Important Fish and Wildlife Habitat Secured in the Sea to Sky Corridor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2010

Important Fish and Wildlife Habitat Secured in the Sea to Sky Corridor

SQUAMISH, B.C. – The Land Conservancy of BC and the District of Squamish are pleased to announce the protection of over seven hectares of fish and wildlife habitat in the heart of the District of Squamish.

Known as the Squamish Mamquam Blind Channel and located in the traditional territory of the Squamish Nation, the property is on the shared floodplain of the Squamish and Mamquam rivers and is surrounded by a tidal slough and drainage channels. These water sources are key rearing and overwintering habitat for young salmon, and areas for adult salmon to migrate and spawn.

Since 2006, TLC has been working in close partnership with the Squamish River Watershed Society (SRWS) to acquire the site that is bisected by the Sea to Sky Highway (Highway 99) and north of the Squamish Adventure Centre.

Besides the waterways, the upland area of the property includes a marsh meadow but is mostly forested with Sitka Spruce, Red Alder, Western Red Cedar and Black Cottonwood. The variety of habitats on the site provides refuge for many species, including various species-at-risk and nesting songbirds. The species-at-risk include the endangered Pacific Water Shrew and the threatened Red-Legged Frog.

In addition to the site’s wildlife values, its proximity to the Tourism Centre and to the urban area of Squamish, gives the property an exciting potential for future educational opportunities. The expansion of the nearby trail system may also increase recreational access to the property.

TLC gratefully acknowledges the generous assistance of BCR Properties Ltd., District of Squamish, BC Hydro Bridge Coastal Restoration Fund, CN Cheakamus Ecosystem Recovery Fund, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project and BC Trust for Public Lands.

Partnerships were vital in the conservation of this important site. “Congratulations to the TLC and to all the partners that worked together to make preservation of this important wetland area in central Squamish a reality. This is an example of implementing one of our primary objectives in our draft Official Community Plan of preserving, protecting and enhancing the natural environment and environmentally sensitive areas,” says District of Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner.

“Protecting or enhancing sensitive areas is a key interest of CN and we are pleased to support this project,” says Normand Pellerin, CN Assistant Vice-President Environment. “In line with our previous commitments such as assisting with protecting a portion of the Squamish Estuary, CN continues to work with the community to ensure the ongoing recovery of the Cheakamus ecosystem as evidenced by our partnership with TLC.”

Angela Buckingham, Chief Environmental Officer with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says: “The Ministry, through the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project, is pleased to provide financial support to protect this valuable habitat. We are proud to partner with the TLC and other contributors in preserving this property for future generations.”

The land was purchased from BCR Properties Ltd. in December 2008 and the final step of transferring the ownership of the site from TLC to the District of Squamish will occur by February 2010. TLC will hold a conservation covenant which will permanently protect the natural features of the area. Future management of the site will be in partnership with TLC, the District of Squamish and the SRWS.

Since 1997, TLC has been saving special places throughout our beautiful province for today and future generations. As B.C.’s leading charitable land trust, we have protected more than 300 properties or 125,000 acres of fast disappearing natural areas, historic sites, farms and ranches, and places of community and recreational importance. TLC is proud to work on behalf of over 7,000 Members worldwide. Become a Member today at www.conservancy.bc.ca.

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For more information:
Tamsin Baker - TLC (604) 733-2313
Edith Tobe – Squamish River Watershed Society (604) 898-9171
Kim Muller – District of Squamish (604) 815-5025

Squamish River Chum Retention Opportunity

Category(s):
RECREATIONAL - Salmon


Fishery Notice - Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0923-RECREATIONAL - Salmon - Region 2 - Squamish River Chum Retention Opportunity

Returns of chum salmon to the Squamish River in 2009 are sufficient to provide
a retention opportunity on the Squamish River.

Effective 00:01 hours November 11, 2009 until 23:59 hours November 29, 2009 in
the mainstem of the Squamish River downstream of the powerline crossing located
approximately one and a half (1.5) kilometres upstream of the Cheakamus River
you may retain:

- one (1) chum per day.

You may also retain one (1) hatchery marked coho per day on the mainstem
Squamish River downstream of the powerline crossing until December 31, 2009.

The Cheakamus River and Mamquam River as well as all tributaries to the
Squamish River downstream of the powerline crossing remain closed to the
retention of chum. The opportunities on the Cheakamus and Mamquam Rivers remain
at:

- one (1) hatchery marked coho per day.

V.O.# 2009-430

Anglers are reminded that a hatchery marked coho means a coho salmon that has a
healed scar in place of the adipose fin.

