Adams River Restored as North America's Greatest Sockeye Run
© Environment News Service (ENS) 2000
October 4, 2000
ADAMS LAKE, British Columbia, Canada, October 4, 2000 (ENS) - After years of human impact on its ecosystem, the Adams Lake watershed, home to North America's largest sockeye salmon run, has been successfully restored.
Located 65 kilometers (40 miles) east of the central British Columbia town of Kamloops, the Adams River is the site of one of the biggest sockeye salmon runs in the world. Travelling 400 kilometers (248 miles) against a raging current and thousands of obstacles, salmon fight their way up the Fraser and Thompson rivers before arriving at the Adams in October. There, they reproduce and die.
In a dominant run, which occurs about every four years, up to 200,000 visitors come to see as many as two million salmon jam into the creek to spawn. The next such run is forecast for 2002.
Scientists are still uncertain as to how salmon species locate their homeward route after three years spent in the ocean, but there was no doubt that logging and road building were hindering the Adams River salmon run.
Today, after seven years of work and investments totalling C$2.9 million (US$1.94 million), Forest Renewal BC and International Forest Products (Interfor) declared the Adams Lake watershed a healthy, thriving ecosystem once more.
Established in 1994, Forest Renewal BC is a government corporation that acts as an investment agency, taking some of the wealth generated by public forests and reinvesting it back into the land and its people.
Interfor is a British Columbia based logging company that is often the subject of emotional protests by environmentalists, particularly for its logging operations in the old growth forest of the Elaho Valley, north of Vancouver.
Today the timber company was singled out for praise at least from the head of its partner in the restoration, Forest Renewal BC.
"Interfor and the other partners involved put in tremendous effort to reclaim the Adams Lake watershed as a healthy, thriving ecosystem," said Roger Stanyer, Forest Renewal BC chairman. "This work protects a resource highly valued in the area for fish habitat, clean drinking water, First Nations traditional use, recreation and agriculture."
More than 350 kilometers (217 miles) of road were deactivated or upgraded and nearly 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of stream rehabilitated since 1994 as a result of the Adams Lake watershed restoration project funded by Forest Renewal BC. Spawning channels have been built and salmon catches regulated.
"The Adams Lake watershed restoration is a great example of what can be achieved by working together, and the partnerships built here hold the promise of other successes in the future," said B.C. Forests Minister Jim Doyle.
Interfor carried out the project in partnership with the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, the federal agency Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Shuswap Nations Fisheries Commission, the Adams Lake Indian band and private landowners in the area.
"We want to be seen as a fish friendly lumber company by doing as much as possible to protect our freshwater resources," said Alan Thorne, forester with Interfor-Adams Lake Lumber. "We know this salmon resource is vital and have taken measures to address the problems of pre-Forest Practices Code harvesting around Adams Lake."
The Forest Practices Code was established in 1995 and developed new standards of forestry management while creating penalties for those who did not abide by the code.
Forest Renewal BC and Interfor will continue to monitor and maintain the Adams Lake watershed to ensure its health is maintained.
Between 1994 and 1999 Forest Renewal BC invested about $350 million provincially to assess 860 watersheds damaged by past harvesting activities, restore 150 watersheds and perform restoration work on 320 watersheds.
Forest Renewal's new long term target is to restore a further 20 per cent of priority watersheds by 2003.
Interfor hit by worst day of vandalism in two decades
For the second time in three weeks, Interfor was counting the cost of vandalism inflicted on its logging operations in the Elaho Valley, Tuesday. Hundreds of spikes were found driven into logging road bridges, immobilizing heavy equipment and stopping work.
The company puts the cost of the damage at $40,000. Last month, B.C.'s Supreme Court imposed unprecedented one year sentences on two Elaho protesters for criminal contempt of court.