First Nations leaders from across B.C. are calling for immediate action on the Fraser River to remove the blockage at the Big Bar landslide site within 60 days to allow fish passage.
A B次元官网网址渟tate of emergencyB次元官网网址� needs to be declared on the Fraser River, said Regional Chief Terry Teegee of First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), urging the federal government to B次元官网网址渦rgently prioritize resourcesB次元官网网址� to tackle the crisis.
Remediation work for remote slide site being planned now by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and partners, may not be completed in time to save some salmon runs from extinction, some are warning.
B次元官网网址淭o this day, B.C. First Nations have maintained a sacred relationship with the salmon that migrate through their territories and beyond,B次元官网网址� Chief Teegee said. B次元官网网址淓xtreme efforts and resources must be put forth immediately to preserve cultures and ways of life that have existed for thousands of years.B次元官网网址�
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DFO issued a request for information (RFI) on Nov. 27 to seek the contractors with expertise in construction and environmental mediation needed B次元官网网址渢o re-establish natural fish passageB次元官网网址� by removing the blockage.
B次元官网网址淭he intention is to ensure that construction activities begin as soon as possible, and while water levels in the Fraser River are low,B次元官网网址� according to DFO in an update on Dec. 2.
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But the future impacts on Early Stuart and chinook from Big Bar blockage in particular constitute an emergency in the making right now, according to Sto:lo Tribal Council Grand Chief Ken Malloway, a Sto:lo fisherman, and member of the First Nations advisory panel on the Big Bar slide.
B次元官网网址淭he thing weB次元官网网址檙e concerned about, at this time of year with the water dropping, is there is still some very large rock that needs to be removed,B次元官网网址� said Malloway. B次元官网网址淭hey need to be in there now blasting and removing rock.B次元官网网址�
Chief Joe Alphonse, tribal chair of the Ts虃ilhqotB次元官网网址檌n National Government, said the salmon stocks need B次元官网网址渁ll the helpB次元官网网址� they can get.
B次元官网网址淩ight now there are low water levels on the Fraser. So if anything substantial is to happen it has to happen by the month of January,B次元官网网址� Chief Alphonse said, not February or March. B次元官网网址淭here is only a small window of opportunity. They have to get on it.B次元官网网址�
Last summer the Ts虃ilhqotB次元官网网址檌n were expecting to see a return of a million fish from the Chilko Lake run, the B次元官网网址渉ealthiest, strongest runB次元官网网址� of sockeye on the Fraser, he said. But only about 170,000 sockeye returned.
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Responding to early slide reports in July 2019, an unprecedented government-to-government-to-government protocol was put in place, led by the Incident Command Post management team based in Kamloops. Unified team efforts brought together provincial, DFO, and First Nations, who all worked toward freeing the fish trapped behind the slide. Current Big Bar landslide updates can be found .
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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