Society Attends Annual Streamkeepers Roundtable

Tyler Storgaard (seated left) speaks about the Society’s membership

Streamkeepers in and around Vancouver’s Lower Mainland met in Burnaby on March 6 to share information.

The roundtable was hosted by the Stoney Creek Environment Committee and those participating were asked to present the following from the past year:

  • Highlights

  • Challenges

The evening served as a time to share thoughts and to discuss collaboration so as to improve behaviours and practices in and around the watersheds we all represent.

Hoy Creek Hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard provided a presentation on behalf of the Hoy/Scott Watershed Society (HSWS). Supporting him were the HSWS president and directors.

The Society would like to thank the Stoney Creek Environment Committee for ensuring worthwhile meetings like this take place.

Over 12 streamkeeper groups were present.

Oil Spilled into Hoy Creek

Look closely to see the colours of oil on the surface of the water.

On February 6, at approximately 2:45 p.m., a hatchery volunteer noticed oil on the surface of the water by Hoy Creek Hatchery.

The oil was reported to the City of Coquitlam by Hoy/Scott Watershed Society.

The City went out to investigate and reported back to the Society that the source was found by Douglas College staff and drainage crews were deployed.

The City later provided further details:

“Our sewer/drainage crew was working with facility staff from Douglas College yesterday afternoon/evening and reported that multiple private side catch basins (CB) were affected and had fuel/oil leaking into it. Apparently, it was caused by a leak from a dump truck. Absorbent pads were placed at these CBs to control the spill, and a vactor truck was called in to remove the oil from the system. It sounds like they found some oil left in some of the private CBs as well as one public CB. The vactor truck was at Douglas College the day of the spill vactoring out whatever was left in the City-side CB.

The Society was advised that City staff will also check some of the private side CBs to see if there is a need to have those vactored.”

The public is urged to be mindful of storm drains, which are meant for rainwater only, and are not for refuse disposal.  Individuals observing a dumping or a fish kill in our streams, or the presence of any other possible pollutants are encouraged to immediately report the event to the authorities. Contact numbers are provided on our website’s contact page.

CLICK HERE TO READ HOME TIPS FOR HEALTHY STREAMS

Society Presents to Coquitlam City Council

Hoy / Scott Watershed Society presented to the City of Coquitlam Council on January 16, 2023. Speaking on our behalf was HSWS president, Kyle Uno and vice-president and hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard.

Kyle Uno also introduced other members from the society who were in attendance: Anne Woosnam, Robbin Whachell and Maya Uno.

The purpose of presenting was to introduce ourselves to the council, talk about the partnership we have with the City, and then provide some of our future vision for the Society and how we can work with the City to achieve that vision.

The hatchery rearing pond was originally constructed by the Brewer family to raise trout. In 1995, with help from the City and the Optimist Club, the pond was enclosed and converted to raise salmon and the hatchery building was constructed in 1997.

In 2002 our Society was officially formed. We have currently about 65 members from high school students to seniors and are run by a 9-member Board of Directors. All of our members are volunteers. We operate with a small grant from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as any donations we receive and specific grants we apply for, including the Spirit Grant.

In partnership with the DFO and the City we operate a salmon enhancement program and raise both Chum and Coho salmon. We currently are incubating about 35,000 Chum salmon eggs and about 16,800 Coho. We do a broodstock collection of Chum and Coho salmon from the creek every Fall and do an egg take/fertilization process at the hatchery. The Chum will be released at the fry stage in a couple of months while we will keep up to 5,000 of the Coho salmon in our rearing pond until they are about 18 months old when they will be released at our Salmon Leave Home Festival.

We also operate a number of programs to support our creeks and to keep them healthy for our salmon. One of those programs is storm drain markings on nearby streets that drain into Hoy Creek. These serve as a reminder to people that anything put down our drains empty directly into Hoy Creek and many fish-bearing streams. Tyler will talk about some of the challenges we face in our creeks when residents pour illegal substances down our storm drains and the impact that can have on our salmon, both wild salmon in the creek and our hatchery salmon.

