Sunday, August 2, 2009

Saturday 1 August 2009

Today was another day salvaging Wild Coho Salmon from Bonnel Creek. We had been in the highway pool on Tuesday morning and their remained lots of water in the last pools beneath the bridge. We had cleaned out most of the fry and some Rainbow Trout / Steel-head and with the amount of water thought we would have another go today. To our surprise and disappointment the pools had drop down to two small pools barley able to hold the remaining fish. We know we had a rather large Trout ? remaining in the big pool that we had been unable to catch last Tuesday, but alas it was not their today. Racoons/ Heron or ? had a nice meal. We were able to get around 1000 Wild Coho fry along with Sticklebacks and sculpins from the remaining pools before rushing off to the Beaver pond to release them. This has been a exceptionally hot year as everyone knows and we usually do not have to do any more on Bonnel after we get above the highway but this year we will continue all the way upstream until we are sure that the flow will be adequate for the remaining Wild Coho to survive until we get some Rain I have almost forgot what that is. We checked our erosion control project on Nanoose Creek just above the highway where we had built a willow fence at the base of the slide and some Cedar and Fir trees were planted behind. All were doing good , the willow had all sprouted and the trees were all doing well. With lots of flow in the creek the fry should be safe for awhile. We will do a walk next week up the lower reaches to check on any stranded fish in isolated pools and either take them to the pond or into some nearby wetted habitat. We have moved around 10,000 wild Coho fry so far to wetted habitat this year. Any remaining fish are soon eaten by the Herons who seem to be very bold this year, instead of flying away at first sight they just stand and watch as we salvage fish and only move when we get too close. Lots of Racoon Tracks around the pools indicating that they get their share too. Along the banks we have found some tunnels which we think must be Beaver dens during periods when the entrance is below water levels. Keep cool and watch for rain.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Saturday 18 July

Roy, John, MP J Lunney, Al, Ed and Terry.


On last Tuesday we made another sweep of the remaining pools on Bonnel Creek managing to salvage a couple of hundred fry which we moved up to the Lake. This ended the first phase of fry salvage until water levels drop above the highway then we will continue all the way upstream until we reach the point where pool habitat remains wetted with what subsurface flow remains. Hopefully we will get some heavy rain soon to help replenish the upper watershed.

Today we all met at Lussiers pit and went down to the gas line crossing on Bonnel Creek. Two small pools have become isolated from the main channel along the base of the big gravel deposit below the pipeline.
Both pools contained Wild Coho fry which we had some fun trying to catch. Being shallow the fry were very skittish, in the smaller pool the fry were quite large but as soon as they were disturbed off they went with not a one in sight. Rock hiding, the hardest to catch, I guess that evading predators of all kinds their survival skills were well honed. This pool had clear water but still they were hard to see.
After some effort we were able to remove 14 Wild Coho and one Stickleback, we felt we had them all and if any remained then they would have a better chance with more habitat available. The next pool contained around a hundred Wild Coho fry which were easier to catch but were only half the size. This pool was full of Algae with only a small area free and still clear from seepage entering from the bank. After capture we moved them to adjoining pool habitat which with the help of the Beaver remains wetted all summer with good subsurface flow keeping it fresh.
Watching the fry upon release it was evident that they had their preferred schools as they seemed to blend into one then begin to split into separate groups with a few changing their minds and rejoining another school until they settled down and swam over to the inflow in their separate groups where they settled in to the fresh flow.
Next we went up to Swan Lake to remove the fish pipe from the dam.
We launched the boat and with Ed and Al I rowed out to the submerged log where the pipe was tied and anchored . Well I think we did too good a job of submerging the pipe when we put in in Al pulled and pulled , even with the two of us pulling we could not raise the end of the pipe so we let it go and Al retied the rope to the submerged log. I rowed over to the top of the dam which had about another foot added to the top by the Beaver, all fresh mud and grass.
Al and myself disembarked onto the dam and pulled up the outlet end of the pipe. This was way easier than the intake as it just laid down the backside of the dam into the stream-bed. Once we got it up the flow stopped so we coiled the pipe up on top of the dam.
Next year we will have to install it again to allow the fish egress from the Beaver pond. After rowing back and beaching the boat we went and picked berries for awhile then off for tea and coffee.
While having coffee we had a visit from our MP James Lunney who had lobbied for us last year for funding to help clean up the bay of Styrofoam.
Al wanted to present him with one of our T-shirts so Roy went out to his truck and brought a XL for him. He informed us that he had the fisheries minister out with him last week and wanted to bring her with him to help in fry salvage, due to scheduling this was not possible, a opportunity missed to talk with her about the state of the Salmon and give her some first hand knowledge of what communities were doing to preserve our Wild Salmon.
Next month he says he will have one of the fisheries policy advisers out with him so we invited him to bring her to help with fry salvage. We gave him another T-shirt to pass on to the fisheries minister, maybe some publicity with the powers that be will help bring some attention to the important work all the stream keeper groups in BC are doing. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Teddy Bears Picnic.





