Restoring salmon habitat: river restoration, Merritt, B.C.

Restoring salmon habitat: river restoration, Merritt, B.C.

Salmon have a really amazing life cycle. They go through so much in their life to get where they need to get, just to create the next generation.

To me, salmon symbolize a healthy watershed. So let's do everything we can to make their freshwater existence as great as it can be.

We've actually got two projects happening here. One is the Skuhun River.

And what was happening is the Nicola was washing out the, basically Skuhun Creek. So it was going to be inaccessible for the fish.

That project’s being done because it's a fish bearing stream for steelhead, coho and Chinook. And all three of these species are stocks of concern in our area.

The second project that we have here is called the High Bank. And because of the erosion that occurred in November of 2021 and prior, we're losing those cultural sites, which are those pit homes.

Sʔístkn, or a pit home is what we used to live in prior to contact. So these pit homes, they still have artifacts within them.

It's because of truth and reconciliation and Canada adopting UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ) that we've got a voice to say we need to protect these areas.

So fish haven't been able to get into Skuhun Creek. And it's a very important watershed, so, really important to give them access to the habitat that they want to be in.

So we’ve had to haul in a lot of rock. And that’s what’s going to keep the river from migrating back into the high bank.

Yeah, the large rock basically is what prevents the river from moving where we don't want it to go.

We plant the willows for fish habitat, plus to hold the rocks in place as they grow bigger and the roots.

So the reason for these trees embedded into our rock is to slow the water through this section, so the fish have a chance to rest on their journey upstream to their spawning beds.

Each of the salmon is vital, not only to the people and our sustenance, but to the ecosystem.

You know when I come down here, it’s one of the most exciting projects that I've been working on.

And the team that we’ve got has just been phenomenal.

When you think about the incredible journey that salmon and other species that are migrating from the ocean undertake on an annual basis. To have them come back to their home creeks, their watershed, only to be shut down at the front door. It's just impossible not to get yourself involved in.

So to see something like this happening where you're providing new access for fish back on the ground, it's very, very rewarding to see it in action.