Recieved this e-mail from Barry Penner this morning in response of an e-mail I sent to him back in September regarding the clay slide at the old ranger run.
Reference: 100676
January 21, 2009
Dear
Thank you for your email of September 12, 2008 regarding the clay bank silt problem on the Chilliwack/Vedder River. I apologize for the delay in responding.
I appreciate your concern regarding the effects of this discoloration on angling opportunities within the Chilliwack/Vedder system and the effect of the suspended clay particles on fish eggs in the river ecosystem. The clay bank, which I’ve visited many times, are a natural glacial deposit from the last ice age that was deposited approximately 9,500 years ago. It is one of several similar natural sediment sources in the watershed. I appreciate the dedicated efforts by local stewardship groups in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to reduce sedimentation to the river. As you may be aware, stabilizing slides of this magnitude are technically challenging and very expensive. Some people believe these natural slide events cannot be avoided, but I think it is worth trying.
Given the number of sediment sources in the watershed, perhaps the best approach may be for concerned groups and individuals to work with the ministry to identify priorities based on the relative impacts to fish and fish habitat, as well as cost and technical ability for remediation. This planning step would greatly assist understanding of the overall impact of any one slide and its overall contribution to sediment input to the river. It would also provide key information to funding agencies and could bring together more partners to help resolve these challenging issues.
The Living Rivers Trust Fund has transferred approximately $10 million to the Fraser Salmon and Watersheds Program, a program jointly administered by the Fraser Basin Council and the Pacific Salmon Foundation. For 2009, this program has allocated $3,625,000 to fund projects in four priority areas:
education and engagement;
integrated planning and governance;
habitat & water restoration & stewardship; and
sustainable integrated fisheries management
This program could be a good source for partnership funding to support both sediment source prioritization and remediation. However, I understand that the call for preliminary proposals closed in early September. There may be another call for proposals next year. For further information on the program please visit:
http://www.thinksalmon.com/fswp_notice/.
The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation may be another source of partnership funding. They have invested significant funds over the past several years to build an engineered berm at the base of the clay banks on the Chilliwack River to reduce water discolouration and smothering of salmonid eggs in the river.
In either case, I recommend you contact Mr. Greg Wilson, at the Ministry of Environment’s lower mainland office at 604 582-5365 to assist with planning and proposal development as he has been leading the ministry’s habitat restoration initiatives in this area as part of the
Greater Georgia Basin Steelhead Recovery Plan.
Thank you again for your interest in the on-going restoration of the Chilliwack/Vedder river system.
Sincerely,
“Original Signed By”
Barry Penner
Minister
Author
Topic: Letter from Barry Penner (Read 7769 times)