Rock slide in Fraser River, B.C., may hinder salmon passage

Anxious to see where this goes. Must say it is great to see the machinery with access on the west side of the river to those huge boulders. Sure hope they get that second blast done on the east toe.
 
If the Fed govt/DFO doesn't fix this problem then they are incompetent beyond description!!! This has to be fixed this spring to avoid wiping out entire runs of salmon on the Fraser - no excuses make it a priority and get it done!!! :mad:
 
Whole in the Water said:
If the Fed govt/DFO doesn't fix this problem then they are incompetent beyond description!!! This has to be fixed this spring to avoid wiping out entire runs of salmon on the Fraser - no excuses make it a priority and get it done!!! :mad:
Click to expand...

well the answer from Rebecca Reid seems to be it will not be fixed
 
Maybe then it is time to start peaceful protests in front of DFO offices to get them to prioritize this work? What a pathetic state of affairs! Time for citizens to tell Trudeau and Co. this is not acceptable!!! What does it take to get DFO to do something properly???
 
Whole in the Water said:
Maybe then it is time to start peaceful protests in front of DFO offices to get them to prioritize this work? What a pathetic state of affairs! Time for citizens to tell Trudeau and Co. this is not acceptable!!! What does it take to get DFO to do something properly???
Click to expand...

If you listen to it they do mention that first nations are pushing for this to be fixed as soon as possible. So i doubt anything we could do would push this further. The reality is it seems between september and december they realized that DFO was not capable of dealing with this and this put it out for tender. There just is not enough time to for a hells gate like response after that.
 
How is protesting going to speed up this work? There is only so much that can be done in such a short time frame, hydro logically speaking. 2021 is when it really needs to be fixed as Quesnel and Chilco sockeye stocks will be on their dominant cycle. Imagine 8 million dead sockeye floating down the river ...
Chinooks above the slide are basically done; far too few spawners in some systems for any genetic diversity and/or hatchery broodstock.
 
wildmanyeah said:
If you listen to it they do mention that first nations are pushing for this to be fixed as soon as possible. So i doubt anything we could do would push this further. The reality is it seems between september and december they realized that DFO was not capable of dealing with this and this put it out for tender. There just is not enough time to for a hells gate like response after that.
Click to expand...

What is infuriating is that DFO knew about this in Oct-Nov of 2018 and now there are saying that they still can't fix the problem. The bottom line is a growing number of people simply do not believe much of what DFO says anymore based upon their past track record of being manipulated by whatever federal party is in power and their general level of incompetence (e.g. east coast cod fishery).

Maybe folks can tell I am pretty pissed about this subject because if not fixed it could seriously impact salmon populations and any associated fisheries and the communities and people that depend on these fisheries for many years to come!
 
Whole in the Water said:
What is infuriating is that DFO knew about this in Oct-Nov of 2018 and now there are saying that they still can't fix the problem. The bottom line is a growing number of people simply do not believe much of what DFO says anymore based upon their past track record of being manipulated by whatever federal party is in power and their general level of incompetence (e.g. east coast cod fishery).

Maybe folks can tell I am pretty pissed about this subject because if not fixed it could seriously impact salmon populations and any associated fisheries and the communities and people that depend on these fisheries for many years to come!
Click to expand...

The reason that DFO knows that the rockslide happened in Oct-Nov 2018 is that they went through the satellite data to find out when it occurred. DFO was notified, by a river rafter, in June of 2019 as this timeline shows. If I recall correctly they went with a helicopter 2 days after the report.

big-bar-timeline-chronologie-eng.jpg
 
You already have these upper early stocks starting to enter the lower Fraser. Would not surpise me if some are already at the blast site.

Dave is 100% right some of these stocks are almost functionally and genetically extinct. The other rivers need to get hatcheries, habitat restoration and any help they can get asap. Even these rivers are a cycle away from being toast.
 
Big Bar landslide response information bulletin
March 13, 2020

Blasting and removal of in-river boulders well underway
The contractor, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC, continues its success with in-river work at the landslide site. Over the last week, crews blasted three of the boulders considered critical for removal that were blocking the centre and west side of the channel. Following the blasts, the broken rock was excavated from the river and larger pieces were used to reinforce the access road.

Environmental oversight, including in-river hydro-acoustic monitoring for fish presence, continues to be carried out ahead of each blast. Monitoring downstream of the slide did not detect any fish in the area before the blast and no dead or injured fish were observed.

Meeting with High Bar and Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nations
On March 4, 2020, senior executives from the Province of BC, DFO and PSPC met with the chiefs and councillors of the High Bar First Nation (HBFN) and the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (SXFN) at the HBFN office in Clinton, BC. The group reviewed the current progress and future plans, and BC, DFO and PSPC committed to greater future engagement.

Spring Works planning underway
Working with the Joint Executive Steering Committee (JESC), DFO moved forward on Spring Works planning with PSPC to ensure successful fish passage via alternative means, if needed.

2020-03-13-a.jpg

Boulder D7 before blast.

2020-03-13-b.jpg

Blasting of boulder H7 (D7?)

2020-03-13-c.jpg

After D7 blast.

2020-03-13-d.jpg

Excavating after blasts.

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pacific-smon-pacifique/big-bar-landslide-eboulement/index-eng.html
 
I think some of the platforms they are making are for fish ladders at higher water levels. Not sure but I think someone said that at a recent meeting
 
The east toe is the most critical part.

Freshet will be starting in a week or two.
A lot of those boulders will be 30ft or so underwater in a couple months. The Fraser is at is lowest levels of the year right now. What you see now will be very different come may/june!

Let's hope the funnel on the east side is gone asap!
 
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