North Shore Streamkeepers Meeting November 15, 2017

7:00pm North Vancouver District Hall

Download as a .pdf

Present: Barbara Frisken (chair), Barbara Frisken (secretary)

Regrets:  Janet Dysart, Karen Munroe, Bob Gelling

Attendance: 21

Video: Climate Change Adaptation (5 min)  BC Government

Municipal Updates

NVD – Richard Boase

• Finalizing a special consultant report on Lower MacKay beaver family; specifically asked consultant if coexistence of redeveloped park (with dike) and beaver is possible; questions about fish passage in particular
• Met with Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to discuss foreshore enhancement in front of Maplewood Flats; note Maplewood local plan offers opportunity for a new stream
• Demonstrated new water quality equipment; training to begin soon; will need to develop memorandum of understanding with user groups; measures dissolved O2, pH, conductivity, turbidity; opportunities for spot checks, or perhaps leaving device in stream during storm events; Barbara told Richard that the NSSK Board had identified a number of sites for monitoring and were looking for people interested in monitoring particular sites – Keegan (Mosquito), Deanna and Tara (Lower MacKay), perhaps Rhiannon or Kate (Hastings)
• MacKay dike work is out for tender
• Barbara asked Richard if the DNV could add a notice asking people not to dump greenwaste outside their fence into green space, particularly near creeks. Branch clippings clog the fish ladders and trimming piles can become rat attractants.

NVD – Tyler Farley

• Bridges at Della Cr (?) and Upper Mission Cr have been completed
• Chum spawning in Maplewood Cr

NVC – Angela Negenman

• Thank you for participating in Rivers’ Day – mural booth was very popular
• Spirit Train and Green Necklace work continues, should be done by next year
• The Shore (new development) has finished planting on Mosquito below 2^nd, also residents are interested in volunteering on Mosquito (Keegan is aware of this)
• Request for proposals out for city park stewards

DFO Update – Sandie Hollick-Kenyon (DFO Community Advisor)

• Low pink returns in many lower mainland streams resulted in no pink eggs collected from Tenderfoot Hatchery for Burrard Inlet projects
• Fortunately, some later run pink salmon returned to Chilliwack River Hatchery that I was able to collect ~ 130,000 eggs from. Some of these eggs will go to both MacKay and Morten Hatcheries
• Worked with the DNV to manage 3 beaver dam sites on lower MacKay Creek to ensure fish passage
• Seymour roundtable meeting this fall to update all stakeholders on what is happening with the slide and other fish issues on the river. Presentations can be found on their website at seymoursalmon.com.
• Lynn Creek habitat project meeting at BCIT – Glen Parker to update
• Set up MacKay hatchery incubation in preparation for chum salmon eggs coming in October
• Chum eggtakes at South Alouette River for Burrard Inlet projects
• Burrard Inlet Science Symposium – info and minutes at twnsacredtrust.ca
• Seymour seining – last of the season – chum collected and spawned; coho transported to the hatchery and released above the slide
• DFO wild Salmon Policy open houses – google for more info:

DFO wild salmon policy

DFO wild salmon policy consultation

DFO wild salmon policy implementation plan

Online survey workbook

• Pacific Science Enterprise Center (PSEC) – open stewardship and citizen science session tomorrow 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at West Van Lab

Pacific Streamkeepers Federation – Zo Ann Morten

• Fisheries Act (and related legislation) is being worked on, should come out soon
• Wild Salmon Policy implementation planning is underway
• Provincial Government has been very stringent on dike cleaning
• We only have insurance for 34 members

Member’s Updates:

Hastings Creek (Doug Hayman)

Throughout the end of August, Sept & Oct, Tim and Doug have been monitoring and keeping Hoskins and Lynn Valley Road ladders clean and free of Debris—all in preparation for the coho spawners that head up Hastings Creek.  A new section, from the pedestrian bridge between Ross Rd and 27th St upstream to Ross Rd. has been added to the coho spawner surveys this year.  A pilot, as good spawner areas and pools there.

