James Creek cascades through the heart of the Children’s Forest and empties into a large salt-water lagoon at Grandmother Grove. The biologically diverse James Creek watershed, the largest on Cortes Island, provides extensive wetland and riparian habitat that supports spawning chum, coho and cutthroat trout. The FTCCIS sponsor streamkeeper workshops & activities, organize annual youth spawner counts, and provide youth stewardship of James Creek.
Much of the natural spawning gravel that once existed in James Creek was scoured away during early logging practices. The James Creek Spawning Gravel Project aims to add spawning gravel to the creek and increase the spawning potential for chum. We can report a highly successful completion to the first phase of laying spawning gravel into James Creek in Sept 2020.
Support and approval was obtained from the following parties: Mosaic Forest Management Corporation for access to the private managed forest lands which James Creek runs through; Fisheries & Oceans Canada who provided licensing and site approval; Mainroad Contracting for the free supply and transportation of spawning gravel to the area; FOCI for their administrative support and insurance coverage; the Ministry of Forest & Lands for permitting approval; the Community Forest General Partnership for access to gravel storage on crown land, and FOCI Streamkeepers for overall coordination of the project.
The spawning gravel was transported by bucket, wheelbarrow and zipline by 21 hard-working community members in 2 epic work bees. We estimate the project took 180 total volunteer hours and moved 460-part buckets and 9000 pounds of gravel. Twenty-one very tired bodies but lucky spawning chum!
The following link takes you to an article posted on Cortes Currents:
