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

[GLG]

Big Bar landslide response information bulletin​

October 4 2021

Final Early Stuart sockeye release marks the conclusion of this year’s Big Bar enhancement field work​

On September 28, the last 40,000 Early Stuart sockeye parr were released into the important sockeye habitat of the Takla-Trembleur region of the Upper Fraser watershed. These parr, a stage between fry and smolt, were reared from eggs collected from adults at the slide site in the summer of 2020. This fall fall release, combined with the 50,000 fed fry released in spring of 2021, will result in higher adult returns.

These operations are critical to the ongoing Big Bar landslide response to help a population under severe conservation threat and listed as “endangered” by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). DFO and Indigenous partners will evaluate the results and impact of this conservation work when the adults return to spawn in 2024 and 2025.

The Big Bar landslide response team would like to thank the Takla Nation, Nak’azdli Whut’en, Tl’azt’en Nation, the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance and our Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP) for their contribution to the long-term survival of this key, sockeye population.

Coho salmon expected at Big Bar in coming weeks​

As the pink salmon run concludes, sonar data is recording the arrival of small numbers of coho 40 km upstream of the slide site at Churn Creek. The coho migration through this area will continue through early November.

To date, 23 radio tags have been applied by technicians to coho captured at the Lillooet fish wheel. Tagging will continue until mid-October 15, when the fish wheel will be demobilized for the winter.

Final stages of demobilization​

On September 28, during the final week of demobilization, representatives from Public Services and Procurement Canada, Province of British Columbia, DFO and First Nations conducted an onsite review with prime contractor, Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit). Equipment hauling from Big Bar is now complete with most materiel moved to Lillooet and then onward to final destinations.

On September 27, the reclamation of the camp was completed, which included the removal of gravel, adding topsoil and seeding the area. Archaeological monitoring was ongoing while this work was underway.

Release strategies for the 2021 Big Bar Enhancement Program​

Chinook​

For the first time the Big Bar enhancement team is exploring a two-stage release for Chinook juveniles, starting with those reared from eggs collected in 2021. The objective is to assess survival rates based on adult Chinook returns in future years.


The first stage involves rearing and releasing a portion of the juveniles as fed fry into their natal streams in late spring or early summer 2022, as was done with the 2020 brood year releases. Timing of all releases is dependent on river flow conditions. These fry, fed until they are an appropriate size for transport, will then follow their natural life cycle, spending a year in freshwater first before migrating towards the ocean in spring 2023 as yearling smolts.

The second stage entails rearing the other portion of fry for a further year and then releasing them into their natal streams as yearling smolts in April 2023. These fry will be initially selected by a number of factors, including the female parents' disease screening results. These fish will join their juvenile smolt cousins previously released as fry and begin migrating soon after towards the ocean.

Similar enhancement operations with interior Chinook stocks have concluded that releasing yearling smolts increases survival rates and boosts the number of adult salmon returning to spawn. Holding these fish in hatcheries for an additional year helps to reduce the high fry mortality rates that occur in freshwater streams and rivers. Larger numbers of smolts will then survive and migrate to the ocean.

Obviously, monitoring is a key component of this work. As such, the Big Bar and SEP teams will use both parental-based tagging and coded wire tagging to monitor the results of these release strategies and their impact on future adult returns.

Early Stuart Sockeye​

The strategy for the 2021 Early Stuart sockeye juveniles will follow the same approach undertaken in 2020. The 300,000 eggs currently being incubated at the Shuswap River and Takla Nation hatcheries will be released as fed fry into their natal watershed in late spring or early summer 2022. The other 800,000 eggs currently being incubated at the Inch Creek Hatchery will be divided into two releases – as fed fry in early summer and as parr in early fall 2022.


In spring 2023, the juveniles will make the 1,200-kilometre journey to the ocean as one-year old smolts. After two or three years in the Pacific, they will return to the Fraser River and migrate back to the Takla–Trembleur watershed.