The day began with the delivery of T-Shirts to Roy while he was at the Lions pancake breakfast at the community hall.
Roy had his truck all decked out with the stream keepers signs on the side for the parade from the Fire Hall to the games field on Powder Point Road. Kaylen was going to meet Roy at the park to help him put the tent and display up. While Roy was putting away a rather large stack or pile of those pancakes I went back down to the railroad crossing to meet the rest of the volunteers to do some fry salvage.
As usual we divided up and went once more from the estuary up and from the highway down . The pools are now very low or non existent, we have taken the bulk of fish from these pools and transported them to the Lake over the past weeks . Today we were able to catch around 150 Wild Coho fry which we released into the big pool at the highway crossing.
This pool extends back upstream the point where surface flow still remains. We expect to be salvaging this reach within a couple of weeks if the present weather pattern sets in for the summer.
The young boys who came with their dad were thrilled to have caught a couple of Trout along with the bulk of the fry that we salvaged today. Cynthia arrived to collect some stream bugs
( invertebrates) to display to the children at the Teddy Bears Picnic teaching them about aquatic life other than just fish. With the help of her son and daughter Cynthia was able to collect a good representation from the pool beneath the highway. Upon completion the older boys wanted to go for a coffee.
After coffee we all went down to the Teddy Bears Picnic to assist with the booth.
Their was a constant floe of families wandering around with curious children eager to see the bugs. One mother had a beautiful Dragonfly pendant hanging on a chain and was quite surprised when it was pointed out that the biggest ugliest bug in the bucket was in fact close to metamorphosing into a beautiful Dragonfly.
Every one was enjoying the day, a couple of hundred happy kids and parents , a smile on every face, fish moved, a perfect day.
Next week we will do another sweep to try and get any more fry then we wait for the big pools to recede. We will be checking further up stream as their are some pools that become isolated from the flow and end up drying, so we will move the fish to wetted habitat adjacent to where we find them.
We always seem to have some activity by the Beavers within the upstream reaches spending their time building small dams forming pools for the summer. In the past they had built a beautiful dam of boulder and cobble with very little wood mainly rock which created a large pool full of Wild Coho fry all summer until winter flows blew it out.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Saturday June 27th 2009



Today we met at the railroad crossing in Nanoose to continue our fry salvage on Bonnel Creek. We had a good turn out today with new volunteers eager to help. Splitting into two groups we went upstream while the other group went downstream. Most of the pools downstream are drying now and the fry have been removed. Their are still a couple of pools too deep or impacted with woody debris to make salvage difficult until the subsurface flow recedes further down and we are able to get in with gum boots. Upstream their are two big pools with cover and stumps then above are two more large shallow pools.
Above the railroad bridge the water is still on the surface with more than gum-boot depth from bank to bank up past the highway bridge. We managed to salvage around 500 Wild Coho fry from the two shallow pools then went back down to the two deeper pools and patiently collected another 100 or so. The downstream crew were able to get around 300 fry before they came back upstream to the tank in the truck. After we all went up to Swan Lake to release them.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Release into Swan Lake ( note the Trout)
Transfer into buckets for the walk to the lake.
Catching the fish.


I have been busy lately so have not done the updates on a regular basis.
Over the past couple of weeks we have begun our fry salvage due to the very hot weather and Bonnel Creek drying out early this year. So far we have moved 3200 Wild Coho fry with Sticklebacks and Trouts. Our fish fence is only getting one or two the past couple of weeks so this Saturday we are going to pull it, so far we have had around 450 smolts and a few trout through until the weather got too hot for the fish to move and the Beaver has been maintaining the dam at a higher level. With this rain (Yes Rain) they may begin to move again so once we remove the fence they can go downstream and hopefully make the Ocean before it gets too hot and dry again. We will be ongoing with the fry salvage until all the pools have dried up though hopefully with the rain we will get some more flow on the surface to give some relief for the fish. We are looking at a couple of opportunities to do some habitat work this summer on Bonnel, hopefully with help from Ducks Unlimited and fisheries. DU are concerned about a log jam which is increasing in size and they feel it may jump the bank and scour out their pond in the estuary. So while the machine is their we hope to get some scour structures built to help maintain some deeper pool habitat. At this site we used to have a large deep pool which now is full of gravel with the subsequent loss of fish habitat.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Tuesday 6 June 2009


