Pink Salmon spawning in a small creek off the Paradise Valley Road near Squamish, BC, today.
Category Archives: Streamkeeping
Pink Salmon on the Cheakumus
Pink Salmon spawning in the Cheakamus near Squamish, BC, today.
This cycle of life is amazing to behold.
Look at the tail fin on that female, abraded down to a stub as she dug a redd — a depression in the gravel and cobble in which to lay her eggs — and then covered it up after a male released his milt.
I don’t know how many years we’ve been heading out to observe this miracle of life-death-life, but we never tire of it.
It’s awesome and humbling.
Byrne Creek Bug Count in Burnaby
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Society volunteers conducted an aquatic invertebrate survey (bug count) on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, today.
Bugs give us an indication of water quality because some are more pollution tolerant than others. Our surveys over many years have steadily found mostly pollution tollerant species, and they also tend to be small in size compared to more pristine creeks.
As usual, our results were in the poor to marginal range using the methodology in The Streamkeepers Handbook and Modules.
The creek gets a lot of road wash that carries contimanants down street drains, and we also get point-source pollution events when deleterious substances are emptied into street drains, or when construction sites are illegally pumped out.
Please rember that All Drains Lead to Fish Habitat!
The new shelter near the wading pool in Ron McLean Park proved to be a great place to count the bugs and enter the results on data sheets.
Fish Trapping on Byrne Creek in Burnaby, BC
Byrne Creek Streamkeepers volunteers set out Gee traps in the creek yesterday and came back this morning to see what we got. Trapping requires a permit. Today’s results included coho salmon, cutthroat trout, and crayfish.
It was a lovely morning to be out on the creek, and we were happy to be able to get the trapping, IDing, measuring, and releasing done before spawners start to retun to the creek.
We usually do this activity earlier in the year, but were advised to postpone it because it was so hot this summer that the fish were already stressed.
It was also great to chat with folks who came by, and explain what we were doing!
Leading Byrne Creek Tour on Rivers Day
I’m leading a tour of Byrne Creek and talking about the salmon life cycle and volunteer streamkeeper activities on Rivers Day, Sept. 26.
This is a City of Burnaby event and there are a few spots left through the Burnaby Parks and Recreation Webreg system.
We will also be doing an entire watershed tour for new members of our society (and interested veterans : – ) later this fall.
Byrne Creek Sediment Pond Cleanout in Burnaby
The sediment trap on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby was cleaned out today. Thanks to the volunteers who came out to help salvage coho, trout, lamprey, and crayfish!
The trap is cleaned out every two years as it fills with sediment. It’s meant to keep the artificial spawning channel in the habitat from filling up too quickly.
We had a Cooper’s Hawk and a Great Blue Heron come by to supervise for awhile.
Thanks to Aquaterra and City of Burnaby staff for doing the netting and heavy lifting while streamkeeper volunteers ran the bucket brigade.
Stream of Dreams at Uninterrupted at Burnaby Art Gallery
I had a lovely evening at the Burnaby Art Gallery chatting with folks about streamkeeping and the Stream of Dreams Murals Society watershed education and art program at the cool Uninterruped VR salmon show.
CBC Early Edition Appearance on Heat Wave, Creeks, Salmon
I was interviewed live on the CBC Early Edition this morning on the topic of the heat wave in BC and the impact on local creeks and salmon.
Volunteer streamkeepers have recorded temperatures as high as 20.5 C in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, which is higher than is healthy for salmonids.
Water temperatures surpassing the upper teens mean less oxygen in the water, and also stress salmon, leaving them more vulnerable to diseases and pararasites.
I don’t know how long CBC Radio leaves links up, but here it is:
Coho Fry in Byrne Creek, Burnaby, BC
I was happy to see several Coho salmon fry in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, on my morning walk today. I’ve been volunteering as a streamkeeper for about 20 years on Byrne Creek, and it’s rewarding to see Coho succeed in spawning, hatching, and growing in this urban creek that is often beset with pollution events.
As I was shooting the fry, I unintentionally got this flowing foto:
Another Coho Smolt Kill on Byrne Creek, Burnaby, BC
I got a call from City of Burnaby staff today that people were reporting dead fish in Byrne Creek. Sure enough, yet another first-flush road-wash coho kill.
This is how the creek was running during the rain on Monday. Photo by volunteer Joan.
We released 3,700 coho smolts last Thursday. It rained Monday, and the creek was running awfully dirty. I will add a photo by another volunteer of the dirty creek.
This has been happening for many years on Byrne Creek. We pray for no rain following a coho smolt release, because if road wash enters the creek while the coho are still in the system, they die by the hundreds.
Recent research by Dr. Jen McIntyre at Washington State University points to a chemical in tires that is toxic particularly to coho.
I met a City staffer for a walkabout. I counted four or five dozen dead smolts beteween the sediment pond and the downstream side of Byrne Bridge.
There were several happy herons about, and with this kill likely occuring Monday/Tuesday, probably dozens if not hundreds of dead smolts had been scarfed already. Mother Nature’s cleanup crew is fast and efficient!