ARMS. be collected. at1h¢ hatch focus on such topics as the different species of fIsh Dave Smith ery. which have inhabited the creek; maps of nearby trails; ON ALOUEl'l'E RIVER "The inventory study and the various plants, trees and local wildlife in the MANAGEMENT SOCIETY will focus on the lower watershed. Kanaka, from 240 Street to "It will also have a section on KEEPS, and how people C.C the riverfront, because it's "'w" 'I;'J{ ",'" ., :;::':.>, ::an get involved as one of our partners, n he said. ,:r;:r~,:i:"t.."f;i., ~~ the largest area for poten ~",,,,,,,,~,;,;:.t~.ll1l '"' ~;_;,~ The inventoryproject is expected to be wrapped up by tial development in the l1arch, 2000, and will also see the group receive in-kind next fIve to eight years," Smith said. "That was.the major lonations totalling $45,800 from nine different partners playground for steelhead and we also had pinks in there. lVer the length of the project. The partners include But we haven't had steelhead there for about 10 years, RIVERS DAY SEPT. 26 Visit the new Rivers Heritage Centre This year's Rivers' Day festival Sept. 26 will have one more thing to celebrate - the opening of the Rivers Heritage Centre. Although in use for several months. the new Alouerte River Management Society building will be officially opened at the com munity's annual celebration of its rivers. The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at both Alleo Park . ""d the new centre, at 24959 Alouette Rd. (accessible by a grav e:! road adjacent to Alouette River Correctional Centre). A shuttle bus will also trapSport event-goers from Garibaldi Secondary ar 248 Street and Dewdney Trunk Rd. The family event will fearure bus tours to the hatchery dam, children's activities, displays and exhibits, and food. The theme is . Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Sharing the Water. The official Rivers' Day ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. in near· by Allco Park. It includes introductory remarks by ARMS' officials and Kame Chief Peter James, a blessing by Willie Pierre, guesr speaker Mark Angelo (chair of the B.c. Rivers Heritage System), and comments from municipal, provincial and federal dignitaries. The Rivers' Heritage Centre will be open for tours throughout the event. Built entirely through donations. the interpretive centre is a model for education, advocation and coordination of water sheds throughout the province. It's also a community training cen· tre for ,streamkeepers, students and other environmental groups. More than 25 local groups will also. have displays, include B.C. Hydro, ARMS, the department of fisheries, the disnict of Maple Ridge, Maple Ridge Museum, Adopt-A-Block, B.C. Parks (Golden Ears), B_C. Wlldlife Watch, BeU-Irving Hatchery, Greater vancouver Regional District Parks and KalZie First Nations. Food will be provided on-site by a number of sources. The Simon Pierre Longhouse Society is holding a sahnon barbecue, the Golden Ears Kiwanis dub is providing a full concession and ARMS is selling hot dogs and soft drinks at the Rivers Heritage Centre. GVRD Parks is coordinating children's entertainment and hands- [\\,~.. , ,. ' The only 'nenled ~-stream-fen ~ I)iIjlin the Fraser loIviand<; located on thenorl!i6i&d of2241h. Peat in the bog ,grows ~a rate o~:g~2t\lllI\jie!iyear taking thousands of A : ;~IOXdf1l.C~llogsholdabout 15% of the oorld's UlIaecornp6Scil orgaruc carbon while forests only 8%. When ~ ixlg>releasecarbon dioxire and methane gas back into the atmosphere that contnbJes to global warming, Sphagnwn moss can hold up to 30 times its weight in 1Wler. This becomes acontrolling factor in the rurrounding w.umhed. The absence of oxygen in a~ and theextreme~ acidic conditions of peal stille thegrmAh of1:a;:taia~b1e foc&:cay. Pea!IaIXIJ-mI! pOOml . . in the living ixlg> as essential to~_ some of the most spectarular fonds in an:haeology, including a ., ...:' ~"living carpet that covers the peat Blaney Bog ~classilied aia remarkab~ well-preserved man in Denrnarl<, 3000-year-old . '. :.mound ~ and ~ currently the only one categorized as'Such'or blocks of chefse in Ireland and ment spxinm of pollen, pianls, . .' this lower Fiaser DeIIa'Th~re is yettobea fijll'>lI'ii!?l1[l1>n[al boaIs, and lII2JXXlI. Beg; hold ra:ooi<; of our paltand are presently MtayCOOlpIe!ed in lhisareo, 00I1\e~ evcrrrea9:ii0,o;lle\e, habitat for rare speties such as sandhil cranes and bog olthids. .: therewiIJ be " uni . \ant<; thriVing there that \\\Ji.JId befcWxi . , ...... asacanY-<1Ierrr:m~~agethatiereib.leto,~arx!gicw,. Beg; are~and must not be funned out of existma:. Blaney , '. ". in the}cidic nutrient·poor-wet condilioni9rBl3fe~~9g .. Bog maY be converted into aaanbeny furm if not protocIed 1l(I,>I. You have the opportunity to secure this ecological iewel for our Woricing ~eJOO- ~ can save Blaney Bog Sha.v;Ul· ': :'. <. future. . . conl3:ting)'QUI municijl1i C( p~ representatives. En::o . .•. tbemtogro,vinlhis~~:~" :•• ~::.:" .. , .... ~~tj:" ;:'~('., [;r%~~~·:·,~ii ~ For more information, ",'. ';0 ••,-:.~"._ ,Yo~2 call theAlouetteRiver Management Society at 467-MOI 7A'e. 7 ;M~~-S9 -' , '.' "," , ...... , " ,'",." , '-'." , , ,/. "" '. . ~ . , ,'...... ;...- . . ';,""om;;,' 'ir"""llMlti Frlday, @ctoben ,'4999 r SS6,vjJ""",,,';'P.IL= I'.' E .... '/' :.: _•... -.. -.~.," --:: .• ;'"-:. ~:... ~ ..--::::'_-7:":'!. ... ~~:" .. ):;:.':.w.:.- .. :... : .. ~_:~~~~,.." w:l ' .• -:-.::'-":' ·'-YrJ:-.- ~.:. Worhshop::deals.···· Two local watchdog that enhance'the' q':!~ty'or ' . Edu,cat.!on . and groups are co-hosting a life. in.. cp.IJt!n'!nLtie~~)\ll~r~ •• ,C0l1)l!\iIrllcation Centre at workshop Oct. 9 which will . serve' e,~ol.o~~Il!,( lIjt~~W.~·i!~9J!~AI9.uette Rd. from IO . offer ways to build commu-.· .. andsave:money.!,/.n,g tel'!!\:·:~l:~I1);'W:,~,P.m. . nities that are: livable and .'The .goalds to;.l1mlt·,·.•. :.:.-(·.-;.· •• ·. '>.-' ecologically sound. urban sprawl ·8.lld save tax- '.: ...... The workshop, entitled ·payers .·money: ',develop" . Smart Growth:. Building Inents th'lt, conserve . Livable Communities for ·.-,:i-~spurces· :__ ~R$~... ,.l~~~t:.~d;.· - Ecological and Economic' increase .:propertY:.·yalues·. Health, is being sponsored .\vhen··coi)lpared ,Wiilt-:eon"" by the Alouette· River ventional:.sprawLdevelop;.. , Management So"dety and 'ment,~:say~ the releaSe: '.:- :' .. the Silver . Valley "'The "go81' of the' work- .' N e i g h b our h 0 '0 d shop is tQ'share exllIrlples ot Association. The grciups are good urban development teaming with the Eco- and'to drum up support fcir· Research Chair of the new orgaiJizaiiori, Smart, Environmental' Law and Growth B.C. >- ... , . ... Policy at the University· of . The ;"cirkShcip ~free'and Victoria and the West Coast' expected to last- two to Environmental Law three hoUrs. Association. Jenny 'lJunggren" of Workshop participants ARMS said local councillors will see a multimedia pre-. have been invited. to. the sentation which outlines the workshop, as 'welHis )'I!pre:. smart growth -: techniques sentatives from·v~ou.S_goy.:~ already being used by some emment agencieS,tlie:UBC. local govemments·arld com-· Research -For~ti .and: the munities.thr6ughout B.C. real estate-lndustry... ::",;, .. p .. . The presentation· will . Although :the.'work!lhop,,:" also address the oppoituni-is'free,Iduriggrenw!