We started surveys Oct 28 and Oct 29 (Hunter Park, Ross Rd sections respectively), walking the sections of the creek each Saturday and Sunday.  One adult spawner was spotted in the pool below Ross Rd. by the Ross Road group on Oct 29. No adult spawners spotted yet by Hunter Park group. Both survey groups have seen coho juveniles in pools and some large cutthroat trout were found in the pool below Ross Road—an indication of spawners as the trout like to poke the female coho for their eggs. All an indication that Hastings Creek still has had spawners, though we are not spotting many. With all this rain, expect to see some spawners this Saturday. I did hear of one seen at the bridge behind Argyle School at the end of Baird St. The fellow who saw it, took a video and has offered to show me it to me.

I have some sad news about Bob Gelling. You may have noticed he has not been around. He has been in Lions Gate Hospital and was getting ready to be moved to a care home when he broke a leg while they were getting ready to do a cat scan. This happened while he was in bed. The doctor told him that he will never walk again. Such sad news for a great Streamkeeper. Tasha has a card for us to sign for him.

That’s it, Doug

MacKay Creek – Heywood Park (Brian Comey)

On October 25^th, Sandie brought 34,161 green Chum eggs from the Alouette R to the MacKay Cr Hatchery. These eggs were fertilized with milt and placed into Heath trays to begin their life. Eggs from 13 females and milt from 15 males were used in this process.

Chum salmon are returning to MacKay Creek. On October 2ith, Keegan counted 11 Chum in our survey area and after a little rain on November 9^th, Ron and I counted 9 live Chum and 3 arcasses in the same survey area. While doing an inspection of lower MacKay Creek, I spotted 9 live Chum, 6 of these 9 were waiting for more water to continue past an obstruction in the creek. I hope they made it. I also saw 3 carcasses in this part of MacKay I would like to see some more.

I responded to two emails from interested people re: MacKay Creek.

MacKay Creek – Lower (Deanna MacTavish)

• We counted 16 live and 19 dead chum in our most recent survey

MacKay Creek – Upper (Ron den Daas)

• No coho seen on spawner survey to date though healthy populations of coho juvenile continue to develop.
• Lack of rain may have been playing a role in this with the added feature of many heavily blocked areas with debris. It will be interesting to see the effect of the current heavy rain cycle on the flow of the creek.
• Knotweed continues to grow rampantly in several areas in the creek bed of Upper Mackay Creek
• Nov. 12 I saw 30 returned Chum adults and 8 carcasses between Mackay creek hatchery and 1st ave.
• Coho ‘Discovery Day’ Workshops are starting tomorrow on lower Mackay Creek. There are 5 workshops being offered and there is now a waiting list for this program.
• Finally, interpretive signage, a brochure and a related website is being developed around the Mackay creek hatchery and the Mackay and mosquito creek estuaries along the spirit trail showcasing important salmon habitat features and related community art works that have been developed through the coho ‘discovery day’ workshops.

McCartney Creek (Glen Parker)

Nothing to update except that the Maplewood development adjacent to the creek has passed the first DNV Council vote. In the proposal is the gathering of water from the hillside to form a new waterway to the ocean. Two routes are proposed. The information circulated at the meeting is shown below:

In addition, Glen asks that we add Keith Cr to the agenda for the next meeting, as there are plans to reroute this creek as part of the highway reconstruction.

Morten Creek (Doug Hayman)

This will be another short report. We made two trips for Chum eggs The first on the 17th of Oct, getting an estimate of 18,200 green eggs. The 2nd trip on the 25 of Oct, getting another 15,600 green eggs giving us a total of 33,800 green eggs. They are all in the Chum boxes.

We started our brood stock fishing this week and did get lucky with Dave catching a nice male.  Just wondering if we have ever seen one that was not nice.

Some good news is that there were lots of juvenile Steelhead where we were fishing. Nice to see. That’s about it for this time, Doug

Mosquito Creek (Keegan Cassidy)

• One chum observed in lower Mosquito
• Planning to write a grant proposal to do enhancements on Mosquito below the Wagg confluence, first will monitor water quality
• First pair of coho observed spawning in Fell Channel

Other Updates

Ephemeral Channel Lynn Creek funding and counts update (Glen)
The project is a collaborative effort between the BCIT Rivers Institute and the North Shore Streamkeepers with key involvement by the DNV and DFO. Site was identified for enhancement in a study for Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and in a BCIT student project. This project requires significant planning & engineering to meet the issues associated with an urban stream. The schedule is for the planning & engineering in 2017 and field work in 2018. The planning & engineering work in year 1 is estimated at $30,000 of the total project estimate of $75,000+/-. BCIT, NSSK and DNV have confirmed their support. DNV will provide significant in-kind support managing the required permits, providing native planting materials and monitoring. BCIT will engage students as part of the Ecological Restoration Program. Confirmed funding for 2017 is $21,000. The presentation made at the meeting is attached to these minutes.

