Canoe Creek-Black Road Fish Habitat Restoration Project

Abstract

To enhance safety for the traveling public, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure undertook the beginning stages of constructing a deceleration lane off Highway 97B to access Black Road near the City of Salmon Arm in the Interior of British Columbia. The width of the deceleration lane required a culvert under Highway 97B to be extended seven metres, resulting in a loss of fish habitat within Canoe Creek. In keeping with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans policy on "No Net Loss of Fish Habitat," the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure had to extend the length of Canoe Creek by seven metres to ensure fish habitat would not be impacted. This compensation channel was constructed immediately downstream of the culvert extension within the Ministry Right of Way and involved incorporating a slight bend in the channel to make up the additional seven metres of length.
The works were constructed in September of 2011, resulting in a net gain of 100 square metres of fish habitat from 75 square metres in the original, cattail-choked channel. The original channel was blocked off to fish as part of the work. The fish in the channel were electroshocked and relocated downstream of the worksite. The culvert was extended seven metres, the new channel was constructed, and a fish habitat in the form of boulder clusters was placed in the new channel. In addition, shrubs and grasses were planted adjacent to the work site. During the work, no environmental impacts were observed. Phase two, the construction of the deceleration lane, has not yet begun.