Current images of work being done at the landslide site​

Last week, First Nations and community partners joined our staff to release Early Stuart sockeye parr into the Takla-Trembleur region of the Upper Fraser watershed.
Top soil being spread at the former site of the Big Bar camp.


Fish transport tanks were moved to the Spius Creek hatchery.

https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pacific-smon-pacifique/big-bar-landslide-eboulement/index-eng.html

 

[High Time]

Am I missing something here or is that it for remedial work on the Big Bar slide? Have we turfed all thoughts of constructing a proper fish ladder to allow fish passage in future years when higher water conditions prevail? We may have dodged a bullet this year because water flow was exceptionally low and the work done along the shoreline was enough to let some fish through but what about the previous two years. Does anybody out there know what's going on, or has DFO decided that insuring proper passage during all conditions is not a high priority and our salmon are just not worth it? There's got to be more to the story.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Am I missing something here or is that it for remedial work on the Big Bar slide? Have we turfed all thoughts of constructing a proper fish ladder to allow fish passage in future years when higher water conditions prevail? We may have dodged a bullet this year because water flow was exceptionally low and the work done along the shoreline was enough to let some fish through but what about the previous two years. Does anybody out there know what's going on, or has DFO decided that insuring proper passage during all conditions is not a high priority and our salmon are just not worth it? There's got to be more to the story.

yeah im confused as well, as i thought the plan was to construct a fish ladder this fall. What happens if the natural fish ladder washes out?

 

[GLG]

Big Bar landslide response information bulletin​

July 27 2021

On this page​

• Wildfire update
• Monitoring program update
• Enhancement program update
• Ongoing site operations
• Next steps for the Big Bar landslide response

Wildfire update​

Since our last update, and until July 20, the Mckay Creek wildfire was exhibiting normal fire behavior, and crews were able to safely access the Big Bar slide area to continue operations. Crews have been monitoring the Flat Lake, Churn Creek and Chasm wildfires, which all had the potential to impact the site, site access, or crew accommodation.

On July 21, the Mckay Creek wildfire evacuation order was issued for an area encompassing all Big Bar Landslide response operations and the Peter Kiewit Sons ULC (Kiewit) camp at kilometre 96. All crews have evacuated safely. As of July 22, crews were awaiting updates from BC Wildfire Service on the status of the evacuation order. Aspects of the program that are outside of the area covered by evacuation order continue.

Crews remain in daily communication with the BC Wildfire Service members assigned to the Mckay Creek wildfire to monitor any changes and ensure the safety of everyone on site.

Monitoring program update​

At this time, salmon—including Early Stuart sockeye—are finding natural passage and migrating past the Big Bar landslide site. This is a direct result of the improvements made to the “nature‑like” fishway this past winter. In addition to natural migration, technical experts have confirmed that the migration is occurring through a broader range of river flows. River conditions are also more favourable in 2021 in comparison to the extreme high water conditions witnessed in 2020. As of July 21, 2021, 55,563 fish have been detected upstream of the slide site at the Churn Creek sonar station.

The total number of salmon tagged as of July 21, 2021 is 260, of which 208 are Chinook and 52 are sockeye.

“Trap and transport” crews are standing by, ready to move fish by truck if required.

Enhancement program update​

As part of the Big Bar emergency enhancement program, the first 476 Early Stuart sockeye collected from the Lillooet and Big Bar fish wheel sites were transported to the Cultus Lake Research Laboratory between July 12 and 23, 2021. These salmon are being collected as broodstock to support impacted populations. The adult sockeye will be spawned at various facilities and their fertilized eggs incubated. Once the eggs hatch, the fry will be reared for varying lengths of time before being released back into their natal streams.

The program’s target is to collect 803 Early Stuart sockeye while the collection of Chinook broodstock from natal streams is set to begin on July 26.

Ongoing site operations​

Last week, crews continued to work on maintenance of the fish ladder. Crews also completed an inspection of the system’s pumps by removing them from the water and replacing a damaged pump.