With the City’s assistance, for the last year, we have had a real-time instream water quality monitoring program that measures the temperature, conductivity, turbidity and pH of Hoy creek at our hatchery site. The system will provide us with alerts if any of the measurements exceed a certain level. So we often see the alerts if there is a spill in the creek or during periods of heavy rain in the winter time due to the road salt runoff. We also monitor the water quality in two other areas of the creek with help of DFO data loggers. This data will assist us in determining the overall health of our creek and the effect it has on our salmon population. We were also just recently successful in our Spirit Grant application to buy additional data loggers for our rearing pond. This will give us real-time data on the health of our rearing pond.

Throughout the year we maintain the trail along Hoy creek by cleaning up any garbage but every summer when it’s safe for young fish to wade through the creek we will do an extensive cleanup of garbage in or on the creek banks. For the last two summers, we have concentrated on Scott Creek on Runnel Drive across from Value Village as well as along Aberdeen Ave near Rona. There tends to be a lot of garbage in these areas most likely due to some homeless camps that we have found near the creek.

Another program we manage in the riparian areas of the creek is invasive species removal. We tend to focus on removing Himalayan blackberry along the creek banks as it can impede native plants from growing along the banks providing shade for the creek and lower water temperatures. The city assists us through its Bad Seed program and with providing native plants for re-planting these areas. We are also active committee members of the City’s Invasive Species Advisory Committee.

Partnership with the City and Future Vision

A big part of what we do is in public education and awareness of our local environment and the fact we have salmon-bearing streams in our urban environment. We co-host with the City the popular Salmon Come Home Festival every October and in May, the Salmon Leave Home Festival. These festivals were paused during the pandemic but we were pleased to have the Salmon Come Home event return to normal this past year. We also host a number of tours for school groups, Scouts, and other community organizations, like the Douglas College Ecology program.

HSWS had identified three capital projects in 2020 that will be needed to support the Society, watershed and community for years to come.

As the Coquitlam City Centre area continues to grow around Hoy/Scott Creeks, our ask is to be included in the Official Community Plan (OCP) with a new education centre.

Recognizing a new education centre is a larger long-term goal from the identification to the implementation stage, we would like to ask for support from the City to construct a chainlink enclosure onto the existing chain link lean-to.

This extension would allow for the placement of an already procured circular 6’ tub for the hatchery to support multiple species. Currently, we are not able to hold broodstock (adult spawners) or fry of both coho and chum salmon.

As the climate and environment around us continue to change, the salmon returns are more challenged. This past fall, we witnessed both chum and coho returning within the same period over several weeks and that complicates spawning of the different species.

Hoy Creek Linear Park has existing structures from the previous landowner, and one area adjacent to the hatchery is failing. The lower pond is fed from the coho rearing pond is leaking from the CIP dam and the CIP outlet channel has degraded significantly.

HSWS has taken the first step with DFO for planning/engineering and has applied for federal funding for the construction costs of the circular tub and to remove the existing failing structures to naturalize the pond and its outlet to provide fish rearing habitat for generations.

If the value of our identification stage estimate is not funded by our initial application, we will be seeking other sources from both Federal and Provincial programs. HSWS, with DFO, has targeted a construction schedule for this summer (June-August 2023) for our initial phase.

In response to the presentation, several councillors asked questions. The Society was asked to connect and meet with respective City staff to see how they can assist with this process.

Egg Take Complete for 2022 Broodstock Season

Children are given a look at just-fertilized salmon eggs from the incubation room door at Hoy Creek Hatchery.

Here is our hatchery manager’s update on our 2022 Broodstock:

  • Chum

    • We have spawned 12 pairs (m/f) with a total green egg estimate of just over 35,000

    • Chum collection is done for the year

  • Coho

    • We have spawned 7 pairs(8m/7f) with a total green egg estimate just over 16,800

    • Coho collection is done for the year

Thanks to all the volunteers who supported these activities, and to our daily volunteers who monitor and maintain our equipment.

Thomas picks dead eggs from the Chum salmon incubation stack at Hoy Creek Hatchery as Adela looks on.

Hoy Creek Hatchery named Grand Champion

A photo with the Communities in Bloom ‘Grand Champion’ certificate. Left to right: Robbin Whachell, HSWS Director of Communications; Kyle Uno, HSWS President; and Anne Woosnam, HSWS Secretary / Asst. Hatchery Manager.

