September workplans for Xwaaqw’um Restoration

This September, there are three areas that the public will see restoration crews working. As the large Carbon Sequestration project wraps up, the final few wetlands are being added to the back fields 8 & 9. Several small wetlands will be added to the upstream areas above the estuary, completing the water and carbon sequestration goals for the five-year Environment and Climate Change Nature Smart Climate Solutions grant.

Another area that requires attention is the collapsed log bridge in Xwaaqw’um creek. Danger trees that were hanging over the work area have been removed, so an excavator can safely approach the site. The 2021 atmospheric river did some damage to an old log bridge that has become impacted with gravel. Removal of the logs and gravel will allow for fish passage once more. This is a critical step to helping the provincially listed Coastal Cutthroat trout who use Xwaaqw’um and Lee Creeks for spawning and rearing habitat.

A Salmon Enhancement Society rearing pool at the bottom of Lee Creek will be maintained, deepening the pool for fish. This project is being completed in partnership with Redd Fish Restoration Society and DFO in Lower Lee Creek.

An additional 5 Beaver Dam Analogs were added to the upper Lee Creek basin in July. These will help support the widening of the Lee system and creating more fish habitat. Two defunct culverts will be removed from upper Lee in September to allow for fish passage into the newly restored upper Lee creek reach of 300m.

These stream restoration activities are designed to improve the year-round storage of water for Blue-listed coastal cutthroat trout and Coho salmon that live in Lee and Xwaaqw’um creeks. Both of these fish use the sandy pebbly stream beds to spawn and rear, living in the system for up to two years before going to sea. They return to spawn year after year, and have done so since time immemorial. Stqeeye’s commitment to these fish are a part of the land and sea stewardship that treats the land, mountain, sea, creeks and all the organisms in the bay as family members.

You can learn more about Provincially protected Coastal Cutthroat trout here: BC Freshwater Fisheries Society. Stqeeye’ Learning Society undertakes this work with funding by Nature Smart Climate Solutions, Pacific Salmon Foundation, MakeWay Foundation and BC License Plate Foundation funds.