Anglers are reminded that the use of bait is not permitted on the Squamish
River and tributaries and that single, barbless hooks are required when fishing
for salmon and when angling in all streams of Region 2.

For more information regarding salmon fisheries please contact the Squamish DFO
office at 604-892-3230, or call our salmon information line at 604-666-2828.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada is very concerned about illegal fishing activity
and asks for assistance from the general public in reporting activities of this
nature or any contravention of the Fisheries Act and Regulations. Anyone with
information can call the 24-hour toll-free Observe, Record, Report line at 1-
800-465-4336.


Fisheries and Oceans Canada Operations Center - FN0923
Sent November 10, 2009 at 14:40
Visit us on the Web at http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Squamish River Steelhead Survey

It has been rumoured and pretty much verified that the Ministry of Environment (MoE) is taking the funding away from managing steelhead in the Lower Mainland. There will remain a steelhead biologist on staff, however, none of the time that this person spends will be on enhancing or managing steelhead. That would mean that all of us that purchase a steelhead tag, hoping that the money goes back into the area are in for a shock! None of the money will go into the Squamish River watershed with this change.

In an effort to gain momentum on increasing the Steelhead productivity in the Squamish system I am interested in getting some feedback on the readerships steelhead experiences on the Squamish River.

If and only if you spend time on the Squamish River Watershed - including the Mamquam, Squamish, Cheakamus, Elaho, and Ashlu Rivers specifically targeting Steelhead, please take the time to fill out the Survey. The results will be brought to the attention of our various local stakeholder groups to which I attend meetings of. If you have comments, please include them on the survey as well.

Click Here to take survey

The survey is anonymous by the way unless you put your name down!


Tight lines!

Clint

Squamish Salmon Return 2009 - Coho and Chum Salmon

Mountain peaks are white once more with the onset of the Fall weather this week and the salmon are here. The Squamish, Mamquam and Cheakamus rivers are all running low and clear, however, within a few days we should see an increase in flow. When the weather stays below zero up in the mountains, the rivers generally stay in good shape for fly fishing. In fact, a bit of colour wouldn't hurt right now not to mention that the additional flow will draw in more of those feisty chum salmon hanging out in the Howe Sound.




Coho have been coming in regularly with seals having fun hunting them down throughout the lower part of the Squamish river below the Cheakamus confluence. Targeting these coho on the fly with the low water requires smaller flies and perseverance. Look for slower water with signs of happy fish! Happy fish are the ones that jump out and give you a wave with their pectoral fin every 15 minutes or so. If you don't see any, move faster through that section of water! keep your leaders short and your retrieves fairly steady...stay above the fish. If you are hitting the bottom your are not fishing your fly fast enough!

As far as targeting chum this early, they tend not to be very aggressive until there are a lot of fish in the system or there is more water. Stay with smaller flies in the skinnier water conditions and use purple, chartreuse and orange with some flash.

Good luck out there and see you on the water!



This fly was tied on a Knapek Size 8 Streamer Hook - Great Hooks!

-Tight lines,

Clint

Squamish Pink Salmon Return 2009 - Update 2

The Summer of 2009 continues to prove to be a challenging one. Local rivers continue to run high due to the 34+ degree weather we have experienced over the past week. The thunderstorms that occurred on July 25th raised water levels to freshet levels and melt caused by the hot weather has maintained those levels.


Squamish River levels are available online here

The Mamquam continues to carry glacial till from Ring Creek making visibility marginal at best, however, the Mamquam remains at a fishable level.

A debris flow from the Cheekye river caused by the heavy rains during the July 25th storm has partially blocked the Cheakamus River causing concern for the small village of Cheekye. There is a great photo of the debris flow in the Squamish Chief newspaper article that you can read further here. The Cheakamus River continues to add glacial till to the Squamish River from Culliton Creek.



The photo above is of the Squamish River July 30th with Mount Garibaldi in the distance. The thunderstorm clouds that caused the Blackcomb Mountain Fire are also visible behind Mount Garibaldi.

With all this gloom and doom, there is hope. I have seen seals actively working the river searching for salmon and I do not believe they would be there for fun. When the water does recede, fish will be present and we will be there to catch them! Maybe Squamish Days Loggers Sports is the thing to do this long weekend!

Tight lines,

-CG


Underwater view of a pink fly in the current water conditions (the fly is a few inches from the camera lens...)

