ate pitas coe —acead
Seine net crew untangle debris

chinook stock.

Kitimat sees fi

by Chick ‘Childerhose 7

The Kitimat River is. turbulent, turbid and -
slate-green in color, It is short and shallow. The

rolling waters forever carve new channels.

- Sandbar shift, shores erode, trees topple. For a
time the green foliage trails in the rushing
waters but, eventually, the tree becomes another
deadhead. .

As swift, silt-laden and brush-choked as it is;

the Kitimat is an angler’s river. At one time, it is

said, when the coho and chinook began to run you |
could cross the river walking on the heads of '

‘fishermen,

The anglers still line the banks of the Kitimat
River but the chinook run has declined. Part of
the reasonis sports fishermen. The main reason,
however, is the effects of logging’in the Kitimat
watershed, Clear cutting of hillsides has caused
changes in water-flow that are harmful to ail the
resident salmonid species but particularly

_ damaging to the chinook. ;
|... Fisheries départment biologists estimate that
“Hie “anhual fun of chinook returning to the

Kitimat to spawn has fallen from between 6,000
and 8,000 in the 1950s to only 2,000 to-day.

The large chinooke-prized by the rod and
reelers-can’t compare in numbers with the
20,000 average chum run or the 100,000 (even

year) pink run. But the larger numbers of these -

smaller species results in proportionately more

_ Chinooks being taken by the commercial troll ©

In an effort to slow the rapid decline of
chinooks the fisheries department has set up a
pilot hatchery on the lower Kitimat River with
‘assistance from Alcan. Some 100,000 chinook.
eggs were incubated here in 1977 and a similar:
number in 1878. The resulting fry were released
to the river, Mature fish from these releases will
.be returning from 1980 to 1984. Only then will
fisheries be able to measure the success of the

Project, .
Since it is only a temporary hatchery, adult

spawners must be ceptured alive from the river ~

: to provide the necessary eggs and milt, This is

ox
ur oe ae
ao Wi

from net following cast for brood

| sheries project —
trying to increase salmon stocks

done by  seining and gillnetting.

Due to the silty opaqueness of the Kitimat,

finding the adult chinooks needed for egg-taking
is a problem. The fish are invisible in the turbid
waters, So, too, are submerged stumps and logs

which snag the net, causing endless delays in the:

operation. a ;

. Acounting fence on one of the tributaries of the
river. would solve the problem of finding
Spawners; it would also provide fisheries.
researchers with precise data on migrating fish
in the Kitimat.

‘Thus far there is no fence but river and

watershed studies are in progress concerning the
feasibility of siting a “permanent hatchery there.
In the meantime the dwindling stock of. in-
‘digenous chinook continues down,

Colin MacKinnon, biologist in charge of the

’ pilot hatchery project, believes that even with

“enhancement” the Kitimat chinook run may
never fully recover, He regards the pilot hat-
chery~with its annual ordeal of seining for
‘spawners-as a-beginning. ~-- - - |:

“We're trying to get a headstart...to crank
some fish out and to get an idea of some of the

~ problems that will face us before the decision is

made to spend the three million or whatever the
permanent hatehery will cost.”"

Givena fullacale-sized hatchery on the Kitimat
system, MacKinnon feels the threatened chinook
stock can be saved. ‘The hatchery: would
‘produce both chinook and clium,” he said, “and
there’s talk of including coho,” .

Hatcheries are just one of the tools being used
to restore the west ‘coast salmon stocks to their
pre-1900 levels of abundance. Itis all part of the
15-year, multi-million dollar Salmonid Enhan-
cement Program: announced by Fisheries
Minister Romeo LeBlanc in June, 1976.

At present, new hatcheries are operating or
under construction at Pallant Creek, Queen
Charlotte Islands; Bella Coola; Tlupana, Nitinat
and Puntledge on Vancouver Island. Other
projects include fishways, artificial spawning
channels, rearing ponds and incubation units.

wants input

Forest service

The British Columbia
Forest Service ‘is. un-
dertaking a iarge-scale
inventory of recreational

potential in the Prince |

Rupert Forest Region—
and needs _,. public
assistance. :

“We need more input
from clubs, organizations
and individuals,” says
Alan Mills, the region’s
recreation planning co-

- ordinator. "We need to
know what kind of access
people want, for what
kind of activities, to let us
more effectively manage
the recreation resource."

Recreational use of
public land is an im-
portant part of the Forest
Service’s responsibility,
he explains. "' we
speak of multiple-use,
sustained-yield forest
management, we
recognize recreation as
one very important forest
use,”"

“Qur responsiblity Is to
manage recreation in
wildland areas,” says
Mills. ‘‘We're not, of

outside of

course, responsbile for
parks; private property
or some forest land under
the direct supervision of
private industry.”
Traditionally, he says,
recreational land use
British
Columbia's parks was
determined by the public-
for most people, that
meant going where there
was already road access.
Sometimes the results
were less than desirable.

