The short term goal of the Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Restoration Project has been to complete the engineering and building of the 700 meters of creek channel reaching from the Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek’s west branch, near Hwy 28, to the end of 16th St. in Campbell River. The first couple weeks of the project were spent digging a narrow meandering stream channel south of Campbellton Elementary. The past week or so has focussed on developing the wider, lower reaches. The Restoration Project is now beginning to bring together the individual pieces of this project in order to push forward towards its goal. Until today, the area in between the higher and lower reaches of the section had not been tackled. This was partially due to the large amounts of paving and landscaping that had been underway around the school. Now that the new parking lot has been paved, and the machinery has moved on, it will be up to the creek work crews to piece together the entire section.

The connecting segment of the two sections is relatively short in length (only about 30 meters) and will hopefully only take a couple of days to complete. However, as part of the larger goal, it is very significant and will provide a sense of accomplishment for those involved in the project. Once this short segment is completed, work crews can move on to a higher reach of the watershed, leaving this area to naturalize and establish vegetation.

Campbellton Elementary's new parking lot has
been finished, making way for the creek crews
to complete the stream section connecting the
already excavated upper and lower reaches.

The large excavator has been working in the connecting segment since last Friday, and will presumably complete the section early this week. Since the recent donation of enough large boulders, the last foreseeable obstacle to this 700-meter reach has been overcome. This week will probably encompass finishing fine details on this reach, as well as setting up equipment and machinery in the pools immediately above 16th St. The pools above 16th St. will be much more challenging to the crews as a result of steeper gradients and an already complex landscape.

The people involved in the project, as well as the fish, have already seen and felt the progress that has been made in the creek up until now. One hopes that the next reach will progress as quickly as the first, and that the blessing of dry weather will follow.

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