Present (18) Karen Munro, Chair, Sandie Hollick-Kenyon, Zo Ann Morten, Richard Boase, Doug Hayman, Jan Lander, Janet Dysart, Bob Gelling, Lorne Poersch, Brian Comey, Dick Pearce, Joyce Mathieson, Tacha Hyde, Richard Tak, Penny Whittam, Jordan Manley, Glen Parker, Dolores Parker
Regrets: Barbara Frisken, Ron den Daas, Graham Knell, Etovre Vese/Seymour
Action Items and Events:.
May 23, (Saturday) 9 a.m. to noon at Heywood Park – City Park Stewards – Please meet by 9 a.m. at the parking lot near the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and West 21st Street.
May 30, (Saturday) 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Lynn Valley Days
June 3 & 4 – Stream Restoration Workshop hosted by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC (www.waterbucket.ca ) – DNV
June 6 & 7 – Streamkeepers Training Course at Coquitlam
June 13 – low tide window (10:00 a.m.) – Pole Raising at Seymour Estuary
June 27 & 28 – Streamkeepers Training Course at West Vancouver
Mid June – Second Open House for Kings Mill Walk Master Plan – City of N.V. http://www.cnv.org/Parks-Recreation-and-Culture/Parks-and-Greenways/Park-Projects/Kings-Mill-Walk-Park-Master-Plan
June 27, (Saturday) 9 a.m. to noon at Mosquito Creek Park – City Park Stewards – Please meet by 9 a.m. at the park entrance near the intersection of Fell Avenue and West 17th Street.
July – date to be announced, dependant on creek water levels, Hastings Creek Fry Trapping
July 25, (Saturday) 9 a.m. to noon at Mahon Park – City Park Stewards – Please meet by 9 am at park entrance behind Chris Zuehlke Baseball Diamond (near Jones Ave and West 19th St).
August 22, (Saturday) 9 a.m. to noon at Heywood Park – City Park Stewards – Please meet by 9 a.m. at the parking lot near the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and West 21st Street.
September 13, (Sunday) 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Ambleside Park, West Van – COHO FESTIVAL
September 27, (Sunday) noon – 4 p.m. – Rivers Day at Mosquito Creek Park (near 17th St and Fell Ave) – holly walk and invasive plant pull and native planting
Ongoing – looking for steward for Mosquito Creek – everyone
ISMP (Integrated Stormwater Management Plan) – Advisory Committee or those interested in going to meetings – contact ISMP@cnv.org or the District at ISMP@dnv.org
Annual General Meeting and Election of Board (Karen Munro)
Adoption of minutes of Annual General Meeting held May 21, 2014 – moved by Dick Pearce, seconded by Doug Hayman, carried.
The following NSSK members agreed to stand for the board this year; Barbara Frisken, president, Ron den Daas, vice president, Jan Lander, secretary, Karen Munro, treasurer, and Bob Gelling as member at large.
Financial Report for 2014 year; Balance, Jan. 1, 2014 – $3,364.71, Dec. 31, 2014 – $1,705.42 (amended copy attached to these minutes). Dick Pearce moved the Financial Statement circulated at this meeting be adopted with the removal of “Friends of Hunter Park Event“ from expenses. Richard Tak seconded. Carried.
Adjournment of the meeting was moved by Richard Tak at 7:50 p.m., seconded by Janet Dysart. All in favour and carried.
Municipal Reports – North Vancouver District – Richard Boase
2015 DNV Draft In-Stream Work Plan:
- Gravel removal in lower Mackay Ck. between Roosevelt and W 1st St bridge
- Gravel removal in Evergreen Basin on Mosquito Creek, gravel to be deposited back into Mosquito Creek near William Griffin
- Inspect and maintain all the low flow bypass pipe for the Kilmer Bypass along Kilmer Rd. (Kilmer Ck., Coleman Ck., Thames Ck.)
- Lower the new weir at the fishway at Donavan’s pond. DNV to continue to investigate low flow in the pond
- Storm drain culvert and bank stabilization project, Upper Mackay Ck area. Lions Ave.
- Mission Creek bank stabilization just below Monteray
- Bank stabilization work will continue along Kilmer Ck north of Wellington Rd up to approximately Doran Rd. Still on-going flood recovery work
- Gallant Ck at Deep Cove Rd. culvert assessment and bank stabilization
- Various culvert clearance projects, removal of debris, rocks and wood on upstream ends of various culverts
Ceremonial Pole Raising at Seymour Estuary, south of the rail bridge at the end of Spicer Rd. Celebrating the restoration work completed by BCIT and Partners at the Seymour River estuary. June 13th, at low tide approximately 10:00 a.m. Everyone welcome.