The West Pavilion Road re-opened on July 13 for heavy equipment hauling, but was closed again on July 21 due to the evacuation order for the Mckay Creek fire. Crews also worked on revising their fire prevention plan and lightning monitoring procedures.

Next steps for the Big Bar landslide response​

Summary​

Ever-evolving site conditions have impacted the safe and timely implementation of the permanent concrete fishway at Big Bar. As a result, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is suspending further construction on that structure, and the contract with Kiewit will be terminated following the completion of summer site operations and Kiewit’s demobilization. The tripartite remediation team (Indigenous, federal and provincial representatives), is pursuing a structured analysis to review options and establish a long-term solution to safely restore natural fish passage through the area.

Background​

Following an analysis in mid-2020, a permanent fishway was identified as the most certain and reliable option to restore natural fish passage in advance of the 2022 salmon migration season. Between February and March 2021, multiple rock fall incidents and extreme weather impacted crew safety and forced a halt to work on the permanent fishway construction. The prime contractor, Kiewit, immediately undertook further slope stability assessments, which determined that installation of a permanent fishway, as originally designed, was not possible by May 2022. The completion of the structure and the construction costs cannot be adequately estimated due to slope stability issues and the challenges posed by inclement weather and unsafe site conditions.

Therefore, DFO will suspend the installation of the permanent fishway and conclude the contract with Kiewit. With the support of First Nations partners and the Province of British Columbia, DFO is undertaking an analysis to explore alternatives and develop a suitable long‑term solution to address the complex challenge of safely restoring fish passage at Big Bar.

The analysis will allow DFO and its partners adequate time to study existing and incoming data—including input from First Nations partners and third-party consultants—and consider the performance of the “nature-like” fishway. Together with First Nations and the Province, DFO and Public Services and Procurement Canada will continue to coordinate short-term enhancement, monitoring, and fish transport programs while pursuing a long‑term solution.

Current images of work being done at the landslide site​

Crews remove pumps from the water to inspect them for damage. Click to enlarge.Flume maintenance. Click to enlarge.

Additional images of the work underway as part of our response efforts can be seen on the Government of BC’s Flickr channel.

This is the update that has information on what is next for this site.

 

[Dave]

This is the update that has information on what is next for this site.

All we can hope for are favorable migration patterns it seems ... not good when last years low flows were more an anomaly than not. Considering two brood years of many sockeye and chinook stocks have already been lost, next year we may see how bad this slide is.

 

[wildmanyeah]

I guess i missed that when i was readying them

"

Background​

Following an analysis in mid-2020, a permanent fishway was identified as the most certain and reliable option to restore natural fish passage in advance of the 2022 salmon migration season. Between February and March 2021, multiple rock fall incidents and extreme weather impacted crew safety and forced a halt to work on the permanent fishway construction. The prime contractor, Kiewit, immediately undertook further slope stability assessments, which determined that installation of a permanent fishway, as originally designed, was not possible by May 2022. The completion of the structure and the construction costs cannot be adequately estimated due to slope stability issues and the challenges posed by inclement weather and unsafe site conditions.

Therefore, DFO will suspend the installation of the permanent fishway and conclude the contract with Kiewit. With the support of First Nations partners and the Province of British Columbia, DFO is undertaking an analysis to explore alternatives and develop a suitable long‑term solution to address the complex challenge of safely restoring fish passage at Big Bar."

 

[High Time]

Well that's just great! Lets have another study, and let's do that over four or five years and then there will be no reason to do anything because there will be nothing left to rebuild. The Liberals have being throwing billions of dollars around like confetti but we can't build a fish ladder, c'mon!
They could deal with Hells Gate almost a hundred years ago and now we are going to explore alternatives. What a pathetic lot they are....

 

[Whitebuck]

This^.....they literally paint you a picture that everything is ok! The clueless general public eats it up as a big win!
Explore other options when we are 7 months away from freshet?
They should post the final in season returns for this years early chinook and sockeye numbers in the tributaries above the slide. Then post the numbers of those rivers from 20 years ago.

