Category Archives: Streamkeeping

Nature, Streamkeeping, Sustainability

Pitt River Stream of Dreams

I spent an intensive three days this week at École Pitt River Middle School doing the Stream of Dreams Murals Society environmental education and community art project.

Years ago I was on the Stream of Dreams board for about seven years, and now I’m back in training to do some PT gigs helping out with delivering the program.

Thanks to Krystal and Cass of Echo Ecological for their guidance, patience, and good humour.

And thanks to all the students, teachers, and staff who participated! What a great bunch!

Stream of Dreams Program Pitt River Middle School

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Spawner Patrol on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby

Yumi and I did a spawner patrol today from the confluence with John Mathews Creek to the stairs in the ravine.

Sunny, clear.

The redd at the confluence with John Mathews looked bigger.

1 dead coho about 15m u/s of the confluence with John Mathews, but it was unreachable in a deep pool. Looked small so possibly a jack or jill.

Appeared to be 1 or 2 redds just d/s of Byrne bridge.

2 live chum in sediment pond

2 live coho in sediment pond

1 live jack in sediment pond

1 dead chum, female, 62cm, not spawned, in sediment pond

redd d/s of first bend in spawning channel

1 dead chum, male, 56cm, loose milt, about 10 meters d/s of the footbridge in lower ravine.

1 dead chum, female, 60cm, not spawned, at the upper end of the washout in the lower ravine

A bit depressing to be finding chum females not spawned. . .

Also three mergansers, one male, two female in overflow pond, a couple of mallards, one heron d/s of John Mathews confluence, one downy woodpecker about halfway between Byrne bridge and John Mathews.

byrne creek salmon heron woodpecker


NOTE: It is illegal to interfere with spawning salmon. Streamkeepers have training, and permission from DFO, to patrol to observe and enumerate salmon returning to spawn, and to collect data (species, length, sex, spawned/unspawned) on salmon after they die.

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Volunteers Patrol For Spawning Salmon on Byrne Creek

Half a dozen volunteers with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society patrolled the creek in SE #Burnaby for spawning salmon today. It’s been a slow start to the spawning season, but we saw a couple of live ones today, and processed a couple of dead ones for size, sex, and spawning status.

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Streamkeeping

Kanaka Creek Return of the Salmon

Yumi and I headed out to Maple Ridge for the Return of the Salmon  at the fish fence at Kanaka Creek Regional Park. It was a lovely day for the fun event.

Kanaka Creek Salmon Return
Glorious male chum in full spawning regalia


Thanks to all the KEEPS volunteers!


Ross Davies regales folks with nature tales, and explains the salmon life cycle


Yumi with a bunch of kids, checking out aquatic bugs


Metro Vancouver Parks display


The fish dissection was educational albeit a tad gruesome : – )


That wee ball is the lens from a chum salmon’s eye


A bear nonchalantly ambled by, ignoring the hundreds of people


Watershed Watch Salmon Society booth.

Defend the Heart of the Fraser!

 

Fishing, Nature, Photography, Society, Streamkeeping, Travel

Adams River Salute to the Sockeye 2018

We spent a few days up at the Salute to the Sockeye festival the last few days at the former Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park.

The park was recently officially, and rightfully, renamed Tsútswecw Provincial Park. (I’ve read news reports that family of the late Haig-Brown — one of Canada’s most famous environmentalists and nature writers — supports the renaming).

This year is a dominant run, and though it’s been slow shaping up, it was still awesome. I think this is the third or fourth dominant run that we’ve taken in — they happen every four years, with slower runs in between.

sockeye salmon adams river