ISMP Stakeholder Meeting (May 13th 2015) was generally well received by the group. There was a request and/or question as why there were not more Development Planners at the meeting.
Note from NSSK – From the table by NSSK chair, it was suggested that planners also need to be at the meetings as they bring another set of expertise and their concept of doing things differently. They need to hear the story of paving, and policy decisions—we would like to know they are getting the message. Maybe more weight to what they hear if it is from the community—problems happen on land and end up on the stream.
Municipal Reports – City of North Vancouver (by email, Angela Negenman)
Integrated Stormwater Management Plan – Thank you for your input and support of the ISMP process, special thanks to those that attended the second stakeholder workshop on Water Quality, held May 13. If you are interested in participating in future ISMP stakeholder workshops, please contact the City at ISMP@cnv.org or the District at ISMP@dnv.org.
2015 Instream works – The City is anticipating the following instream works for this summer’s instream window:
- Mosquito Creek gravel removal at the Marine Drive Bridge
- Wagg Creek erosion mitigation near foot bridges (downstream of last year’s in-channel works)
- Stormwater outfall erosion mitigation at Williams and 18th
Gravel from Mosquito Creek gravel removal will be used in Fell intake works by DFO and NSSK, in addition to CNV providing the lock blocks.
Mosquito Creek fishway – City discussions have been started with Metro Vancouver regarding alternatives (fishway and creek elevation required currently due to MV sewer line). This section of Mosquito Creek has been surveyed.
Invasive Plant Management Strategy
- The City has contracted Diamond Head Consulting to update the City’s 2011 invasive plant inventory. Data from the inventory will be used to inform invasive management work over the next five years.
- The City retained ISCMV and Diamond Head Consulting for the fourth year to conduct treatment and monitoring of noxious weeds (giant hogweed and knotweed) on park lands and City-owned natural areas. Treatment has been effective and over time the City has been able to reduce the area treated (81% decrease in treatment area for knotweed, 86% decrease in treatment area for giant hogweed). For 2015, the first round of knotweed and hogweed treatments/monitoring are complete, two more treatments/monitoring anticipated within the season.
- The City’s Invasive Plant Strategy also identified English ivy and Clematis as a priority, particularly because these species climb and compromise trees and thus can quickly impact forest health. In 2014, City crews manually removed Clematis and English ivy from the base of trees within Cloverley, Greenwood, Hamersley, Heywood, High Place, Hyak, Loutet, Mac Leod, Moodyville, Mosquito, and Wagg Parks. City crews also manually removed hops, Scotch broom and English holly from other identified priority locations throughout the City.
City Park Stewards – see list under Action Items
Everyone is welcome, no experience necessary. Evergreen will supply training, tools, gloves, and refreshments. All events go ahead rain or shine, so come dressed for the weather, with sturdy shoes, and in clothing you don’t mind getting a bit dirty. Arrive in style – please consider walking, cycling, taking public transit, or carpooling with friends to the event. To RSVP and to learn more about this program, contact Laura Nickerson, Evergreen Greenspace Programs Coordinator at lnickerson@evergreen.ca or 604-689-0766 ext. 221.
Rivers Day at Mosquito Creek Park – Invitation to Celebrate Rivers Day with the City of North Vancouver, Evergreen and other community groups!
What: Invasive plant pull (including a holly walk) & native planting event
Where: Mosquito Creek Park (near 17th St. and Fell Ave.)
When: Sunday, September 27, 2015 from 12 pm – 4 pm
High School Students will be given a signed letter confirming volunteer hours. Tools, plants and light refreshments will be provided.
DFO Community Advisor (Sandie Hollick-Kenyon)
Mackay chum release, March 20, at 6 p.m. lots of people attended, dressed for the wet weather. The hot dogs, snacks and hot chocolate were appreciated by everyone.
Morten Creek chum were released the evening of April 3, we had many helpers for the release.
The proposal to the Coho Society for weirs in Mosquito Creek mainstem was approved for $5,000. This money will be used to build weirs in the creek around the existing Fell intake. The Fell intake is also being replaced this summer; doing these two projects at the same time makes the best use of machine time at the creek. This work is scheduled to proceed early in August.