Today was a slow day at the fish box with only 8 Wild Coho and one Trout in the box. ( see picture)Due to hot weather and the Beaver building the top of the dam higher the fish seem to have stopped moving. Even though we see fish jumping above the fence they are not too eager to move downstream. We need some rain to get them moving or else they will probably decide to stay. The food in the pond is so abundant they may decide to stay and spawn in the upper reaches next fall. Also in the box were 28 Lethocerus beetles and one dead Trout of around 120 mm, sucked dry by the Beetles. We next went to the pond and I took Thomas his dad Brian and Errol for a row in the boat to check the dam top for work by the Beaver. Lots of fresh mud along the top and the big raft of grass and sticks we had left in the pond were all gone used by the Beaver to plug holes and raise the level of the top. After we went as far up the pond as we could row before the channel was too narrow to navigate up. Possibly saw a snake swimming across the pond as we were quite a long way off all we could see were a pair of eyes moving along the surface. With all the work on the dam we are getting more surface area flooded which will bode well for all the Wild Coho we will salvage over the next few months. More water will mean more food and a cooler pond over what may be a very hot summer coming up.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Saturday June 6th 2009

Well back again, lost the use of my computer for awhile, I now have a new Mac so here goes again. Over the past couple of weeks we have been monitoring our fish box with good results, big healthy smolts, well over the 125 mm size. 
When rowing around our pond we can still see schools of fish swimming about,  below the dam but above the box they are still jumping for fly,s. We think that due to the unusually hot weather they have quit moving out and are awaiting the rains to make their move downstream. We have been getting big counts then they dropped off the last week when air temperatures rose to 30c+ with water temp at 16+c . Today it looks cloudy so we hope that some rain will fall and then the fish will sense the pressure change and make a dash for the ocean. If no more movement downstream then they will stay in the habitat they are in and may move out next spring or over the winter months into the lower reaches. 
 Next year if they stay they will be 2 year old +, big smolts when they leave. We have thought that in the past some have stayed and spawned in the upper reaches above the dam as one year we had fry in the box even before we had done any salvage for that year.
 Only mother nature knows. 
Also last week we worked on the Hog weed, we received a e-mail from M Jessen who is working to eradicate it on the French Creek system further up the Island and he suggested that the best method was to dig up the root after taking all precaution to protect against the sap splashing on exposed skin. We dug all the roots we could find thanking our lucky stars that we have only a small patch to work on. ( A few years ago I conducted a USHP survey on French Creek, walking 17 + Kilometres from the estuary up to beyond Coombs almost to Whiskey Creek and observed Hog weed along the whole length of the 17+ kilometres). 
Today we walked the lower reaches of Bonnel Creek to check the water levels, after such hot weather we were concerned that levels would be dropping fast and would have to facilitate fry salvage early this year. The levels were  good with flow between pools so we went over to the DU pond in the estuary to check the water level their. When we got their the Geese were quite vocal to our intrusion as they wander off while keeping a sharp eye on our trek across the field. Sad to say the egg addlers had been down earlier on according to a article in the local paper praising their efforts in controlling the Goose population, the mind boggles at such action as the natural survival rate is quite low when you consider all the predators that a healthy ecosystem has on any young of the year. We found the remains of two adult Geese who had fallen prey to some  of these predators. The cycle of life and death continues despite  human intervention.
I was observing a pair of Geese along the foreshore of Lantzville all spring, they began with 7 goslings and every morning they were in the estuary of a small unnamed drainage feeding on the algae while the local Eagles perched in the trees nearby. Over the weeks the goslings were reduced down to one which I have not seen for awhile so here,s hoping it survived. Anyway back to the estuary pond, it was way down with no fish rising only one dead trout about 7 inches long laying on the bottom next to the pipe. We made the decision to remove all the stop logs in the culvert mouth and drain the rest of the water to allow any fish to be flushed out.
 No fish were observed as the water flowed out so with luck all had left via the escape pipe as the temperatures rose over the past weeks. After Al and Roy went up to the box to check on the fry so next week i will give a update on the fish leaving the Beaver dam pond as I had to leave early today to get ready for my sons birthday party.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Tuesday 12 May 2009



Today was a good day for the fish, we went up to the box thinking we would get at most a couple of dozen smolts after the 25 we got on Saturday. Were we surprised, oh yes, 79 Wild Coho smolts were netted and released back into the creek, all in the 125mm range, big and fat . It is heartening to see fish this size, this is a good indicator of the amount of food available in the Beaver pond for our salvaged fry.
Draining down from the upper watershed which contains many small ponds and wetlands the creek carries many nutrients which benefit all wildlife and fish throughout the system. With the wildlife and especielly the Beaver creating fish habitat that man cannot equal we are confident that if nature is allowed to flourish without too much interference our Wild Coho, Trout , Chum. Steelhead, Stickleback, Sculpins and all other aquatic life will continue to survive for future generations to see.
After the excitment of all the smolts we went up to the pond to check on the Beavers activity. No Geese to greet us today but the whole area was a symphony of Tree Frogs, nature at its finest.
I tried to get a pic of one of the frogs who was sitting in the grass at the ponds edge while it was singing, every time I was about to snap the camera it would stop and de-flate its body. I took a couple of snaps then I thought I would tell the frog to sing, as daft as it sounds every time I said the word frog it puffed up and sang, I re set the camera and prepared to snap a pic when murphys law kicked in - flat battery- I said frog a few more times just to prove to myself it was not a fluke and yes the frog sang every time, must be the vibration from my voice ?. We checked the top of the dam for activity and observed lots of droppings in the water near to the overflow and lots of fresh plant material around the top indicating they had been busy. Thier was still lots of flow over the top for the fish to leave so no rush to re-rig our outlet pipe which had been pulled up out of the water by I assumed the Bear or Couger as I had seen a partial track in the mud along the top of the dam. This was the only exlanation for the pipe being pulled out of the pond we could come up with and coupled with the rips in the plastic which looked like teeth marks we thought that this may have been why the pond was so low last week. We speculated that mayby the animal resposible had been hunting the Beaver and our worst fear was we had lost the Beaver. If all the streams on Vancouver Island were inhabited by Beaver and they were allowed to build thier dams without the trapper takeing them out of the system or humans thinking they are a detrement to the watershed for whatever reason we would have more habitat for fish naturally as nature intended. I heard recently that along the Englishman River thier was a call for the removal of the Beaver because they are seen as a detrement to the fish being reeard at a small Pink hatchery along its banks. All they have to do is clear the debris as it bolcks thier pipe or what ever they percieve as the problem while allowing the Beaver to flourish to the benifit of all the flora and fauna within the watershed. Check out the fish count behind any Beaver dam and it tells its own story.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Saturday May 9 2009




