Secwepemc Fisheries Commission
680 Athabasca Street West V2H 1C4 Kamloops, BC, Canada

#secwepemc #salmonhabitat #sustain

Wishing you all happiness, health, and a more abundant 2021.

#secwepemculucw #secwepemcstrong #2020worstyearforsockeye

Fire and Fish in Bonaparte Watershed In 2017 the Elephant Hill fire ended up being one of the most destructive wildfires in BC history. It devastated the Bonaparte River watershed and surrounding areas, severely affecting the Bonaparte Band’s traditional territory. The loss of vegetation and changes to the soil caused by the fire has led to a huge increase in the amounts of water, sand, and gravel being flushed into the river. The risk for downstream flooding, erosion, and... destruction of important fish habitat is extreme. To address these watershed threats SFC staff assisted with a field study this summer and fall. The Bonaparte River Sediment Transport Research project is a partnership between Bonaparte Band, SFC, Fraser Basin Council, and University of BC’s Department of Geography through principal researcher David Reid. Data was collected on river channel stability and gravel size to gauge the areas in the river most at risk of instability. The intent is to determine what kind of changes are occurring, where they are the most severe, and how long they might last. Hopefully, tracking these changes will provide useful planning information for future watershed restoration efforts by the Bonaparte Band and other managers. #Bonaparte #salmon #UBC #Stuctwesecm #elephanthill #Secwepemculecw