Squamish Pink Salmon Return 2009

I got up at the ridiculous hour of 4:15am yesterday to go try the estuary and beach of one of the local rivers for some staging pink and chinook salmon. Sitting on the beach for two hours waiting for a fish to show seemed like forever. Patience is a virtue. Finally at around 6:30am I saw my first salmon of the year jump clean out of the water, a Chinook. A jolt of energy got me up off the log I was sitting on and down to the water I went. Cast after cast I attempted to offer the fly to the area I thought the fish might be. Nothing. Then, like clockwork, salmon started to show about every half an hour until I left at 8:45...but alas none were interested in my flies. Two other fly anglers also showed up but not one of us bent a rod. Nest time I'll get 'em.

Later in the evening I went to the Squamish river to see what I could see...and fish of course. The only excitement to be had was watching the helicopters working to put out a forest fire at Alice Lake. Although we saw no fish, the one seal we did see makes me think there is a trickle of fish heading into the river and today the fish might arrive in some better numbers. Optimism is a fly fishers best friend.

Remember that there is ZERO retention of pink salmon for 2009 in the Squamish river. For the official DFO Fisheries notice visit this link.

Also Note that there is a daily limit of 2 pink salmon in the tidal waters. For the official DFO notice visit this link.

Tight lines
-CG

Spring Wrap Up

Spring Wrap Up

Spring 2009 has been a time of volunteering and reconnaissance. Volunteering with the Squamish Streamkeepers at the Meighan Creek fish fence once a week counting coho smolts heading to sea was great. On one occasion I had my 5 year old son and my 7 year old daughter come along to see what is was all about. I could see the excitement in their eyes when we were climbing down to the trap to see what bounty was inside the box. Fortunately there were a few coho smolts for us to count and release. The smolts were dubbed "Rainbow" and "Goldy" by the kids just before being released back into Meighan creek to continue their journey to the ocean. Good luck Rainbow and Goldy....see you in a few years!

Meighan Creek Fish Fence - Squamish BC (Brackendale)

Catching steelhead on the Cheakamus River for telemetry studies proved interesting as well. Watching how the fish were tagged and transponders inserted was very exciting and educational. The information that will be gained from this will be extremely valuable.

Stump Lake, Edith Lake, Brohm Lake, and Cat Lake all produced some nice rainbow and cutthroat trout fishing this spring. Of the lakes in the Squamish area, Brohm lake and Cat lake are probably some of the easiest to access with kids and produce the best on most occasions. Remember that with kids it is more important to find fish to tug on the line as they generally lose interest very quickly....unlike us die hards! For fly fishers, try leech patterns in the #12 to #8 sizes in black, brown, orange (for tannin lakes like Edith and Stump), and green especially when fish are feeding on daphnia and copepods. Finally, remember that it is best to go to these lakes on weekdays rather than weekends as most lakes are very busy with swimmers and other fishers on the weekends.

VFG Guide Ryan Treneer with a nice Edith Lake rainbow!

Rainbow Food! An assortment of Daphnia, Copepods, Glassworms, and Chironomids....that trout was eating well! - Ryan Treneer Photo

Using worms or powerbait is a sure way to get your kids into fish, however, be prepared to take home what you hook regardless of size. The surface temperatures of the lakes in Squamish right now are in the high 60's and low 70's due to the hot weather we received in late May and early June. Temperatures greater than 65F are lethal to trout if they spend any length of time there. A fight on the end of the line for even a short period will surely mean their demise. Make sure wherever you are fishing that you have read the current regulations regarding use of bait and catch and release: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/#Synopsis There is no fishing with bait in rivers or streams in our area! If it is moving water there is a bait ban and barbless hooks are manditory.

Future Guides in Training!

Looking Ahead

Summer solstice is upon us. Not much snow pack remains up in the Coastal Mountain range meaning we should be back on the rivers within a few weeks. Salmon should be returning to the river in mid to late July with the peak of the return occuring mid to late August. July and August should prove to be great months for dry fly fishing on the Birkenhead River, north of Whistler and the Upper Cheakamus and Mamquam rivers in the Sea to Sky corridor.

Upper Squamish Snow Pack June 11th, 2009 - Mount Cayley

The Chilko river is expecting a fantastic sockeye return of approximately 4,175,000 sockeye according to DFO estimates. Fishing in mid to late August through September 15th should be fantastic for both rainbows and bull trout with egg patterns. Mid July through August is the best time to go for the stonefly hatch! Dry fly fishing for wild rainbows is spectacular especially on the Chilko!

Chilcotin Mountains with Chilko Lake in the Distance June 11, 2009

We look forward to a great Summer of fly fishing in the Squamish area on Beautiful BC! And if it weren't beautiful enough, you could always take a flight into the Chilcotins!

Tight lines!

Clint

Flying in the Coast and Chilcotin Mountains June 11th, 2009