Today was a good day both weather wise and fish wise, we all met at Lussiers pit then went up to the lake. On the way up a mother black bear and cub ran ahead of the truck, good to see they are in the area. Also their are signs on the mail boxes down on the road warning of a young Cougar wandering around the area. We walked down to the lake and lo and behold it was full with water pouring over the top , bonus , fresh sign of the Beaver as evidenced by his or her droppings and some fresh branches. Two Geese , we think the residents, were squawking though not too disturbed as they leisurely swam to the other side of the lake. A quick inspection of the dam showed some fresh work with sticks and vegatation along the top where it was flowing over. Next we went down to the box to check for fish, the kids were very excited as we netted 24 Wild Coho smolts and 1 Trout from the box back into the creek, also 1 stickelback and 2 big water beetles. The Wild coho were two year olds with a average size of 125 to 135 mm. The Trout was very badly crippled with what looked like a broken back, this looked like it must have happened when it was a younger as it was well developed with no sign of recent injury. (see pic)

Tuesday May 7 2009

Today I recieved a donation of 3 Fir and 3 Cedar trees from Green Thumb Nursery of Nanaimo in 1 gallon pots. We met at the campsite where we had done the Willow wattleing and planted the trees in behind the wall, hopefully they will become well rooted before the hot summer ( hopefully we will get a summer this year). After we took a run up to the box to check for fish, no luck. The Beaver dam at Swan Lake was now filling again so lets hope we still have a Beaver family.

Saturday 2 May 2009



Today was a sad day as we came to the shores of Swan Lake. The water levels were down over a meter and no sign of the Beaver. Trapper ??? we cant figure it out as the pond is usually full with fresh sign of Beaver work every time we come. We walked the dam to check and there was a considerable amount flowing from the base of the dam, no Beaver sign anywhere, What to do ? we launched the boat and rowed over to the dam, Roy jumped in with chest waders and found the outlet under a log embedded in the base of the dam. As Gordon and myself went over to the far side to collect dry grass Ed and Errol rowed over with the boat to collect what we had picked. Al remained with Roy as safety man while Roy stuffed the grass into the hole. After about a hour of this work we were able to stem the flow down to a trickle. After we checked the box for fish, one lonely Wild Coho and a Stickleback.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Thursday 29 April 2009

Releaseing the Fry into Nanoose Creek
All netting the fry for the children.
Today we were asked to assit with the release of the fry raised in the local school by the children. Al and Roy went to the school to use our tank for the transport of the fish to the creek. I met them at the bridge at Mathew Crossing just as the school bus pulled up disgorging 50 young folk along with teachers and parents. As Roy and All placed the fry into small pails (4 fry per child) the children carried them down to the pool above the bridge where they carefully released thier charges. This was two classes so everyone got fish to release with the extra being released by Roy. After the children had a assignment to draw pictures of the habitat they released the fish into. I was only able to peruse a few drawings and was surprised to see how much detail some drew into the scene. Cynthia had taken a frisby down to the waters edge and managed to scoop some stream invertabrates for the children to look at. All in All it was a good experience for all involved, maybe we will get some future streamkeepers out of the 50 children present.

Tuesday 27 April 2009

Today was a slow day with a visit to the fish box and a walk to the Beaver pond. No fish, after we stopped at the Hogweed to see how the tiger torch did , though they were well roasted brand new shoots are growing out of the trunk. Next plan will be to dig out the roots which appear to be quite shallow, hopefully they will not be like Horseradish which sprout new growth from the smallest root left in the ground.

