Salmon Steward

Chum were recorded spawning in the lower river that year. This key breakthrough was a result of hatchery Chum fry released in the spring of 1980. The Chum were raised at a hatchery located at the minimum security Alouette River Corrections Camp and operated by the sta¦ and prisoners of the facility. The "Boys in Red" of the "Doing Time" hatchery crew were all volunteers, handpicked by the hatchery manager, and dedicated to the cause. For the next three decades, prisoners at the hatchery provided critical enhancement support to the Chum recovery on the Brunette River with more than a little help from their friends and volunteers with the Kanaka Creek Bell- Irving Hatchery. By the first decade of the new century, Chum salmon could be seen spawning all along the lower Brunette River wherever there was gravel, and up Stoney Creek as far as they could swim. With the recovery of Chum salmon in the lower Brunette Watershed well underway, there remained two di®cult barriers that denied Chum access to their upper river spawning grounds. Passage past the Cariboo Dam at the outlet of Burnaby Lake was not possible for Chum. The passage through the culverts that convey Still Creek under Boundary Road was also an impasse to all salmon. alley oop – up they go! In the summer of 2011, Metro Vancouver engineers installed a semi-natural rock and concrete fish ladder at the Cariboo Dam that allowed weaker-swimming fish, like Chum salmon, to easily migrate upstream. It was part of a collaborative e¦ort led by Vancouver, Burnaby and Metro Vancouver, and including important participation from DFO, Ministry of the Environment and local streamkeeper groups. the green and purple Wave By the fall of that year, waves of Chum salmon were moving through the spanking new fish ladder at Cariboo Dam and working themselves farther upstream, nosing into the various tributaries of the Burnaby Lake. Spawning Chums created quite a stir that fall in Eagle Creek, the stream that runs down Burnaby Mountain with Simon Fraser University perched at its highest knob. Even more excitement was generated when Chum entered the very urban Deer Lake Watershed and swam up Buckingham Creek, a little stream that emerges from a neighbourhood of multimillion-dollar homes before flowing into Deer Lake itself. When they showed up in lower Guichon Creek, which flows right through the Burnaby-based British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) campus, people were gobsmacked. But Chum salmon were still denied access to upper Still Creek and the City of Vancouver. the long dark and then the light The next summer, as part of the Port Mann Highway 1 Improvement Project and in partnership with the Musqueam Nation, modifications were made to the 290-metre- long culverts that pass Still Creek under Boundary Road. The last barrier to salmon entering their historic upper spawning grounds was now breeched. Since that year, they continue to return each fall, home again. As of early November 2016, 1,700 Chum salmon had passed above the Cariboo Dam heading for spawning grounds upstream. The hatchery on the Alouette River helps enhance fish, rehabilitate prisoners and educate the community. the above is one in a series of articles written by retired dfo senior biologist Matt foy, who worked with the department for 35 years. this series, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of the salmonid enhancement Program, was also created to mark our country's – and the department's – 150th birthday. Matt, and the department, are indebted to all those mentioned and their families for allowing us to tell their stories. starting in April, dfo will be highlighting some of the interesting, innovative and inspiring work done by its various programs, and reflecting on our past, present and future. Keep an eye out for the "150 years" graphic to catch personal reflections, quick facts, photos and tweets from Pacific region employees and updates on canada and dfo 150 events. salmon Steward magazine 19 the above is one in a series of articles since 1994, the Foundation has granted almost $245,000 to 18 different organizations conducting restoration projects in the watershed. these 36 projects had a total value of more than $800,000 through community leveraging. photo (top): Alouette RiveR MAnAgeMent society YEars YE YE YE YE YE YE YE YEars ars ars ars ars ars ars ars ars ars ars

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