Fee Creek Salmon Spawning Channel Riparian Restoration Project

Abstract

In 1991, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans created a spawning and rearing system beside the Birkenhead River to enhance the habitat for Coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook
(Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) salmon primarily. The stocks of salmon from the Fraser River salmon runs had been declining since the 1970s and there were efforts undertaken around the province to change this pattern of decline. Before this development, a fish hatchery was built near the Fee Creek spawning channel. The channel was designed to help enhance the salmon population more naturally through increasing important habitats and using the area in coordination with the hatchery for increased hatchery success.
The Fee Creek re-vegetation project was developed to restore an area of the system that had been destroyed by BC Hydro clearing during their routine power line protection. The objectives of the Fee Creek re-vegetation project were to restore the vegetation to provide continued healthy habitat for salmon, repair degraded bridges that provide access for schoolchildren and provide an educational opportunity to teach students about the salmon life cycle and the importance of restoration activities such as these.
Some different aspects of this project were identifying landscape characteristics to determine suitable vegetation for planting, designing bridges, sourcing materials for new bridgework to enhance safety for schoolchildren, and finally, identifying an educational opportunity to combine with the restoration activity.
The project successfully reached its objectives and early monitoring has shown a good recovery of the area's habitat and increased safety for schoolchildren.