Saturday 25 April 2009

Today was the day to build our spilling wall ( Willow wattle) at the base of the slide on Nanoose Creek. We had a visitor from Edmonton who pitched right in to help. First we retreived the bundles of Willow from the upstream pool and selected the biggest size for stakeing. As I drove in the iron bar to make a hole Rolph pushed in the sharpened Willow stakes left full length (10+Ft) untill they bottomed out in the hole, then they were cut off at the required height of the wattle. Leaving them full length allows for the stake to be pushed into the substrate as far as possible without ending up with ones too short as some of the holes when we got away from the clay bank ( like concrete) went in up to 4 ft, this will allow for the stake to remain in contact with the water table as the creek levals drop and allow for better rooting. Once we moved further downstream our weaver Terry began to weave the smaller diameter lentghs into the stakes , then as more rooom was available everyone took a turn at weaveing untill we had a spilling wall about 18inches high by 20+ feet long along the base of the slide. As this is rather late to be doing this we will only be doing the base untill next winter when the Willow goes dormant giving the stakes a better chance of rooting as they do not have to start to put all thier energy into leaf production as will be the case with this time of year. We will go back and remove up to 80% of leaf to reduce the desication caused by leaf evapouration. Next we will get some established Cedar trees and plant behind the fence, this will do untill next fall then we will plan to build some more wattles further up the slope creating terraces to stabiloize the slope. While we did this Bryan took the younger members up to the fish box to check for fish, no fish.

Tuesday 21 2009

Today was a Giant Hogweed day, we have been trying to eradicate this noxiuose plant for a couple of years now. We have decided to try less envasive methods than chemicals and the landowner does not want any chemicals used on his property. First we used salt and vinegar, cut the stem and filled the trunk, this knocked it down but it grew back this year. On Tueday we used a tiger torch to burn the growth down to the ground. This seems to work though we will check back to see. After we went to the fish box to see if we had any fish, empty with the temp at 6c so we have to wait awhile longer for the water to come up in tempreture though I think we need some rain to help flush them out of the pond.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Saturday 18 April 2009

Hauling the bundles to the creek


Tying bundles of Willow for transport

Today was another beautiful day around the bay and in the mountains. We went up into the bush to cut some Willow for building our spilling wall on Nanoose Creek. After meeting at the security gate at Northwest Bay logging camp Roy took the group up to the site we have been using for years to cut our Willow. This is a very wet area and grows a good stand of Willow, as we have been cutting there for a long time the Willow has copsed very well.

(Willow cut down and allowed to re-grow over and over providing a good stand of long relatively straight lengths of Willow perfect for weaving and staking)

While Roy was cutting, myself and Al went up to check our fish box. We had no luck with the temp being a low 6c so no need to clean the fence as water levels are just right with debris blocking just the right amount of flow to allow the pipe to remain below levels.

After we went to meet Roy and the rest of the crew. They had cut about 4 bundles by the time we returned and Al and myself cut and helped with a couple more bundles then tied them up and loaded my truck. Afterward we went for coffee and tea then down to the slide site.

We placed the Willow into the creek in a back eddy to soak for a week and next Saturday when we have a full contingent of volunteers we will begin the staking and weaving at the base of the slide then plan for another Willow wall up-slope next fall. We now are pushing the planting window for the Willow to get roots before the summer heat. We will probably go back when the Willow begins to flush with growth and remove most of the leaf to help stop the dissection of the Willow giving it a better chance of growing. If funds are available we may buy some potted Cedar to plant along the base before it gets too dry. This will help with the stabilization of the slope's base.

Next meeting day is Tuesday when we plan to attack the Hog weed.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Today I played hooky away from Streamkeepers and had a day in Victoria. While I was gone the rest of the crew were down in the estuary checking on the pond to see if it was possible to enter the water to re-align the pipe. Alas, Roy said it was still too deep. Afterwards they went for a walk around the estuary and up Bonnel Creek to see if they could spot any fish. Then they went back through the estuary and checked the old woody debris jam on Nanoose Creek. Roy said it was relatively clear of blockage by small debris and this time no one fell in (someone stepped off the log up past her gum boots last fall and blamed me! My only fault was I was too slow to snap a pic of the wet leg).

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Saturday April 11 2009

Spring is here. Flowering Current Bush


A very rare Green Winged Pink Breasted Dicky Bird


Our first fish of the year.
Sculpin.


Today was another great day out and about. We went up into the mountains to Swan Lake for a walk. We checked our fish box and got our first fish of the year: a Sculpin. This proved to be quite entertaining as all the young folk crowded around the box as Cynthia tried to net the Sculpin. After many attempts, very fast at the evasive manoeuvres, she managed to net it [see pic] long enough for a quick picture then released it back into the creek.

Temperature was 7c , a little cold for the fish to be moving downstream yet. We will be checking the box every few days from now on, then every day once the fish start to move. On the way back down we stopped in the gravel pit to check on the Hog Weed. We have a small patch which over the years we have tried every non toxic method to be rid of it, Salt and vinegar seems to knock it down but it soon grows back. This year we will try the tiger torch to burn it down to the roots before it gets going again.