>UIdlike:: ties for smart growth under 'anyone.who,pl8.llSto::~9:" the current urban and suD, the workshop to coritact h~r:. :. urban development model. at 467-6401 o~ by e'miIilat.':: According to . a press' . [email protected] release from ARMS, smart • The workshop.• will"" growth refers to land use . 'take place.Satutdjly, OcI:;-9:" and development practices at' the '. Rivers!.·: Heritiig~ , '; ~'; .,...... -...... , ...... _-." ...... _". __ ", _.~_,, __ •• ·,_."'__ ._.·.,_.. ·.·,_8 •. _.·.-,.· :- 1:·:':',;;:- ":-" "It's a home for ARMS .-.\~... We want t() make it and ultimately will be the place the public can the headquarters for come anytime for advice River centre stewardship about development and initiatives. the envirorunent, n Davies said. "We want to make it Ross Davies the headquarters for stewardship initiatives set to open at .,. on the north shore of the Fraser River. " ·-·'.-~~i1-:~':":~~:',; . The centre will offi cially open Sunday at 10 a.m. at 24959 Alouette Road, next to the Alouette River Correctionai Centre. Everyone is welcome. Rivers Day Following the ceremony, the Rivers Day celebrations will include a bus tour to the Alouette Dam; children's JoanneMacDonald fishing at the ARCC hatchery; booth displays by local TIMES STAFP REPORTER stewardship and environmental groups; and a salmon The grand opening of the Rivers Heritage Education and hot dog barbecue. and Communication Centre will highlight Sunday's annu The Rivers Day ceremony is scheduled to take place at al B.C. Rivers Day celebration in Maple Ridge. 1 p.m. at Allco Park, with keynote speaker Mark Angelo, The Rivers Heritage Centre is the headquarters for the .... chair of the B.C. Heritage Rivers Board~ Alouette River Management Society, a local group dedi- . B.C. Rivers Day is designed to increase the public's cated to watershed management and stewardship of awareness of current issues surrounding waterways, pro local streams and rivers. . vide education about heritage rivers, and teach stream Ross Davies, ARMS watershed coordinator, said the stewardship skills. ~!J n opening of the centre means the group will now have an opportunity to "do a lot of things we couldn't do before." ...... "'.0.'-.~'-.:._,_~~ ~ 21.~~~ ...... "We would like to see kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 come through and learn watershed management and stewardship techniques," Davies said. "If I have my way, there won't be a kid in School District 42 who won't know the basics." The centre is already being used by such groups as the Ridge Meadows Watershed Council, and will be the loca tion of an upcoming streamkeepers' workshop. ARMS is also in the process of setting up a native plant nursery, Davies said, which will eventually be open to the public. Workers ~\"(.'rl? sported SCt(ill~ nets across [Ill' Alollcnc !{j\-~r near 227 Street on Monday mOnllng. ing part" By KARIN MARK Project technician Steve Mc/)onil!(: <;~h STAFF REPORTER the crews will be out on the rh"~r ~:~n;: Workers can now be seen daily along eight hours a day for the next [\\.r, mor-:::~: the Alauette River counting chum salmon The work includes [\VO pilns: c"!!("!~::, as they return to spawn. fish with a large seine nel ,ln~: :;;:~";:;:: Fish returns on the Alouette have been them in the lower pan of [he r:\"~;': ;;:: tracked since 1996, when B.C. Hydro then counting them on [he SPfl\';~:;: agreed to increase water flows from the grounds further upriver afler [hey::.:'.' Alouette darn to the river. died. "It's kind of a mine canary of river After pulling a net"full of salmon [() :~ health," explained Ross Davies of the beach, the workers use a [(lg~in:;a hox [. Alouette River Management Sociery. painlessly attach a silver rag 10 lh~ !~~:1 .::: The count focuses mainly on chum covers. The aim is to ti1g as m;-!ny il~ p'~5-' salmon - the river's most prevalent fish - ble, or about 10 per ccnl of fhe [m~!: :~.::~ but will also involve other types, such as The proporrion of ragged [0 \!!llil~p'\ pink, coho and chinook. fish are noted during dH' clCild";-I\'.( Most of the returning chum are four counts [0 dcrclminc lhe size r,!" lh,~ :-.':' years old, with about one-quaner three The crew CutS [he deild fish !!1 h"i:" ,::','2: years old. Rerurns of about 70,000 were ward [0 (lvoid counting :~l(,:1: ",;:~!:- estimated in 1997 and 120,000 in 1998. Davies said rhe deCld fish ;11"l' i.:,;": :~,;;~,:: ''This year, we're not sure what we'll see to provide "CI l"Cally good nurri.:r:r ~»..:: :-. because it's the fourth anniversary of the (he river"" big flood in 1995," Davies said. Relatively low rerums h,j\"c h~~:: ;..;;'::. Hydro provides funding for the Alouette since the coum started F~:Gi\·.. :"'. Management Committee, which kicked in McDonald si'lid (he work \';i!~ ~L'r'"",::" about $28,000 towards the project. The more hecric in larc Oc({)lv,', ,l:~(: ,~,"< other $10,000 came from Fisheries November" Bv i'lbOllr lllid":'\O\'L';~)h[':-. :::,-,. Renewal B.C. of the ragging will be c:ompll'lcci fll1(: 0;;: Scott Resources, which was hired for the dead fish coums \\'ill renlHin. the project, is providing' two of its own McDonald nored with a laugh rh(!, ,j'. employees and has hired two Katzie Fi", smell of rorting fish along rhe river C."!;l :' Express your views bye-mail: [email protected] LETTE'RS... ,', :", • ,-<' ", '.Renewal projects ·~~t_v;r@Yi~~eC1.:, . .: '1:;"' . ,-, ;." i:) -:";', r' ,~' V leVel;,with.a. ConsiderabJe amount' . . .- -' .. :--''';:-',i>~;{~:',;.-: . '" :i'·'. y~, :·,IhI~g.?;t:h~ .. s).~D.#1ug.Jri~~9fl:,:; - ~:::E~=: process, the delivery partner group ~\~;'2' appro.ved a hwnber of,projects that/iri my: at. the:c~!~~}:,~\!·~~:'~~_E;:~~r~.~~=~~~ ., .'- SERVING MAPLE RIDGE AND PITT MEADOWS Friday, June 25, 1999 River funds' keep flowing Dennis Streifel, B. C.'s Minister of of the Smith Alouette River, which is .' He said within one week 200 adult Fisheries, is scheduled to announce controlled by a ac. Hydro dam at chum Sa!rnon had entered the chan funding for the fifth year of the' , Alouette Lake. .nel to spawn. Urban Salmon Habitat Program After additional inspections by Since the channel's upgrading, today. DFO staff, ARMS embarked, 'on a Davies said USHP funding has Streifel was expected to make the campaign to convtnce local Ian down enabled ARMS to conduct riparian announcement at Latimer Channel ers to' agree to the .flows betng planttng tn the area, and matntatn on the Alouette River, at the north brought tnto the one-kilometre chan access through beaVer dams tn the . end of 240 Street. nel, which was entirely- on ,private lower'l;hird of the channel. Latimer Channel is one area land. . The amount Of Streifers funding which has benefitted from funding With funding from the. USHP, announcement was not released by from the USHP program for about ARMS was able to coordtnate and The TIMES' presstime Thursday. three years. corrtplete extensive consultation . Davies said some of the ARMS' Ross Davies. watershed