Seems like they are taking the same route they are taking with our steelhead.
Absolutely disgusting what is happening with our country....

 

[GLG]

Well that's just great! Lets have another study, and let's do that over four or five years and then there will be no reason to do anything because there will be nothing left to rebuild. The Liberals have being throwing billions of dollars around like confetti but we can't build a fish ladder, c'mon!
They could deal with Hells Gate almost a hundred years ago and now we are going to explore alternatives. What a pathetic lot they are....

So what is your solution?
Should DFO hold a gun to their heads and tell them to get back to work?
How many lives lost would be acceptable to you under the past project plan?

 

[Whitebuck]

So there was no problem the last couple years working in that exact same area.....but now due to bad weather and other issues they are going to walk away from it?

If the slope is now all of a sudden "unstable" let's hope our government is working to find a way to stabilize it so another slide doesn't block off the choke point again. Would be pretty bad if another rock slide wrecked all the hard work the workers and First nations have done at the slide site.

 

[wildmanyeah]

I don’t think it was about the danger to workers Thoes risks could be mitigated.

In my opinion it’s probably about boulders falling and destroying what they had planned to build. That it probably requires a full redesign or cost over runs so to site specific issues.

or kewit seen the writhing on the wall and that there current bid because remeber this was put out to tender was not going to be profitable for them.

so they found a way to walk from it.

“The completion of the structure and the construction costs cannot be adequately estimated due to slope stability issues and the challenges posed by inclement weather and unsafe site conditions.”

to me this reads more of a money issue then anything else. Perhaps kewit through a stupid number out to finish it.

 

[wildmanyeah]

Show me the money

good way to get out of a contract blame it on geology and safety.

 

[cohochinook]

Show me the money

good way to get out of a contract blame it on geology and safety.

Election is over and they're going home!

 

[SpringVelocity]

Election is over and they're going home!

Yep pretty clear.

 

[GLG]

The election was over in July? It seems jumping to conclusions is the best way forward for some.

 

[Dave]

The election was over in July? It seems jumping to conclusions is the best way forward for some.

Exactly. How is this linked to the recent election?

 

[wildmanyeah]

The **** part is that it now too late to do anything for the upcoming season. We get another event where its 10-30% above normal flows and it will be catastrophic.

So it natural fish way and or trucking for 2022 and i do wonder if trucking is still on the table since it looks like they are reclaiming the mobilization area.

 

[Dave]

The **** part is that it now too late to do anything for the upcoming season. We get another event where its 10-30% above normal flows and it will be catastrophic.

So it natural fish way and or trucking for 2022 and i do wonder if trucking is still on the table since it looks like they are reclaiming the mobilization area.

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be much concern expressed by all the groups that are going to be affected by this turn of events.
As you say wmy, this could be the end of upper Fraser salmon stocks.

 

[wildmanyeah]

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be much concern expressed by all the groups that are going to be affected by this turn of events.
As you say wmy, this could be the end of upper Fraser salmon stocks.

I assuming that they think the natural fish way under increased flows will still work. Since they have not said anything to the contrary. I just had high hopes that this project would continue, since they did say earlier in a report that they were looking at fraser migration improvements.

It just seems like this year was 30% below normal all was good and were moving on. In the future under normal conditions sure it can be passable but are they delaying? is it going to be an added challenge.

Perhaps will get more on future plans at some point.

I just don't want to hear in 2022 oh they are having trouble migrating past this is so surprising to us.

 

[Derby]

I assuming that they think the natural fish way under increased flows will still work. Since they have not said anything to the contrary. I just had high hopes that this project would continue, since they did say earlier in a report that they were looking at fraser migration improvements.

It just seems like this year was 30% below normal all was good and were moving on. In the future under normal conditions sure it can be passable but are they delaying? is it going to be an added challenge.

Perhaps will get more on future plans at some point.

I just don't want to hear in 2022 oh they are having trouble migrating past this is so surprising to us.

If you are of your local SFAB confrence call this fall please mention thsi and your concerns so it be noted and in the minutes....