Elaho River Salmon Restoration Project
Streaming Media
Presentation Abstract
The focus of this project has been to remove several house sized boulders that created an anadromous barrier in the upper Elaho River, a traditional Chinook salmon river. The project was developed in partnership with Squamish Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada in order to modify the barriers to restore Chinook salmon access to over 50km of upstream river habitat. Historically, Squamish Nation had summer camps in the upper Elaho River watershed to harvest Chinook salmon but after the construction of the Elaho Logging Road in the early 1970s the river was narrowed and large boulders resulted in an anadromous barrier. Over the past 5 years the Squamish River Watershed Society has been removing the boulder obstructions and working with the local Tenderfoot Hatchery to release juvenile Chinook salmon into the upper watershed. In order to assess the effectiveness of the restoration efforts a rigorous fisheries monitoring program was initiated to establish base-line data and then to follow-up post-restoration. The monitoring program included physical observations of juvenile salmonids through electofishing techniques as well as collecting water samples for eDNA analysis. Drone videography also accompanied the obstruction modification to capture before and after imagery. The removal of the rock obstructions through blasting has been very successful and in coming years we hope to see adult Chinook salmon being able to access the upper watershed once again!
Session Title
Poster Session 2: The Salish Sea Food Web and Cycles of Life
Conference Track
SSE14: Posters
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2022 : Online)
Document Type
Event
SSEC Identifier
SSE-posters-46
Start Date
26-4-2022 4:30 PM
End Date
26-4-2022 5:00 PM
Type of Presentation
Poster
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Stream restoration--British Columbia; Wetland conservation--British Columbia; Chinook salmon--Habitat--British Columbia
Geographic Coverage
British Columbia
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Elaho River Salmon Restoration Project
The focus of this project has been to remove several house sized boulders that created an anadromous barrier in the upper Elaho River, a traditional Chinook salmon river. The project was developed in partnership with Squamish Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada in order to modify the barriers to restore Chinook salmon access to over 50km of upstream river habitat. Historically, Squamish Nation had summer camps in the upper Elaho River watershed to harvest Chinook salmon but after the construction of the Elaho Logging Road in the early 1970s the river was narrowed and large boulders resulted in an anadromous barrier. Over the past 5 years the Squamish River Watershed Society has been removing the boulder obstructions and working with the local Tenderfoot Hatchery to release juvenile Chinook salmon into the upper watershed. In order to assess the effectiveness of the restoration efforts a rigorous fisheries monitoring program was initiated to establish base-line data and then to follow-up post-restoration. The monitoring program included physical observations of juvenile salmonids through electofishing techniques as well as collecting water samples for eDNA analysis. Drone videography also accompanied the obstruction modification to capture before and after imagery. The removal of the rock obstructions through blasting has been very successful and in coming years we hope to see adult Chinook salmon being able to access the upper watershed once again!