coordina between ARMS, ,property owners and field programs which have been tor for the Alouette River the district of Maple Ridge. funded either jotntiy or tn whole by Management Society, said it was tn Davies said ARMS secured the 'the USHP tnclude: 1995 when support. staff foi-fthe landowner approv3.l by S~ptember, • water quality m6nl'toring; Department of Fisheries and Oceans 1996, and DFO staff then tnstalled a • landowner contact; first identified an opportunity to pipe and valve at ,the head of the • riparian restora"tion; open up flows tnto the side channel channel to bring tn river flows. • 'habitat restoration projects. Friday,cOml11uni-tY April 30, 1999 Municipal grant floors river centre District of Maple Ridge to donate $3,200 for work on river centre located on the South Alouette. JoanneMacDonald TIMES STAFF REPORTER The district of Maple Ridge has pledged to contribute funding to finish the floor at the Rivers Heritage Education and Communication Centre in Allco Park. The interpretive centre is operated by the Alouette River Management SOCiety and opened unofficially in lale !\olarch. A.RMS administrator Jenny lJunggren and watershed coordinator Ross Davies work at an on-site office at the centre which is located outside the Alouette River Correctional Centre. On Tuesday, council passed a resolution calling for $3,200 to be provided in the district's soon-to-be-intro duced 1999 adopted budget as a contribution to cover the cost of the centre's flooring. The resolution noted the centre will serve as the com~ munication centre to the early warning flood alert system for the South Alouette River in coI\iunction wtih the B.C. Hydro and A10uette Communication Task team. ARMS president Geoff Clayton has said the centre's ofnciai opening will take place at a later date when the centre has received mOre fmi.shing touches. He said Wednesday the news of the district's donation was "great." - .. -, ,.. ,- :":~_.!;'_: .. :".:~ .. ,~t~-·;.:,;' "lVe thoroughly appreciate the municipality taking a sland on this. It's for a community-based organization \\'orking on community-based initiatives," Clayton said. ARMS' long term plans for the centre include using it for educational purposes, offering stream keeper training, 'L> \\'ell as providing a classroom-type setting that can be rellu.. 't! OUl. It will be open to residents, school groups and LOul'i~ls. realUre displays about local rivers, and provide l',L'$Y at'C:l'5~ to the nearby AReC fish hatchery. SERVING MAPLE RIDGE AND Pin MEADOWS The Times 3- ~ -vu~ 8/9.9 New role ·'orhead ·01 watershed types of things the council wants JaIVi.?' position, which she's resentatives, and the Fraser JoanneMacDonald to TIMES STAFF- REPORTER deal with," she said_ held for only a few months, is Basin council about the future of The watershed council is a fund\!d by Fisheries and Oceans the watershed council. Janice Jarvis wants to. help neutral forum for addressing Canada. She's responsible for "Basically the feedback I've redefine the direction of the issues affecting the sustainability assisting industry, First Nations, gotten from participants is that it Ridge Meadows Watershed of the Alouette and Kanaka community and stewardship (the watershed council) lacked Council. watersheds. groups, and government agen direction and needed some tight Jarvis, the recently hired Members include representa cies effectively prevent habitat ening up," she said. Among some stewardship coordinator for the tives from the three levels of gov damage. of the issues to be addressed are Alouette, Kanaka and Coquitlam ernment, Katzie First Nation, and She also aims to promote sus "municipal policies and how they watersheds, said when the coun buSinesses. Local groups such as tainable use of water and land affect fish habitat," she added. cil was fonned in 1993, members the Alouette River Management resources. • The June 17 watershed were focussed on 'local water Society, the Kanaka Education Jarvis said she's in the process council meeting has been post flow issues. and Environmental Partnership of polling the different steward poned until various issues have "Now I think it's time to refo Society, and the Silver Valley ship groups "to see what's upper been addressed. The date of the cus, and look at how we want to Neighbourhood Association are most in their minds," but also next m.eeting has yet to be deter proceed in the· future and what also involved. plans to talk t.u government rep- mined. , - '~,.o;r.;'~~'j 1 "',.- ,~... -;, , .' '-: -' , ... _ ..,,,,",,~ ,--;:-.-'" ~.~ ------ · ADoP'f-A-STREET 1lA..f. /Lt;JJ5 4ft/et? Litter control program aims to help the public understand EDrroa, THE NEWS: . offenders who have corn.IDunity hours to are finding that in a number of cases part. Re: A bureaucracy for volunteers (The serve by providing' work assignments and nerships are developing between corpo News letters, Sep~ 1). supervisionJ and maintains a close link rate sponsors, service· clubs, schools and As president of Adopt-A-Block, I am with Communities in Bloom. youth groups, and lack of fimding will not responding to Jan de Zeeilw's letter. As ~ de Zeeuw points ou~ Adopr-A prevent anyone from adopting a street. Yes, we do receive a municipal grant of Block has introduced a new program ~ de Zeeuw states that be placed a $15,000, down from the $2S,OOO we called Adopt-A-Stteet. This program call ·to Adopt-A-B1ock . that was not received until two years ago. The grant involves aa:epring respollSlbility for a sec retwned. We strive to retun\ calls prompt helps pay the salary arid expenses of one tion, usually at least two kilometres, of ly, but in this particular case we were full-time coordinato~ some of the high-traffic thoroughfares in unable to decipher the voice mail mes The coordinator maiiltains amtaa with Maple Ridge, which in moSt cases are not sage:. We did phone ~ de Zeeuw.!'fter our volunteer network of more th3n 200 . presently receiving attention from Adopt reading his letter, but he infonned iJ he people, which is made up of people like A-Block volunteers. Each of these 10 to 12 was not interested in hearing more about "Sue the postmistress" plus service clubs areas wi!I be identified by two signs, one at Adopr-A-Street and organizations, visits schools to teach each end of the section adopted. I hope this clarifies soine of the points the importance of litter controL organizes TIle reason for the signs is primarily to raised by Mr. de Zeeuw, and will result in cleanups in problem areas; provides ensure that the public knows that litter more Adopt-A-Block voiwueers. For more cleanup support for municipal fimctions conttol is by volunteers. which. may cause infonnation. feel free to coniacc coordina including Mountain Festival, Maple Ridge someone to think. twice before: thrtiwing tor Chelsa Meadus at 463-9699.. Fair, the Santa Claus parade, tQ say n.oth garbage into the streets. The $SOO referred. ED WHITE ing of last years B.C. Summer Games. to covers the cost of signs, installation, i'REsmmr the coordinator also works with young equipment and cost of garbage pickup. We MAPLE RIDGE AooPr-A-BLOCK 50aETY Encouraging stewardship of the community EDrroa, THE NEWS: We heartily endorse the sigo program Program suggests mat this is an extremely I am writing on beha1f of the Alouene mat Jan De Zeeuw memioned in his letter modest sum considering .me effort mat is River Management Society in order to , since we feel that public awareness and required to coordinate volunteers on a sus eXpress our suppo" for Maple Ridge vigilance is me most effecrive defense rained basis. Adopt-A-Block against ilJegaJ dumping such as (he repeat ARMS considers the Adopt-A·Block pro In our opinion, any iniriarive that ed discarding of anim The Times is published by NowfTimes Group Inc. at 22334 Selkirk Ave. Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X 2X5 choice words Katimavik is working Editor: their pleasant and courteous nature. I would like to take this opportunity to express These qualities, along with their sense of humor, the appreciation of the Nouette River Management have made the group a delight to work with. A Society toward the local Katimavik crew and their group such as this w.ould be an asset to any com coordinator. munity. This group of young people has taken part in a To the present crew, which wiII depart in early variety of activities in Maple Ridge during the past May, best wishes. To the new crew, welcome several months. abo~ud! During this time, I have been particularly Ross Davies impressed by their hardworking attitude as well as Alauette River Management Society '71'vi /UUJS JUiti51 d~ /999 Caring for creeks EDITOR, THE NEW"S; I am prompred to write after reviewing the two recent sub missions in "Radio Free Haneyn that both dealt with the "E.nviro-Police". II ~ unfortunate rha[ rhese property owners were rhe targets of their neighbours over what I asswne co be land use practices on [heir properties. Since pan of the mandate of the Alouette River Management Society (ARMS) is to provide stewaniship ad,;ce [0 riparian property owners, a cal! to ARMS could.pre venr these sortS of neighbour vs neighbour dispures. If you would like some help wirh your stream or riverfrunt propelty, please call ARMS at 467-6401. The advice ~ free, and we are here [Q help. Ross DAVIES WATERSHED CooRDINAl'OR AI.ouIme.RMR MANAGEMENT SooErt MAPLE RIDGE _____ uP____ -%------n A/~ a""I}2e7..9Y Government's habitat performance rated By SANDY MACllQUGALL YCClr of their locaJ office by the same 8S always but mal hasn'l environmenral bonding bylaw Clayton 5~id the crew was NEWS CONTRIBUTOR Ministry of Environment, happened and we're nor ger- and for irs watercourse proeec advised by Ross Davies, ARMS Maple Ridge's environmen Lands and Parks, it's tion measures but he also citi· wa[e~hed co-ordinaror, thar raj perfonnance is gerring bet· been difficult to get cized the district over its failure mey were working within a rer and the province's is gerting anyone ro respond "It's been ro commurucate the message fish habitat area and they worse, says local srreamkeeper to these matters out dijJiJ;ult to to all of its employees. should stop. The crew appar Geoff Clayton. here," Clayton said: An incident that took place ently continued to work, Clayton, executive director The provincial get anyone July 21 on 216th Street north despite Davies' warning. of the Alouerre River government closed (at B.C. of 128th Avenue points out the Clayton added that the ditch Management Society, had both the local conserva need for better communica is fed by a spring of unknown praise and aiticism for the tion and habitat Environment) tion, Clayton said. source but is considered impor recent perfonnance Maple management offices to respond" Municipal employees were tant. Ridge. He also issued a sting last year. but assur cleaning out the ditch mat runs 'The overgrown grass helps ing criticism of me provincial ances were given - Geoff Clayton along the east side of 216th. keep the water as cool as IS government over last year's that enfo.n::emem The ditch eventually drains degrees Celsius when water in closure of the local conserva would continue at the same ring the coverage," Clayon into the AIouette River and the open ditch is 30 degrees," tion and habitat management leveL said. was identified in a stream Clayton said. offices. "We were promised that per Clayton praised the munici sl)ldy by ARMS as a saJmonid Clayton said it was disap "Ever since rhe closure last sonnel would be available the pality for putting forward its rearihg watercourse. pointing because there are past examples of excellent munici pal communication and co operation on the same ditch. "Sometimes ifs frustrating and it seems like we've made no progress and that they (the municipality) haven't got their act togethez:." he said. Clayton intends to ask the municipality to restore and enhance the ditch that is iden tified in the ARMS stream clas sification study as T-I, an Alouette tributary stream. ")L..J,,·~I~ _ • Jiul"us ~'" - IV is forev f)~' Uu.\s l)(JJ'ies I.·;C.IJ.S. Jlllla.llll',1 ("uordi/lil/or l(c·~",::ti,. thc Slaff and president of the .\ ;~lL!,.'tl~ RI\·l.'f \1anagcmcnt Society '.\,.'!";.' :lSh:~U lO atlcnd a meeting of a '",'.1' I,utary Club, :'~:!jl!!I~!r t"~ll'CS uroullu the room during lhl." 1..:.\(l.:llent lunch that was provided to ',!::.. iL u(currcd [Q me tila[ we are truly :0I'1Un,"" here in Maple Ridge to have such :! ~lfong and diverse base of community :1!1I1(kJ grours, organizations and individu.als. filer" aI''' ex"mples everywhere - Adopt-A-Block, ,,"-t,I'S. Home Show Society, Silver Valley individuals who \ciehbourhood Association, the list goes on. All of these make it a habit of regularly glancing at a stream en·route !'''''Ille hm'" turned their passion for th~ir community to work or school. ' "tlv a continuing drive to make it a better place. ARMS has often been able to react quickly to habitat l,l!k,·til'elv. this is in my opinion one of the primary or water quality problems as a result of having these f,"'tvr; that has enabled Maple Ridge to retain its small eyes and ears in the community. Others may choose to :UI'll reel ,\nd it also lends itself beautifully to stream take this monitoring component further by becoming .ini.! ... ., :ilcr!:iilcd stcwardship .. familiar with the techniques used to assess water,and \t .-\R\lS. \\'c are often asked, "What is stream habitat quality. To this end, ARMS occasionally offers )i',·\'. :::·d:-,hip·.1 How un we do it?" Stream keeper training, in which volunteers are taught F;.:n;.:p:"l thl...' bL'~1 way to explain it would be to cite some how to monitor or enhance either their backyard stream iVl":I: ,-·.\:lmrdL'~. or one in their area. r'ur lfhl(Jl1L'L', lhl..!rc is an older gentleman that 1 have Sometimes stream stewardship doesn't involve-beilig _10:-i;.;'-., l.:d un :)~\'eral occasions in the vicinity of the near a stream at all. A friend of mine, who lived on.Cntio, _ -\lllllellC dikes, This person has taken it upon himself to Creek, explained the "Suds Sunday" phenomenonh'vi'te,:e'; ~:::!;:1.::1f1. :i :-;l.:L't ion uf the riparian corridor by controlling nearly every sunny Sunday led to an inevitable parade, :h,' ,,, .. ",;I'C Ilir""la),all blackberry that would otherwise of soapsuds from car washing entering stonm drains and " :1f('\ ,-'!It till: growth of native vege(ation. subsequently Coho Creek. . rk,., ,; ,tI;ll the Slltdclll from Yennadon Elementary If there were a concerted effort to keep this runoff,aUts,_, .