After coffee we stopped to check a report of fill being dumped over the bank into Nanoose Creek by the Island Hwy bridge. This turned out to be erosion from the upland hill where several trees had fallen over and unravelled the slope exposing fresh soils. Next week while we still have time we will build a Willow spilling wall along the base to catch the soils before they reach the creek then next fall plant some trees in the face of the slope to help stabilize it. 
I forgot to mention Roy returned from Maui today, to the disappointment of all the volunteers he did not wear his grass hula skirt he acquired while there.

Tuesday 7 April 2009

Dead prey?


One step too far


Taking in the beauty of it all


Nanoose Creek estuary


Today was one of those days when you just feel good about being out in nature, the sun was shining the dicky birds were singing everybody had a smile. We went into the estuary to check our fish pipe in the Ducks Unlimited pond. The water levels were too high to do the placement of the pipe so we just laid the pipe in the pond and dropped the steel post over the top to hold it down. This will do until levels drop to allow the safe wading out to drive a new post and attach the end of the pipe about 2 feet off the bottom. This will allow the fish to find their own way out into Nanoose Creeks estuary.

Afterwards we walked down through the estuary and along the tide line to Bonnel Creek. Visiting the estuary at this time we try to be very careful as the Geese and Ducks are nesting along with all the other dicky birds. We came across a dead vole (?) - we were not sure what it was but was interesting to see the cycle of life from nesting birds bringing new life to the estuary and the death of a small animal due to probably falling prey to one of the many predator visiting at this time of year, probably a Owl or Hawk.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Interconnectedness

137 species rely on Pacific Salmon for nourishment.

The forest raises the Salmon, but the Salmon raises the forest.

Eventually your neighbours runoff becomes your tap water.

- Salmon Nation

Saturday April 4 2009

Today we were at Swan Lake checking the outflow pipe in the Beaver Dam which allows for the passage of fish as they migrate downstream. When the dam is flowing over the top the fish can find their way out but as the water levels drop they have no way out other than wiggling through the dam where ever they can find a hole.

Last year a 4 inch big-O pipe was installed to allow for easier passage. In the winter the pipe is lifted on the downstream side of the dam. Today we went in to re-lay the pipe below the dam. Ed and Terry went downstream to the box to check for fish - no fish too cold yet. The Geese were on the pond making nests and as Brian, Craig, Laura and Rebecca rowed passed they made quite the racket, three flew off and one stayed to protect the nesting site.

No sign so far this year of the Elk which like to use our trail to access the Lake. No fresh Beaver sign though we know they are around, maybe when we return they will have fresh mud on top of the dam where Al and myself walked out to do the pipe.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Saturday 28th March 2009

Looking out over the pond


Today we met at the pump house on Northwest Bay road. I was late and as soon as I arrived Thomas said okay time to go and away we went for a walk in the estuary.

On the way down we checked our trees which seem to have been pruned by the Deer but still look strong with lots of growth. Errol's Spruce is now over 6 feet though has suffered some damage to its trunk from Deer rubbing its horns.

One of our objectives was to re-rig our fishway pipe in the Ducks Unlimited pond which flows from Bonnel Creek into Nanoose Creek via a stop log device and culvert. Wild Coho smolts get trapped in the pond and without a pipe they would be trapped as the water recedes in June/July. Since we installed the pipe the fish have passage into Nanoose Creek and later on once the Ducks and Geese have hatched and their young and are moving out of the estuary we will remove all the stop logs to drain the pond to allow all the fish to move into Nanoose Creek's estuary.

Today the water was too high for chest waders and Craig would not volunteer to wade out without scuba gear. We will return once the water begins to recede and we can check the pipe with chest waders. The beaver has been around as evidenced by fresh sticks and lots of grass stuffed into the top stop log.

Some pairs of geese were observed doing what looked like starting to make their nesting sites on the hummocks. The field is flooded so most of them will have to wait until the water levels recede before they can make their nests. We hope this year they will be left alone to hatch their eggs without whoever comes down and addles their eggs. This is a way they say to reduce the numbers of Geese though I doubt whoever it is has not come back and seen the very sad looking Geese sitting on the nest of rotten eggs hoping to hatch them out. One year one Goose was sitting on her nest for weeks and looked almost starving to death, she would not even move when we came close she was so sad looking.

We walked out to the beach then back up Bonnel Creek to the wild apple trees, took a couple of cuttings to graft this afternoon, good tasting apples. We returned through the Nootka Rose patches looking for more trees we had planted in the past and it looks like between Mice, Deer and anyone else who considers young trees a real treat we will have to plant some more. This is borderline planting due to the influence of sea water in the estuary but we are learning where to plant with some success and where the survival rate is lower. Spruce seem the best suited if the Mice do not chew them down. We then walked back through the field up to the road.

Tuesday 24th March 2009

Cold and wet


Today everyone met in front of the Christian school on Morello road to access the forest through Lussiers gravel pit. We went up to Swan Lake and found what we think are the same pair of Geese preparing their nesting site as they have done for the past few years . A Heron took flight from further up the lake and everyone thought they heard Roy but was just the Heron ( Roy is away in Maui).

