Fraser Valley – Every two years, there is some form of gravel removal from local riverbeds. Environment groups express concern over the survival of fish habitat when this procedure happens.
From Black Press: The Vedder River Management Area Committee has been the body that has historically planned and designed sediment removals from the Vedder River and Canal to maintain floodway capacity and flood prevention since 1983.
In an open letter to government and media, Jesse Zeman – BCWF Executive Director vetted concerns of what potentially could be, the biggest gravel removal in local history and the environmental impact:
Dear Ministers Heyman and Ralston,
The B.C. Wildlife Federation is deeply concerned about the scale and extent of the MCSS Vedder River gravel removal project proposed for this summer in Chilliwack. This commercial aggregate harvesting project is unprecedented in scale and carries significant risk of damage to pink salmon rearing habitat, along with the potential for massive erosion of the stream bed and large-scale sediment movement.
Dr. Marvin L. Rosenau, BCIT fisheries instructor, notes that gravel removal has never been allowed during a pink salmon spawning year, due to the likelihood of disruption to their reproductive performance. Destabilization of the stream and its gravel beds carries a high likelihood of disturbance to developing eggs and larvae. Pink salmon return to the Vedder River and its channels in odd years to spawn. At the very least, this project should be delayed until a non-spawning year.
Until recently, the volume of material removed from this area for flood control was roughly 100,000 cubic meters of gravel and for the past 20 years, less than that has been deemed necessary.
The proponent is currently seeking authorization to remove a record 360,000 cubic meters of gravel from the Vedder River between July and September 2023, notwithstanding that the stream had already been over-extracted by almost two-thirds of a million cubic meters of material.
This massive increase in volume during a pink salmon spawning year is unprecedented in its volume and in the risks it poses. The project should be immediately deferred, and the scale of the project reconsidered.
Yours in Conservation,
Jesse Zeman
BCWF Executive Director