Incentives for stormwater planning – DNV council meeting presentation (Glen)
We went to DNV to ask Council to investigate:  Incentives for permeable (green) surfaces; Dedicated funding for stormwater infrastructure; A starting point would be to have staff provide a report on stormwater rates, credits and/or rebates used in other cities; We believe the investigation will lead to reduced infrastructure costs, innovation, enhanced livability and save fish. The result was acceptance of the presentation and referral to staff to incorporate into an already planned report on stormwater issues to council. The presentation made to Council is attached to these minutes.

Treasurers Report (Glen Parker)

Balance: $15,569; Allocations: General $4001; Education $2180; 2018 Workshop $188 of $400; Blue Ecology $200 of $200; Lynn Channel $9000 of $9000. Cheque for $2180 was presented to Ron for Artists for Kids.

Membership Report: 37 paid members. List circulated at meeting for updates. Clarification on when payments are due and effective to be discussed at a Board meeting.

New Business:

NSSK Workshop – February 17, 2018 (Glen Parker)

We plan for speakers to summarize the recommended legislative updates related to fish/fish habitat related to streams. The objective would be to help educate and update Streamkeepers on the legislative framework we operate in and the progress that is being made. It should include a recap of the Cohen Commission/Wild Salmon Policy issues, with a focus more on what has been done and next steps, rather than failures would be valuable. We want to try for a glass “half full” atmosphere rather than the “almost empty” that is so common. We want a key message to be that Streamkeeper’s input matters and can result in change. We are thinking of combining the speakers with a short film on a related topic to enhance the event and reinforce the message that Streamkeeping does have an impact. We are also thinking of a panel/question period on how to use the existing/proposed legislation to enhance Streamkeepers’ positive effects.

Upcoming Events:

• Blue Ecology Nov 28^th civicinfo.bc.ca/event/2017/Blue-Ecology
• Spawner Surveys
  • Hastings Creek/Hunter Park (contact Jan Lander)
  • Hastings Creek/Ross Rd (contact Barbara Frisken)
• DNV Council Meeting November 20, 7:00 pm – Jan and Doug to receive Civic Recognition Award
• Next Meeting: January 17, 2018 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
• February 17, 2018 – NSSK Workshop
• Other 2018 Meetings: March 21, May 16, September 19, November 21, 7:00-9:00pm

NEXT MEETING – Wednesday, January 17 – 7:00 to 9:00 pm, District Hall, 355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver

 

DFO VIOLATION REPORTING:  OBSERVE, RECORD, and 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).

District of North Vancouver – environment@dnv.org  to respond to public concerns about construction practices and ESC concerns

• President: Barbara Frisken, 604-985-9497, frisken@gmail.com
• Secretary: Janet Dysart 604-983-3092 mervynd@telus.net
• North Shore Streamkeepers:
  • Web Site: nssk.ca
  • Email: nssk@gmail.com
  • Message board http://disc.yourwebapps.com/Indices/232171.html
  • Facebook NSSK: facebook.com/nssk.ca/
• District Web Site: dnv.org/Services/Environment/District Information
• City of North Van: Angela Negenman 604-982-3932 anegenman@cnv.org, cnv.org
• Pacific Streamkeepers Federation: Zo Ann Morten 604-986-5059, pskf.ca
• DFO Advisor: Sandie Hollick-Kenyon 604-666-0743, 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: Brian Comey bmcomey@hotmail.com
• Upper Mackay Creek: Ron den Daas, ecosystem@shaw.ca
• McCartney Creek: Glen Parker 604-929-8450, gepa@telus.net
• Morten Creek: ZoAnn Morten 604-986-5059, zmorten@shaw.ca
• Seymour River: Sharee Dubowits, 604-288-0511; volunteering@seymoursalmon.com or seymoursalmon.com