\ lh) h:l:-i bL'gun to monitor water quality at her riverfront source, the gains in overall water quality would'R~ . lruPCrtl', [loth or these individuals have essentially immense. The point I am trying to make is thatthe>'-' !d~\p~;,'J ~l :.I...'Clion 01' a stream and have made a pursuit of watershed health is the responsibility ofthe,' :un,miIJlh.:nl [Q wutch over it and care for it. More entire community, and there are opportunities for any6;;~:~ mpul'lalllly, they realize that streams, rivers and lakes in the community to make a difference. Whether,we l;j(~'t); lelllllg to the community - not government agencies, it or not, we are all caretakers of our land'and:i,yate:ij&!~ fhl; "ccurred on an immense scale in 1995 and 1996, and it will be our children and grandchildrenwho,wfIl< ",hell pressure from the community played a critical role inherit the results of the job we do today. ' .-,, :owan.ls securing thc present Minimum Flow Agreement. Rivers Day is September 26. River care is forever. \\'atershcd stewardship can take many forms, The most ):I:iIL' k\'cl is the \\'utchdog function provided by Environment's popular:~~~~ so is oaving to save it EDITOR, THE NEWS: presenr trends continue, we Re: $3 million without a ref may soon find ourselves in a erendum (The News leners, biologically empty world. Jan. 19). Diversity will not be possible. Lome Riding: Where were because when populations faU you when we were urging that below certain numbers, the town core project (with a branching cannot occur. projected $65 million dollars Thus we may look forward cOSt to taxpayers) be subject to ro sharing the planet with a referendum? It is obvious smaller. lesser life fcons such that furure vision is not your as fungi, molds, silverfish, bee forte! tles, mollusks, mites, rape Saving Blaney Bog is sup worms. rarweeds and dande ported by people of vision, the lions. And let's not forget our same people who "yelled" we invisible little friends, (he don't need city hall, a police microbes . . stadon and court. house, or· a In our man-made world of : theatre in the core. Ho'w "naI1lV computer technology and plan'on genetic engineering we . increasingly tend to play God. . Will we ever feel a twinge of .. regret for what was lost? M. ZWAAL MApLE RIDGE Bog purchase designated funds . Coyotes continue EDITOR, THE NEWS: to be a problem I would like to provide some EDITOR, THE NEWS: clarification to some of the People are constantly can· points Mr. Riding raised about cerned because of me precari the purchase of Blaney Bog. News files ous status of the sandhill There is a reference made in Blaney Bog: a resting place for juvenile chinook. crane, and I am no different, as the lener to the new council's sQme 15-20 years ago a group role in this land acquisition. stocks, but also for critical dum. of us organized me raiSing and Acrually it was the previous Lower Fraser stocks such as He worries about paying for release of 20·odd sandhills. council that completed the Harrison River chinook, which someone else's (conservation) majority of the legwork. For are known to use the Blaney dream. He cannot understand It was an interesting and this they should be applauded. Bog area as a refuge habitat why there is no outcry. Well enjoyable project, although I am uncertain of its overall suc There is also an implied sim . while migrating as juveniles to maybe, just maybe, the public ilarity between the Blaney Bog me ocean. approves. This small area con· cess. I know young birds were issue and referendums on And as for "cost recovery", tains five separate ecosystems. successfully reared as we had sportS fields and theatres. This we have certainly seen the It borders the larger area of the me great joy of having a pair is apples and oranges, since reverse of that over the past USC Research Forest, which is rerurn to the farm (Coniagas) the funds that would be. used few years, as our multi-million· a pius. . one fall with twO young. for the Blaney Bog purchase dollar salmon industry has The worldwide human pop In fact, interestingly enough, are specifically designated for plunged into a shambles. One wation explosion is causing the adults returned without that type of purpose only. I can of the primaty factors has been increasing numbers of plant the young one day, I guess to only speculate why, as Mr. the relentless loss of habitat, and animal extinctions. check things out. To our sur· Riding pointed out in his letter, especially in the Georgia Basin. Habitat fragmentation and prise they turned up the neX! the proposed Blaney Bog pur· The only hope of ever turn· destruction, combined with day with one young and the chase has generated little pub· ing this around will be through natural pressures, is pushing following day with two! This lic opposition. During the last forward·thinking, proactive spedes to the brink. Humanity pair, at least, we saw for a few Official Community Plan initiatives such as this land grudgingly sets aside tiny, years and we even managed to review, an Angus Reid poll purchase, and by having neigh· unconnected nature preserves seduce into our new residence found that environmental pro bouring municipalities follow· that cannot sustain large·bod· on the south side of the South tection was the number one ing the Maple Ridge example. ied plants and animals and Alouette, when we moved imo issue for more than 90% of Ross DAVIES cannot maintain genetic our new house. those surveyed. Perhaps this WATERSHED CooRDINA1OR integrity. However, as much as habitat public sentiment has remained ALotJETI'E RIVER "So what," you say. '~n't is very important, the biggest unchanged since then. MANAGEMENT 5ocrF:rY . major extinctions a natural problem is the coyote. There As for "plans on what do do process?" Yes, but in the past are so many of them that next," the Nouette River Support for bog nature (God?) could stay prospects for the sandhill rear Management Society has sub ahead and create new life to ing young are ever-diminish· mined a proposal to undertake is only natural replace the old. Because then it ing. Even me local popularions habitat assessment, restoration EDITOR, THE NEWS: was nor being paved over or of mallard are affected, for the and enhancement activities in Mr. Riding is worried. The plowed unde~ at a dizzying same reason. Not to mention rhe Bog in the evem of a suc former NPA councillors p'~:e, by, one dominant species. deer, which are also takin~ a cessful land purcllase. Our b:::.C'kprl ;lnri rho ""'P¥O'>~~ ~-"- Gpeen gpoups leap Pin mine size gpowing JoanneMacDonald transported by trucks on logging increased from 10 to 35 years. operating timefrarne. TIMES STAFF RBPOHTER roads, before being shipped by "It's now considered that they're "A lot of facts wilt come out barge across Pitt Lake. trying to open up the whole area when the government review The Pitt River and Area Environmental groups are wor