Mackay habitat restoration associated with the development at Marine and Hamilton Ave is scheduled for this summer. Note from NSSK – Is someone watching the contractor? The lot is close to the creek, commitments were made to manage invasive vegetation and someone should be responsible to ensure the commitments are honoured by the contractor.
The 2nd planning meeting to look at Seymour slide issues was held April 2. The slide site was visited in the morning, followed up with a meeting in the afternoon. To date the plan is to capture 300 adult coho from July to December, targeting 50 fish per month. These adults will be held for spawning, their progeny will be used for hatchery smolt production and fry releases in the habitat above the slide and below the Seymour dam. Radio tags will be applied to 30 adult coho to monitor their movements around the slide area.
Through the NSSK, Ron den Daas is running ten art/education all day workshop sessions mid-April through June. These sessions are offered to teachers participating in DFO’s Salmonids in the Classroom Program. The goal of the workshops is to engage students through a community art project that seeks to raise awareness of the natural environment. Students spend the morning outdoors learning about Mackay Creek and the estuary and create art in the afternoon that will be used for a new mural on a building near Mosquito Creek.
Coho Festival planning has begun this year for Sunday, September 13th, we need lots of volunteers from NSSK.
SEP Community workshop in Port Alberni held this last May long weekend was a huge success, good to hear positive feedback from those who attended.
On stepping down as president, Thank you Karen for your volunteer work as coordinator and chair of the North Shore Streamkeepers since 1993. During this period you served as co-ordinator of the West Vancouver Streamkeepers for many years. You played a key role in the production and editing of the Streamkeepers Manual that we all use today. You were instrumental in securing a large Environmental Damages Fund grant to carry out water quality monitoring on Mackay Creek for one year. Using your professional skills and expertise you co-ordinated and oversaw this work. You are a champion for Mackay Creek, where you spend time with your dog in the watershed educating friends and neighbours. You bring knowledge, skills and diplomacy to every meeting and we all benefit greatly from this; and now, you share your passion for North Shore Streams with your grandkids whenever possible! Thank-you again for your commitment and passion you share with the North Shore Streamkeepers.
Pacific Streamkeepers Federation (Zo Ann Morten)
SEP Community Workshop 2015 – Last weekend in Port Alberni. Great success and we hope to see even more NSSK members out next time in 2017. Check out NSSK and PSkF Facebook pages for photos that have been posted by Jan and Doug, and to view my presentation “Monitoring with a Purpose” – pictures, stories–many are local stories where I can speak and answer questions with conviction.
Streamkeeper VIP Insurance – slight increase but since it’s about $9.00 we were relieved. Covers works done under Streamkeepers Modules 1-14 and covers our membership list.
Recognition of the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation works with DFO’s Streamkeepers Program 20 years awesome!
Upcoming Streamkeepers Training covers Modules 1,2,3,4,7 and 11
June 6/7 Coquitlam
June 27/28 West Vancouver
Maple Creek date tba Coquitlam
Finances (Barbara Frisken)
The annual financial report (Jan 1 2014 – Dec 31 2014) is attached. The balance on Jan 1 2014 was $3,364.71; the balance on Dec 31 was $1,705.42.
Friends of Hunter Park (Janet Dysart)
Friends of Hunter Park had a successful weed pull and planting on Saturday April 25th with Graham, a few local residents and Lyda’s team from the Lower Mainland Green Team. In addition at 10 a.m. Mayor Richard Walton helped us with a dedication of the new Donovan Pond Fishway and the planting of a Noble Fir tree. He also watched Doug and Jan doing a spring survey with quite a few Coho salmon juveniles at Bubble Pool. We also planted a forest within the forest of about 1500 tiny cedar saplings
Janet mentioned her concerns with local schools using the park for games with little connection to the value of this riparian area, and our new plantings. She gave the teacher of one class from Argyle School several “Home Tips for Healthy Streams” pamphlets. It was suggested by Karen that we should connect with local schools and volunteer to speak about the work we do.
Hastings Creek (Doug Hayman)
We did our smolt trapping April 15 and it was our best since 2006. We usually get less than 5 smolts, except for 2013 when we got 13. This year we got 27 coho smolts, 12 cutties, and 4 crayfish. Jan and I walked the creek today and it is pretty low. We saw some coho fry and cutties. We are very happy with the numbers—as this shows, you do not always see the adults. Many are concerned about the depth of Donavan’s pond. DNV looked into it and think that there is a leak where Graham tried hard to stop with some planting. It is a trickle still, but some of us think sandbags at the exit to the new ladder (which is flowing well) will bring the level in the pond up. An observation, the ladder was dry this time last year and water was leaving by the outfall by ‘Bubble Pool’.