“Somebody had to fill
the gap, and that’s where
the forest service
recreational _ program
found its roots,” he says.
“Wherever we  en-
countered high public
‘use, we'd go in and make
sure the site was
protected and main-
tained.

“Then we thought,
perhaps we'd better take
a look at the whole
recreation picture and
respond to overall public
needs and not simply
traffic patterns.” -

The result was the
present call for public
help-help in locating
areas which are now
filling a recreational:
need, and help in scouting
other sites for special
activities,

“Tf they’re needed, we
can put in day-use sites,
parking areas and boat-
launching ramps,” says
the recreation. co
ordinator. But before we
did that, we'd have to

have a strong indication |

of high use, and that
means rei need copie
approa y the people
involved,

“Our strongest in-
fluence will always be the
public,” he adds, “After
all, if they're hikers,
skiers, spelunkers, or
whatever, we're

’ managing forest land for

their benefit.”

Mills says he sees the
recreation program
playing an “adaptive

role" between difiereni

forest users when, for

example, industrial and
recreational concerns
seem to conflict. “We'll
try to hash it out with
everyone concerned to
come to the very hest
multizwe agreement.
“But let’s face it, wood
is very important; we've

got to work in harmony.

with forestry.”

The recreation
program now operates 70
“low-key, rustic camp-
sites with just the
minimum
requirements,” malin-
tained by local ranger
station staffs, and about
20 nature trails have

.been inventoried in the

Prince Rupert Region. A
project is underway this
summer to upgrade some
of the trails.

Groups interested in
contacting Alan Mills can
reach him by writing him
care of: Ministry of
Forests, Market Place,
Prince Rupert, B.C., VaJ
1B9. Telephone: 624-2121
(Local 299).

friends for life »

_ The Canadian Red Cross Society

The Herald, Thured ty, June 21, 1979, Page 8

"a

'

, | TERRACE-KITIMAT

SECOND SECTION.

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‘ _ . : ot
. _ .
+ .
< Cate
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+ n ' +

\

| The shortages

getting worse

NEW YORK (AP) — Us:
gasoline shortages worsen
on Wednesday, and officials
of V: » Maryland and
the District of Columbia
worked together on an odd-
even rationing plan for
drivers in the metropolitan
W

‘ashington area.
Odd-even rationing began

, in parts of New Jersey, the
New York City area and -

Connecticut on Wednesday.

"A plan covering all of New

_Jersey was to. begin a
mil t. :
Virginia Gov. John Dalton,
Maryland Gov. Harry
Hughes and Washington
Mayor Marion Barry were
. working on a rationing

“f- scheme Wednesday, said

Paul Edwards, an aide to
Dalton, =,

Despite minimum gasoline

sales requirements — $5 for

" four-cylinder cars and §7 for

larger autos — drivers were
still Lining up to fill up at gas

stations in Baltimore and .

Washington. The limits were
intended - to discourage
m ts from “topping off"’
nearly full gas tanks.

Officials
Idaho, Utah, W: ,
Pennsylvania, Nebraska,
Nevada, Wyoming and In-
diana reported Wednesday
that gasoline supplies were
adequate and rationing was
not planned. ;

Diesel fuel was in short
supply in some areas as
blockades by protesting
independent truckers
prevented deliveries.

Tn Florida, a federal grand
jury was investigating com-
plaints from Tampa gas
dealers _— that local
distributors were holding
back fuel allotments while
prices climbed. .

_,

)

in Montana,

FUN FESTIVAL.
THIS WEEKEND

The organization of the Fun Fest, co-sponsored ‘

by a Young Canada Works grant, a provincial
recreations. and fitness branch grant, and the
‘Terrace tion department is underway.
This one My festival will be held Sunday, June
P| ; Fa ’ .

The sch@tlule for the day is as ‘follows: ;
9:15 a.m: Children's Parade: begins at K-Mart
parking lot ends at Skeena Jr. Sec.
10:00 a.m. Opening Ceremonies: at Skeena Jr.
10:15a.m, Mini-Marathon (15 Km): begins and
ends at Skeena Jr. Sec. field .
. 10:30 a.m, Cycle-a-thon (10 Km): begins and
ends at Skeena Jr. Sec. field
10:35 a.py. Family Job (8 Km): begins and
Reena Jr. Sec. field
Hy. Sky Divers: Landing in Skeena field
. to 3:00 p.m. Food and information
Shorts Displays, ‘New Games” and

FREE FAMILY FITNESS TESTING-all at .

Skeena field
3:30 p.m. AQUATIC SHOW: at Arena pool
For more information call 635-5800 or 698-2841.

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SINT ae ae OLS Ee

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NUMGER 7
Ligh

_ Right length! Right taste! =
“Right mildness! _

Warning Health and Wellare Canada advises (hat suniper {9 health ncreases: with amount smoked — avoid inhaling

fuer age per cigarette. Repular far lamp Nw OS me Kang Sure Ta” [2 mg Ne OSmp