for gravel extraction." Clayton said. process (of Ihe Mainland applica Watershed Network wants Maple ried activity at the mine could dam "But PRAWN doesn't want anything tion) starts," he said. "It's a matter Ridge council to make a formal age fIsh habitat, andlor drain water to go ahead whatsoever." of looking at more detailed infor appeal for a full environmental from the Cougar lakes. They'd Mainland's owner Laurie mation to see if there's any differ assessment of the proposed gravel asked the provincial government Carlson refused to comment when ence between the approval of the mine in the Upper Pitt River Valley. for a review of the mine's plan contacted by The TIMES. old mine application and the new PRAWN is appealing to Maple under the B.C. Environmental Ted Hall, the southwest regional one." Ridge council due to mounting con Assessment Act, but the mine per manager for the Ministry of Energy However, he aclmowledged cerns that the application for the mit was issued before the Act came and Mines, said he believes the there is an existing Land Act mine, to be undertaken by into use and is out application for the licence of occupation which was 10 Mainland Sand and Gravel of side the assessment mine is still for 22.5 years' in duration, and which is up Surrey, lias increased in size. office's terms of ref hectares, but noted for renewal in 2000. PRAWN is a coalition of groups erence. Mainland has been Ringstad said he's currently opposed to the mine, and includes ARMS president asked to provide waiting for a technical review com the Katzie First Nation, Alauette Geoff Clayton said want anything to go additional informa mittee, composed of provincial and River Management Society, Burke he's approached ahead whatsoever. tion about the pro federal representatives, as well as Mountain Naturalists and others. Mayor AI Hogarth Geoff Clayton ject to the govern any municipalities that want to get The proposed mine would be asking council to ment involved, to detennine whether located on a site in the Upper Pitt become involved PRESIDENT, ALOUBITE "My understand Mainland has provided enough River Valley near Olsen Creek, a because PRAWN RrvER MANAGEMENT ing is the company information to the government so tributary of the Upper Pitt River, "has reason to SOC1SI'Y will release a pro they can decide whether to and belo\'{ lakes Cougar 1 and believe that docu ject development approve the application. Cougar 2. ' ments currently cir plan that will Prior to that decision, Ring.st:ad A permit to allow a gravel mine culating through update the applica said, there will be a thorough "pub in the area was originally issued in government min- tion, II Hall said, lic consultation process," with 1990, but the mine was never built· istries show that there has been an adding he's not aware of any other information about the project to be The Miniscry of Energy and Mines increase in the number of hectares changes to the Mainland applica displayed on the environmental is considering new operator to be used by the mine and the tion. assessment office's Internet web MainJand's application to have the timeframe in which it will operate." Meanwhile, Nonn Ringstad, the site, and distributed to local existing pennit switched to its Hogarth could not be reached project director of the environmen libraries, and to local groups like name. If a permit is granted, it for comment by The TIMES' tal assessment office's mining sec PRAWN. But no decision will be would allow the Surrey company to presstime Monday, bu~ Clayton tor, said he spoke to 'PRAWN repre made on the Mainland pennit until extract 300,000 cubic metres of said PRAWN has heard the mine sentatives Friday about their con the completion of the public con gravel each year, which would be witt increase from 25 to 33 hectares cerns, but said he's not aware of sultation process "and that's some crushed and screened on site, then in size, with its operating peri!?d any increase in the mine's size or time down the roact" he added. JuesddY, JUJlU ;!~J. I ~.JU!J il:jf SERVING MAPLE RIOGE AND PllT MEADOWS The TImes- 13- cornmun Flow of funds streams into KEEPS' coffers JoanneMacDonald of Fisheries ana Oceans, the Alouette River Management unteers, who've worked to restore and enhance the TlMES STAFF REPORTER SOciety, the Bell-Irving Hatchery, biology students from aquatic habitat of the Alouette River for several years, Thomas Haney Secondary, and local displaced fisher and have also lent their expertise to several KEEPS pro· A local environmental group has its work cut out for it men, who will provide a combination of people and sup jects. this year, after receiving a windfall of funding to make an plies to the project. "You can't say enough nice things about working with inventory of fisheries data and train volunteers and stu The Pacific Salmon Foundation, has also committed ARMS. We're lucky that we've had them here for anum· dents in streamkeeping activities. $4,500 to KEEPS, which will pay for two fully-loaded ber of years as proponents of the 'Let's slow down and The Kanaka Education and Environmental strearnkeeper training kits. The foundation.i{; a federally take a look around here' attitude," Smith said. "With our Partnership Society will receive a $10,000 .grant from incorporated, non-profit charitable organization dedicat projects, there will be ongoing training and public educa Fisheries Renewal B.C. to map and docwnent fisheries ed to the conservation and healthy growth of Pacific tion and trying to docwnent. and share information in and habitat data, using volunteers and trained fisheries salmon stocks. ways." m~any', , technicians. Dave Smith, a representative of KEEPS, said The organization works with the MELP and DFO to some strearnkeeping training has already started, which foster salmonid enhancement. consists of teaching community members how to protect In addition, Smith said and restore aquatic habitat within the Kanaka Creek KEEPS also plans to use a watershed. portion of the overall . Part of the funding will be used to produce a Kanaka funding to produce a regu Creek stewardship guide for creekside property owners, You can't say enough lar newsletter about the said Smith. The guide would include historical informa nice things about Kanaka watershed, with a tion about Kanaka Creek, including a discussion about database of information to the glacial action that created the Kanaka It would also working with ARMS. be collected· at ·th~ hatch· focus on such topics as the different species of fish Dave Smith ery. which have inhabited the creek; maps of nearby trails; ON ALOU= RIVER "The inventory study and the various plants, trees and local wildlife in the will focus on the lower watershed. . Kanaka, from 240 Street to "It will also have a section on KEEPS, and how people the riverfront, because it's can get involved as one of our partners," he said. the largest area for poten· The inventory project is expected to be wrapped up by tial development in the March, 2000, and will also see the group receive in-kind next five to eight years," Smith said. "That was.the major donations totalling $45,800 from nine different partners playground for steelhead and we also had pinks in there. over the length of the project. The partners include But we haven't had steelhead there for about 10 years, KEEPS, GVRD Parks, the district of Maple Ridge, and it's been about 12 to 13 years since we've had pi.