With project construction soon to get underway, representatives of the parties involved in the Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek restoration project gathered at the Haig-Brown Kingfisher Creek Society office on Monday, July the 6th. Working with the premise that this project will provide a considerable net gain in fish habitat, the group has worked out the final details and concerns related to flood diversions, sediment control, fish passage, gradient, stream excavation, flow rates and re-vegetation.

Map of planned creek route.
Click on map for larger version. (32K)

The goal for this summer is to complete the excavation of about 950 metres of new stream channel, and have it vegetated by September. This deadline is critical because the succeeding months may prove too cold for seed crops to germinate, take root, and stabilize the new stream banks. Left with no vegetation, the high winter waters could likely erode much of the newly graded banks, causing major sedimentation problems downstream.

Revolutionary techniques are currently being developed that will leave the freshly dug stream channel complete with large woody debris, new vegetation, and pre-existing cover. Challenges associated with accomplishing this primarily involve removing unwanted organics (i.e. the old soil), and importing the new materials (clay bed liner, cobble, gravel, and large woody debris) in a way that is reasonably efficient for the machine operators, but will not impact the surrounding ecosystem.

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