Page D2 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 5, 1993 spur removal toh By THERESA ELKIW Near the end of March 1993 a project was completed that in- volved the joint efforts of several provincial ministries, Skeena Cel- lulose Incorporated, the Nisga'a Tribal Council. and the Gitwinksihlkw Band Council. The project was not particularly large but the effects will be far- Teaching. In the 1950s and 1960s the Nass River was used by logging com- panies for moving logs downstream for pick-up and fur- ther movement fo mills in the Terrace area. , Columbia Cellulose noticed dif- ficulty as the logs reached a part of the river approximately. Skm west of Gitwinksihlkw (formerly Canyon City). Logs woukd regu- larly get caught up on the many small islands in the river. Columbia Cellulose decided in the carly 1960s to build a 170 metre long rock spur into the Nass River. The intent was to divert the floating logs into Zaul Zap Channel. The rocks used in the spur were huge boulders and the very tip, at the farthest. point in the river, was -built upon a sunken Second World War land- ing barge. Zéul Zap Channel was lined : with lava rock on the. banks to prevent possible erosion from the expected increased. water flow. Rough booms were formed at the spur in'the Nass River and were more easily controlled as they en- tered the channel, Log drives of this sort were of- ficlally ended in 1978, although the practice had ceased several years earlier... In 1989 the Ministry of Trans- portation and Highways was given jurisdiction over the road network in the Nass Valley from ' Cedar River up through the lava beds, the Nass Camp and as far west as the W.D. McKay bridge (near Greenville). A study to upgrade the road from the ‘W.D. McKay bridge -to Zaul Zap Creek noted high rock cuts along the Zaul Zap Channel. The: area had flooded -several times during high water and be- cause thigh Tock culs ate. costly to... construct an alternative was soughi, such as in-filling. part of the, channel. Further investigation of the area resulted in the discovery of the rock spur which had been built into the Nass River at the head of the channel. A 1950 highways department acrial photo showed that Zaul Zap Creek had consisted of seepage water which was very clear and ideal for a fish habitat. According: to the Nisga’a, Zaul Zap Creek had been a very pro- ductive spawning area for fish prior to the addition of the Nass River spur and. they noticed a decline in the fish population in the area over the years, In the fall of 1990 meetings were held between Skeena Cel- lulose Inc. (who currently have interests in the area) and the Gitwinksihlkw Band Council: at which concerns about the road location and its effects on fish habitat were discussed, _ Tim Fenton, operation coor- dinator for Skeena Cellulose, ex- plained that the Zaul Zap (R 29) Creek Salmonid Enhancement Committee was formed ‘‘out of the mutual needs (of those) work- ing in resource industries in the Nass Valley.” . Members of the committee in- clude two people. from Skeena Cellulose, two people from the Gitwinksihlkw Band Council, two people from the Gitwinksihlkw village, and spe- cial guest Jacob Nyce, chief of the Zaul Zap territory. - Three projects: undertaken by the committee include having had a biologist from Dave Bustard & "Associates do a one-year assess- ment of the area under study, . removal of berms (banks) in Zaul Zap Channel and the rock spur study. Fenton sald, ““We charged our- selves with increasing the fishery potential of the Zaul Zap Creek, so any activity in and around it would fall under our concern.”’ When the committee learned the Ministry the Ministry of Transportation ‘and Highways wanted. to do toad upgrading, it started to. work with the ministry - to-establish what exactly was in- volved and how it might affect Zaul Zap Creek. Other interesicd groups who Nisge’a Tribal Council, the Min- ‘istry of Forests, Federal Depart- ment of Fisheries and Oceans, JOHN DEERE DURA- NDERCARRIAGE Made Better To Last Longer. | Special Offer Expires June 30, 1993 | Undercarriage Sale GET A SUPER VALUE. | COAST TRACTOR Victoria | Conuitam OO BRANCHES: Prince George 562-1151 Fart St, John 785-6762 Smithers 847-3236 | Nanaimo 754-7735 © Campbell River 286-0614 : RUN WITH THE BEST TERRACE 635-7131 participated in discussions are the BIG MACHINERY moved quickly this spring to remove an ariifi- cal spur reaching out into the Nass River. It was built in the early 1960s ‘to help divert floating logs. The hope is that fish popula- tions will benefit from its removal. (PHOTO COURTESY MINIS-.. elp Nass fish TRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS) Ministry of Environment, and the Navigable Waters Branch of the Coast Guard. The initial meeting Of all parties was in December 1992. By the third meeting in Febru- ary 1993 the group had agreed that the removal of the rock spur would be beneficial to fish habitat in Zaul Zap Creek and to the Ministry of Transportation and Highways in regards to flood pro-: tection and Prevention of road erosion. | One consideration for moving, “fapidly inthis frojéct'is the’ tirtie’ frame when work can be done in the iver. This ‘‘fisheries window?’ is mid-March to mid- ‘Bell Pole offers thanks to all those people who | help us to be North America's largest producer of Western Red Cedar Poles Committed to managing our Common Ground. TERRACE DIVISION BELL POLE C0. LTD. ‘6630 WEST HIGHWAY 16 © P.O. BOX 280, TERRACE B.C. va 4AG : FAX (6041, 636-2289 : TELEPHONE (604) 635-6295 April in-order to cause the least impact on river life. In three and one-half days a D8 Cat, large excavator and two rock trucks had remarked the 30-year- old rock spur and removed the boulders, complete with the sec- ond world war barge, and stock- piled them on a nearby island. The impact of this reversal will be assessed for some time to come. High and low water level conditions and the effects on Zaul Zap Channel and Creek will be monitored. . Although the Ministry of Trans-) portation’ and a Highways Briony ORERIDA is protection of the Nisga’a’s Highway, Dave St. Thomas, pro- ject manager for the ministry, ex- pressed another ministry objec- tive. ; “Water flowing through the berm openings back into the ex- isting channels may be put enough gentle flow through there that it may create fish rearing habitat,”* said St. Thomas. “With the removal of the rock ‘spur a lesser volume of silty waler from the Nass River during "spawning season would possibly increase the spawning potetilial: and espe-: for Zaul | Zap C Channel, an cially Zaul Zap Creek,” he said, It is also hoped enough: river: water will flow into’ Zaul: Zap’. Channel ‘to provide gravel which: will further enhance the fish’ habitat. The Zaul Zap (IR 29) Creek Salmonid Enhancement . Com- : mitice will continue to focus on, . Zaul Zap Creek to increase its. _ spawning potential. The fact that the rock ‘spur. removal was resolved so quickly - is a tribute to the individuals and “groups who were involved and - o who will continue to be involved. - FOREST r PRODUCTS LTO. Fo over § seven 1 years, we have been proud to. ‘contribute to the economy and work with the people of the Northwest B.C. to find a better way. ‘While we strive to finance our mill _ project, our. forest management team set. new A ~-achievements of their own as they establish an - example in Integrated Resource ‘Management no Planning to be followed by 2 all ll industry. in the Northwest.