(lk" Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Department He added KEEPS owes a lot to the work of ARMS' vol· ·.·.:E···.• ··'X·;'t····/n"·:'aq"I' . I' .. . _:,-.- .. .-,;', ",..i;'-R'···'~e;\~j('ar;'.·U'-r-~,r'·)"m1·~B:.· ... ,. , ,~" .•..• 'i;;;f3;l;;'1fi·1f:;J_'l#"\'t·'·~·"~rf:'·:"·f'f-.,"l;M'''*·-mj''·<'~'\l}lil-"t~:::ili''''''''<''''''''''. I': - .. . '0"1" . ':~ I",_,-"ft "". ,"" .. "·n· W''''''''',e<'''''''."",.;",:;;, '''. ". " ". "... '. ~,-;, ;.,:>~\ ~_,. ,: __ , ,~~~.. '.1" - .,~ I~" " .' -,., ... ' ..:\" .. ~~Yf:t:~'7<·' ., ,. , , " .... _. __ ...• ~ __ ~.'" .*.... J SERVING MAPLE RIDGE AND Pin MEADOWS Tuesdav. June 29,1999 The Times 3- B.C. fish funding as· 01 in Ihe ARMS JoanneiillacDonald what e have ruined in this province. And I think·that's an important TIMES sTAFF REPORTER distinp :on. " . He commended ~S for its work, adding it's difficult to govern It was pouring rain, people huddled fpr cover under a canvas these days due to competing interests both within and without canopy, but when Minister of Fisheries Dennis Streifel announced Canada, "and the stresses that that produces on our natural environ funding for a local environmental group, the smiles of the collected ment." few alntost made the sun shine. . Added Streifel: "We do what we can, but we can't do it without the Streifel announced Friday the Alouette River Management SOciety, community volunteers and the folks that really pay attention to their and 54 other community groups, schools and local governments, own backyard." were. sharing $920,000 ill provincial grants from the Urban Salmon Mark Angelo, head of the BCIT fish and wildlife recreation depart- Habitat Program. ment and chalr of the B.C. Heritage Rivers program, said ·he believes His announcement took place at the site of aproject which previ- the USHP is an "important initiative" which has helped focus on "the \ously used USHP funding "in the past, Latimer Channel at the north importance of stream restoration and grassroots advocacy." end of 240 Street. It was there that ARMS, working in col"\iunction He said ARMS has done "wonderful work in terms of enhance· with local landowners, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and ment and restoratiori" and is one of the "many reasons why the the USHP, diverted water from the main stem of the Alouette River so Alouette is qne of B.C. 's provmcial heritage rivers." that adult chum salmon could enter the one·kilometre side channel MLA Bill Hartiey continued the kudos for ARMS, saying the group and spawn. is a "terrific example" of an organization "that has leveraged its fund· A pipe and valve were installed at the head of the channel to bring ing toward community stewardship, to improve the perception and in the river flows. awareness at the community level around quaiity land use and water- ARMS is receiving $21,500 to continue its Alouette watershed shed planning." stewardship efforts, which include identifying and restoring historic in response, ARMS president Geoff Clayton told the gathering the off-channel habitat/riparian areas, continuing a landowner contact Latimer Channel project has been a "great and unique" experience. program, and expanding its 1996 tributary studies. "It was a partnership ·success. Within about two or three weeks of Streifel told the handful of people gathered for the event that res· releasing th" flows out of the main stem~ we had salmon·through," he iderits "have a unique opportunity in B.C. to preserve what we haven't said. "It was a great community project and with the help of govern ruined, and we have the wealth and ability togo back and restore ment, we've been able to do this." : Ir::======::-===::-::====:======::=:::::;::::::==:;;~======------I, -"... ll/"1{(s Tuesday, July 6, 1999 River .""InS .award A local envirorunental watchdog group basin. has won one of five inaugural sustainabil The winners were: ity awards handed out by the Fras<)T Basin • Overall' Sustainability - the City of Council.' , Kamloops; The first-ever Sustainability' Awards • Improving Decision Making - ARMS; wen~ recently handed out to v:arious com • Understanding Sustainability - the munity groups, local governments ,and Recycling Council.of B. C.; . . companies, including the Alauette River • Caring for Eco~ystems - the Fraser Management Society. River Coalition; One award was given out for overall . • Strengthening Communities - Keith sllstainability, while four others were Spencer' of Vanderhoof Specialty Wood given in each of the four directions out Products. lined in the council's Charter for Ai; one of the winners, ARMS received Sustainability. a paddle created by a FirSt Nations carver. The awards recognize achievement by . According to .the council, the paddles organizations and individuals in helping to symbolize' the contribution to helping advance economfc, social and "Emviror;l move the Fraser Basin closer to sustain- mental sustainability in the FraSer River ability. ' .-.------". An amazing cycle 7% / I/~S: For many years, it his been progreSs. The lower river spaWn !mown that death, with the sub- '. ing beds are' mined for road sequent decaying of the carcass- building and concrete. But where es of salmon, released nutrients. was the new river gravel to come These elements from? Traditional were nitrates, phos- r-_G_e_O_ffC__ Ia--.,;ytQ=--_"_-. sources of gravel phates, carbon and wash out of the trace minerals. The upper watershed impact of increas- and move down ing the nutrient lev- river in winter els on the environ- floods. But the. ment can be sub- dam broke this stantial in many cycle too. Pink ways. Insect and salriton runs invertebrate popu- crashed. dnto. lations that serve as sp eaker's eXtinctionas,tlie an important torpedO-Sized fine i source of food for corner gravel was I juvenile salmon '.• removed that . will increase from made theirredds·.