The forest is starting to come back to life with the Skunk Cabbage starting to bloom and lots of dickie birds around. We walked down the trail and checked our counting fence which needed the mesh cleaning of debris; no fish yet its a little cold so far for them to be moving. After we went and walked up the logging road 142 to find our old trail down to the lake. Though we had not used the trail for some years it was not hard to follow down to the lake.

All throughout the forest water was flowing in flood channels and the closer to the lake we got we observed some Beaver activity from their foraging of wood for food. As we left Craig took a short swim in one of the channels, he slipped off the log and went in up to his waist with one leg, I was too slow to get his picture due to laughing though I did get a pic of him emptying his boots, I did not get his head in the pic as Craig is camera shy. Afterwards we walked back down the road to our foot bridge and went for coffee and tea.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Saturday 21st March 2009

Craig Creek


Today we went for a walk along the banks of Craig Creek at the Mitchell Farm to look at the Willow pruning the farmer had done over the winter. We walked the length of the farm and looked at the fencing and some willow wattling we had done in the past.

The fencing was done to keep the cattle out of the creek and from eroding the banks. Some fencing was moved by the farmer which now gives the cattle access back to the creek (!?). Around the small market garden the willow had been pruned heavily to remove shade from the garden plot alongside the creek, hopefully by the time the fish are moving around the willow will have grown back enough to provide shade for the creek to keep the water cool during the summer months.

Tuesday 17th March 2009



Trail erosion at Craig Creek



More trail erosion at Craig Creek


Happy Saint Patrick's Day!


Today we went to the power and gas line crossing on Craig Creek to follow up on concerns expressed by Island Timberlands Engineer on erosion issues. Upon arrival at the site we found the only erosion was from the Horse and ATV trail crossing the creek.

Over the years ATV riders have used this as access into the logging lands to avoid the security gate. This has lead to further erosion of the banks on what originally was a small foot path used by hikers and occasionally horse riders. There is not much we can do at this site as the ATVs will just ride over anything we can do , planting Willows etc.

We will make the suggestion to the logging company that they place some big rocks across the right of way at the top of the bank to block passage.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

More Photos From The Stairs


Unloading the last of the crush.


Rebeca, Laura and camera shy Kaylen on the finished steps.

Stair Building - Saturday 14 March 2009

Craig huffing and puffing with a heavy load.

Roy and Terry unloading.

The finished steps.

Al and John fitting the steps.

Almost done.


Todays project was the completion of our step project started last Tuesday. Roy acquired a donation of 3/4 crush from Lussiers pit to use as back fill in the steps. Al and John found another Cedar log to use for treads and with Brians help loaded them into Johns truck as Roy backed his trailer as close to the trail head as possible. 

When the logs were carried down to the steps Al and John chain sawed and drilled them for placement as Roy and Terry unloaded the crush into the wheel barrow manned by Barry. As Brian and Ed with help from Craig spread the crush into the steps built on Tuesday Al and John installed the remaining steps. 

We were able to use some of the bolts salvaged from the Marina cleanup to spike in the treads and as Laura and Rebecca found rocks to place at the ends the boys spread more crush into the steps. All this was photographed by Kaylen.

Upon completion everyone was proud of the mornings work they had accomplished. We were informed by the logging company to their concern over the Gas line crossing on Craig Creek and suggested that we go and have a look at the stream banks.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Tuesday March 10 2009

Today we were installing steps on one of our trails in the upper watershed. For 10 years we have used the existing slope as our trail and then someone had the idea to install steps. Wow what a difference, now no more slipping and sliding.

Later on we will get some 3/4 crush to fill in behind the round Cedar logs we anchored with 3/4" re-bar driven into the bank. No one brought a camera today so no pics but will have pics after the next visit and will update then.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Some NSKS Signage



Watershed Awareness sign located at Dublin Gulch highway rest area in Nanoose Bay.



Nanoose Streamkeeper volunteers erecting a sign.

Cutthroat Trout

Nanoose Bay Dock and Styrofoam Removal

Nanoose Bay Dock and Styrofoam Removal. Update 2008/09


The following week the size of the project of trying to remove all the docks without machinery became evident when a local resident Harold Robinson donated some machine time with his son Corey as operator. With the excavator we removed all the dock sections along the south side of the estuary and as far as we had easy access along the south shore below the railroad tracks.

All these docks were sent to the west coast for re-building and re-use. The following week another local contractor (Shoreline) with owner Doug Penny as operator donated time to remove the sections along the North shoreline around to the Oyster farm. These also went for recycling.

Meanwhile the NSKS volunteers plugged away relentlessly with other residents to remove the loose Styrofoam. A gas leaf blower which converted to a vacuum was modified by Roy for sucking up the loose particles without taking in sticks and rocks. Another 100 cubic meters of foam or more was removed by hand. DBL, a local container company, donated a truck to haul away the foam to another dock construction company (White-Water Docks) for recycling.