Fry trapping will be in July, date dependant on water levels. Date will be posted on NSSK message board.
Mackay Creek (Brian Comey, president N.S.F.& G Club)
There isn’t anything happening inside the hatchery right now and someone tagged the whole outside front of the building. I have never seen a tag this large on the hatchery before. They used a lot of paint on this one. I am disappointed that a person (tagger) would do this to another person’s art.
Our chickadee nesting boxes have survived to this point and at least one is being used at the moment. We won’t know until the end of the season how many get used because they only use them to have one brood then move on. When we clean the boxes in the fall we will know.
Heywood Park gets a lot of traffic and it’s great to see all the families enjoying it. The swale along the parking lot is nearing completion and looking really good. All the grasses and landscaping along it are an asset to the entrance. The new building beside the parking lot will be ready for occupancy soon.
Morten Creek (Doug Hayman)
Our worries over for now—our coho (babies) are all released either into Lynn Creek or Morten Creek pond. We have been concerned about running out of water this year, as twice we were very close to running out. Sandie and Zo Ann are working on this as there is a solution for this not far away. We released about 3400 coho fed fry into Lynn Creek last week (May 13) and 2002 into Morten Creek pond. We were supposed to put 2000 into the pond, which we did, but while cleaning the coho box today (May 20), down below the gravel screen we found 2 more (good size and looking well). Now the clean-up at the hatchery, rock gravel from coho box rinsed, then soaked in ovadine, all the boxes and the trough scrubbed clean and drained, all before starting another project which may be the new water.
Add on to minutes – Just realized we did not report our chum release. On the evening of April 3 we had a break in the rainy weather to release about 35,000 chum into Lynn Creek. The coho were ready to move into the trough, so a tight squeeze. We found everything developed a month early this year with our mild winter. As a note, Doug who keeps track of rainfall recorded 230 ml in March, 104 ml in April, and 2 ml up to May 20.
Discussion of Other Creeks and Concerns:
- Repairing/replacing Mural at Heywood Park
- Hogan’s Pools, Maplewood Creek, keeping an eye on erosion control, water quality
- Presentation to councils in the fall, focus generally of what we do, ISMP, guide to how to development applications
- Knotweed area on Parkside Creek, an island of it in the middle of the creek, suggested contacting Graham Knell, or Ralf Nettle to arrange management
Tabled to next meeting: –
- Invasive Species Meeting at Van Dusen Gardens
- Presentation to Councils
- Contact information for NSSK on website/address for donations/membership forms – downloadable and printable
.NEXT MEETING – Wednesday, Sep 16, 2015 – 7:30 to 9:30 pm, District Hall, 355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver
- DFO VIOLATION REPORTING: OBSERVE, RECORD, RECORD (ORR) 604-607-4186
A SPILL OF ANY TYPE Environment Canada – use EMBC number below
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT B.C. – 1-800-663-3456 www.embc.gov.bc.ca/index.htm
CITY OF NV – Operations Division 604-987-7155 (8 am – 4:30 pm Monday to Friday) or After-Hours Emergency Line 604-988-2212 (after 4:30pm, weekends & Holidays).
- President: Karen Munro 604-988-4072, karen-munro@shaw.ca
- Secretary: Jan Lander, #109 – 1155 Ross Road, 604-904-8708, in_the_canyon2010@hotmail.com or lander@shaw.ca
- Pacific Streamkeepers Federation: Zo Ann Morten 604-986-5059, pskf.ca
- North Shore Streamkeepers Web Site: nssk.ca
- Message board http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/232171.html
- District Web Site: dnv.org/Services/Environment/District Information
- City of North Van:: Angela Negenman 982.3932 anegenman@cnv.org, www.cnv.org
- Community Advisor: Sandie Hollick-Kenyon- 604-666-0743,
- Email: Sandra-Hollick-Keynon@dfo-mpo.gc-ca
- Hastings Creek: Doug Hayman 604-987-0434, pastoys@yahoo.com
- Lower Mackay Creek and North Shore Fish and Game Club incubation facility: Terry Bragg 604-985-7272 terrybragg@shaw.ca
- Upper Mackay Creek: Ron den Daas, ecosystem@shaw.ca
- Morten Creek: ZoAnn Morten 604-986-5059, zmorten@shaw.ca
- Seymour River: Etovre Vese, 604-288-0511; volunteering@seymoursalmon.com or seymoursalmon.com