··' I this pulse of nutrients. Some of Frontier meiltalitysaw ma,n'in I I the carcasses of late spawners . a battle. with . nature to. survive 1 are still there in early spring. By and if nature lost, that was· a now they are in a jelly state and measure of success. As the .' on the underside, newly hatched Alouette died a slow death in the fry have been seen nursing on '40s, there was a very real stnig this enriched source offood. gle for.human survival. And the. Many of these carcasses are - Fraser 'still had large rtIII$ offish' • spread along the shoreline didri't it? But in the last 25 years (riparian zone) by birds or high we have begun to realize that water. The nutrients (fertilizer) frontiers and some species of feed the vegetation and trees in fish are clo~e to eXtinction. this zone. Trees and shrub pro- So where doeS our hope for vide shade, temperature control the future lie? For me it's educa and drop insects into water. The tion and the yotillg people com trees at some point die, some ing out· of universities and'. col-. falling into water, making woody leges. They understand that the" condos for fish to take cover in, old ways of destroying nature closing the cychi'Of life agaln. and calling it progreSs must stop. Into this amazingly balanced I am also encouraged by corpo cycle of nature came "Industrial rate ethics developing from this Mankind" who in days gone by understanding that we must had no idea of how this web of . change to survive. life worked or could care less. . Be Hydro is a good example Let's bring this thought home of this principal. Urged on by the and look at the Alouette as the provincial government, water. example. First build a dam on . use planning will now be Carried the' river. This cuts· off the out on all water imder licence to ocean's nutrients from the upper hydro. This will expand to all_ Alouette. major water licences in the Write off the upper watershed future. from the completed cycle of lil'e . This means that for the first for all salmon that traditionally time in the history of' this spawned above the dam. The province the public will be asked natural hydrology below the dam for their Views and vaiues on the. comes to a grinding halt. public ownership of water! It. Summer temperatures in the started right here on the Alouette river become lethal, as flows because we d ).f~lige-l :SOcl.ety ". bUiidmg. ~~~i~~~:'~:§~_;d~~::=~e~sP.~ , emploYm,~~~:, ··":,,,:t0P"?~;!'Ild~ed the formerly, ~":,,,,:,'sur- We want them to take ownership.p(whatJhey.,,\ rouni!ing the.centre. Some tookthe'lll!lllItlVe of '. .,' , .' ...... , " . are doing," said Finnson, .' ·~"':'·".t:;··o i:reatiDga mck-Jined pathWay and SIlIJOuriding .. =i5'illY. its ~c!pDg.ihe to stay connectedJo ARMS wasapproathed and qwcko/,)umpro at .. the building with a ring ofrocks.:TIu~'8IUUP has', ' .something. I'm dOmll that banner and other'stuff, the thance}O ,have 10 volunt"?,,.J?r a mon~':'i'j.*,,~ed and developed aplaIl'for:i:he cen:, and I just 9,'!"t le3ve"jus~ like ~e real world.". The'partnership not only proVld~'ARMS ""tlv"{ti-e's fUture native pIant nursery. " ... ' ... Henry·~.)Uzon,24i said he sIgned up for the muCh-needed labout support' it. alio fitS with its, .: ,::'Tiiis:! work around the' iritapretive . centre program 'afteI:' doing .a number of odd jobs, He mandate .ofed~caring .the p)lblic.· . ,. would',D:ever haY!! happened without them," said' nowwants:tofind a job he can dafor the rest of In ,their month:,Y Pit! cJuunber hosts candidates Wednesday • Tho next scheduled all-candidates' meeting is being hosted by ::It: Pin M.eadows Chamber of Commerce at Pin Meadows ;"''':c!~;I[!()n Hall on Wednesday, Ocr. 27 at ip.m. and will include : ..... '.. :-:l"ii ilnd school board candidmes. Feds funding watershed guide . The Alouette River Management Society has received lederal funding which will enable its fulltime watershed '",q~tawa' ,funp,s fisl! ralAP_ ("~ol'~tinator to continue working for the non-profit orga '.' .~. , . ":' ,:,' '.,: •.... -:.- . -" ,:,- IlIzauon. Ross Davies has held the position for severa! years for Stave Riversalri:i6n ' and \vill continue promoting stewardship on private , A fish raI))p,.on the Stave" ruver andC()qtinued (widing for' lands, as well as doing habitat restoration work and other , Alouette ruVer,M~ement'~ocietntaf:(~ p~ of the feder- " \.\"mershed projects. a! govenunen(s $7 million spending on 'srumon habitat in B,C, "It's the support from the Department of Fisheries and and 'tUkon this year, Oceans that'S been driving ARMS," Davies said Thursday, ,: :The,Frnser, ruver Fishel111ll!l's'~ocietY,will'~se"$2:l,ooo to addlIlg the government's core funding a!lows community 'builda'fish rampto'in"iprove'a:diilf siiliriiiil .cceis to'a fishway , groups [Q continue their stewarship work on local water- , at$ilv~ere Lake, 'benefiting whp'amj',c\lUmsaImo.nin the courses. :' Stave. River :~,eniThe'giolip will iils'o'Wtall:Jeflces along The funding is part of the federa! Habitat Restoration "Chester C!Jeeli:loprotectjish habitat-frolji grazinircattle, "," ' and Salmon Enhancement program, which aims to con " ':A!outte!River Managernei1tSOclety receiVes $75.000 to' pay , serve West Coast saimon stocks and improve the qUa!ity "for' a watel)'!\ed Coq.,Jiantonoco,ntinue :t6 promote 'steward, ' anll quantity of habitat available for fish, .' ship, on"private',lands,"and' identifY: arid' undertake habitat . -. restQration' wCidc'-/': ",1,- ~: .•. ,:;: •. ~ ;~:·.~\'.'~~i"<.:.i'_?-":::' -~_;. : ..' '.. :;"'; :.' . ,FISheries miriisterDa"ija ADd~dn"5aidthe,foctisof many of the 100' projects ami to iniprcive weakrollO salrrion stocks:' " ," '.'; '.';'!':~' .~:i~--3'.1>·· ~ ":' .--.--- .... "'" .--.!-:~--~~ .. ------.--.. Enviro"bond'," .", .. ", c Wcd_. Nov, 10, 1999 MAPI.E RIDGE/PrJ" MEAIX)WS NEWS 3 " Muddy work site watched 240 Street project next to creek By KARIN MARK STAFF REPORTER A local stewardship group is worried continued rainfall will :ause a repeat. of last week's silt runoff problem at the Genstar 1evelopmem on 240 Street. Fec.1eral, previnciai and municipal agencies are keeping an ey~ '" the housing project - which includes the rebuilding of a section . SIMONE PONNF..~ ... <:I~iT )f 240 Screet - after a random check last week revealed bigher Jim Sheehan, municipal eriviroruriental technician, measures turbidity in Kanaka Creek han-allowed silt levels running into nearby watercourses. Alouette River Management Society's Geoff Clayton said local ~nvironmemal stewardship groups have been raising concerns l.bout pOtential problems at the site since summer. The groups 1ave been worried the road work would continue into the rainy ieason and spill excessive amountS of sediment into fish-bearing Runoff sampled ipencer Creek, a tributary to Kanaka Creek. That's exactly what happened last week, Clayton said_ But his RUNOFF FRoM FRONT PAGE which include siJr fencing. check dams and sedimcm ;ubsequent conversations wirn the municipality and developer Although municipal environmental technician Jim ponds, 18ve been less than reassuring, he said. . Sheehan has been at the site collecting samples, this ~ At the same time, [he municipaliry wants the devel. Particularly upsetting was Mayor Carl Durksen's comment the'lt project is officially governed by provincial regulations, .oper to harden the road surface, which is being used he issue is not the municipaliry's responsibiliry. said Maple Ridge manager of environmental affairs , by both public and construction vehicles. "Everyone is pointin~ fingers in every direction, but the bonom Kim Grout, jne is the fish don't·care," he said. Grout nared that Genstar is working with environ· PLEASE SEE RUNOFF, PAGE 3 "We're just there to make sure their (the develop memal monitoring company that is laking ~gular ers') eyes are open ro all concerns and the mad gers samples. Prior to Wednesday's inc idem , tllCre Wfi~ finished," Grout said. only onc other incidenl whe~ sill IcvcLe; exceeded Mer last Wednesday's incident, the developer was . allowed amounts, and rhar problem was ~medicd required to improve irs silration control systems, immediarely. ------,------