During this process we had made contact with the main landowner in the bay, the Nanoose Naval Base. They allowed us to access the beaches all along the north shore and one of the smaller islands near Wallis Point. During our Styrofoam removal the navy came by with their Sea Truck to pick up the foam we had collected.

Thanks to the continuing lobbying by residents and NSKS the Federal Government via Environment Canada donated money to help facilitate the cleanup and shortly after the Provincial Government came on board with a donation. Now we had the money to hire machinery and man power to do the job.

Over the summer as time and tides permitted machinery and trucks were hired to remove more dock sections, a local Oyster farmer Pete Mclean was hired to tow the sections off the beach once the machine had lifted them from the foreshore. Next, dock sections were hand removed with jacks and rollers to allow the towing off the beach at high tide in areas not accessible to machinery. All these pieces were trucked to a storage site on Snaw'Naw'As First Nations land where some are being dismantled.

Hopefully someone will want the docks that are able to be repaired and re-used. As of this posting some docks still remain at the high tide line driven into the foreshore by the storms and will also require hand removal over the coming months once the herring have spawned and its okay to work in these sensitive areas.

Nanoose Bay Styrofoam Collection

Nanoose Bay Styrofoam Cleanup

Nanoose Bay Styrofoam Cleanup an overwhelming success.

On Saturday February 16th 2008 Nanoose Streamkeepers sponsored a community volunteer cleanup drawing volunteers from the mid-Island area to Nanoose Bay to participate in the pickup of Styrofoam debris spread around the bay from the storm damaged marina. A diverse group of volunteers came together at the beach access at Nanoose Beach Road and fanned out over the estuary and surrounding beaches picking up Styrofoam and garbage. They filled a large 40yd waste container donated by Waste Systems Inc.

This was a real community event resulting in the majority of the Styrofoam being removed from the environment. This is especially important within the estuary proper where birds are already beginning to congregate for the upcoming nesting season and Wild Salmon fry are beginning to emerge within Bonnel and Nanoose Creeks.

With the amount of volunteers (aprox 75-100) we were able to exceed our expectations and remove the majority of the loose Styrofoam around the whole bay. There were a couple of small areas remaining we were unable to access but will be cleaned up over the next couple of weeks by the Streamkeepers.

Over the coming months another follow-up cleanup will be announced as we assess the main areas we need to focus on next. This spring we will be going out to the outlying Islands to remove loose Styrofoam strewn around the bays and beaches. If funding is sourced either through different levels of government or through the Snaw'Naw'As Band we will be removing the large remaining 100+ dock sections which require equipment to move.

Local politicians George Holme RDN Director and MP James Lunney joined in the cleanup. Refreshments were donated by Quality Foods, Red Gap store in Nanoose. Garbage bags and dumping fees were donated by the RDN. Thanks to them all for their generous support.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Bonnel Cr. Debris Jam

  

Bonnel Creek



Large debris jam on Bonnel Creek. This jam is above the power line crossing and though quite large it presents no barrier to Wild Salmon migration. Wild Coho are observed every year in the pools above and have spawning habitat all the way upstream to the barrier falls within Bonnel Cr. canyon. Wild Chum occasionally are seen above the jam and are seen every year milling around the base spawning and attempting to find a way through. The jam is also serving the purpose of retaining water for longer periods upstream as levels go subsurface in the reaches below.

Bonnel Cr. Gas Line Crossing



Thomas surveying the site of the natural gas line crossing on Bonnel Creek. The gas company dug out the stream bed and installed a buried Newberry weir to help prevent the migration of the stream bed over the pipe buried beneath the stream bed.

Streamkeepers worked on this site once the gas company left to seed with fall Rye to rapidly vegetate the exposed soils. A Willow spilling wall was installed along the leading edge of the left bank left exposed to further erosion from winter high flows. The Willow wall will help collect sediment and re-grow some riparian habitat within this exposed site. 

Spilling Wall



Michelle finishing a bioengineering project building a woven willow spilling wall to collect eroding material from the site of a small landslide and to slow down the erosion of the base by high flows.

Nanoose Creek Foot Bridge





Hello this is the first blog entry of the Nanoose Stream keepers blog.

Above some of the volunteers posing on the new bridge.

As we have just started our blog I ask that you bear with us as it grows. Here are some pictures of some of our activities from the past 10 years of being a Society. The first pictures are our foot bridge crossing of Nanoose Creek, this was a haywire crossing trying to cross the jumble of old logging debris with our volunteers who range in age from baby now 3 years old to 80+ our oldest members. With permission from the logging company we were able to skid a wind thrown Cedar tree down to the stream crossing the site of a old wood bridge long ago washed out with the fore mentioned logging debris creating a log jam at the site. This debris now serves as much needed habitat for resident Trout outgoing Wild Salmon fry and smolts. This blog will be updated as I have more time to add more info.