The City of Coquitlam - Municipality hosted an evening to celebrate their Communities in Bloom - Collectivités en fleurs accolades on Nov. 10, 2022 at the Vancouver Golf & Country Club. Hoy/Scott Watershed Society was acknowledged as 'Grand Champions' for the Hoy Creek Hatchery with the Coquitlam receiving the prestigious 5 Bloom Gold status.

A big thanks to assistant hatchery manager, Anne Woosnam, who led our Coquitlam in Bloom judges' tour when they came through town in July 2022.

Following their evaluation, volunteer CiB judges Berta Briggs and Larry Hall wrote, "The City of Coquitlam provides support to groups to implement some amazing programmes and projects. The Hoy Creek Hatchery is a project of the Hoy/Scott Creek Watershed Society. The Hatchery is located in a public park for all to learn about and witness the raising of salmon through many stages until they are ready for release. All work is done by volunteers under the guidance of the Watershed Society and the City. Water monitoring is constant to assure water quality is ongoing. As important as the Hatchery is to maintain fish populations, just as important are the learning opportunities and the human relationships that are fostered. The waterways are such an important part of natural heritage and their health is vital to environmental protection. One of Coquitlam's slogans is "Fun is in our Nature" and the Hoy Creek Hatchery provides fun for many while they work to preserve and protect nature."

"Communities in Bloom is about greening through environmental, natural heritage conservation and horticultural actions that involve citizens, businesses, institutions, and municipalities. The program is focused on environmental stewardship through the enhancement of green spaces.

A Tri-City News article stated, "Coquitlam took the prestigious '5 Blooms - gold' accolade in the Grand Champions category, with a special shout-out for the Hoy Creek Hatchery that it runs with the Hoy/Scott Creek Watershed Society."

Salmon Return After Successful Home Coming Event

Isaac Nelson of DFO points out markings on the chum salmon held by HSWS hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard at the Salmon Come Home festival on Oct. 23 (HSWS photo)

Our annual Salmon Come Home event, held in partnership with the City of Coquitlam, took place on October 23, a beautiful cool dry autumn day. The popular community event has grown over the years, along with the forest area around the hatchery, so the event has expanded to include the Douglas College parking area. Salmon Come Home celebrates the life cycle of salmon, which spend their adult lives at sea and then return to the creeks where they hatched to spawn and die.

Thanks to the support of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, live salmon talks were provided each hour during the event, led by Isaac Nelson (DFO) and assisted by hatchery manager, Tyler Storgaard. Live chum salmon were brought in from the Coquitlam River, as with the low rainfall, the streams had not risen to provide them passage.

That all changed on October 24, as enough rainfall had occurred to bring the chum salmon home.

A chum salmon jumps in Hoy Creek on Oct. 24 (HSWS photo)

Society members had the 10-month-old coho fry out for viewing adjacent to the rearing pond and visitors learned about the returning species. The hatchery incubation room was also on display.

Families were provided the opportunity to plant spruce seedlings or wildflower seeds in peat pots to take home.

Maple Creek Streamkeepers got people up close to examine a salmon dissection.

Members of Maple Creek Streamkeepers at the salmon dissection table (HSWS photo)

Over at the Douglas College site, live entertainment was provided by Elaina Buenaventura, Etienne Siew, and Erzsi Institorisz. Many other local environmental groups were on site. Other activities include the popular Nylon Zoo and costume parade with Angela Brown, food trucks and an explore nature contest.

Now that the salmon have begun their return, check out our Salmon Spotting Tips. Typically, chum salmon return to local creeks from early October to mid-November and coho from late October to mid-December. Return dates of salmon fluctuate annually based on weather conditions.

Families learn about the salmon species and view coho fry outside the rearing pond at Hoy Creek Hatchery (HSWS photo)

A beautiful fall day for Salmon Come Home on Oct. 23 at Hoy Creek Hatchery (HSWS Photo)

Summer Storm Drain Marking to Raise Awareness

Photo: HSWS

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society was again out on the streets of Coquitlam over the summer to place yellow fish markers beside storm drains.

With two paint spills within a month, the need to make residents aware that our streets drain lead directly into our creeks and rivers was as important as ever.

Nothing but rainwater should go down storm drains.

To report a spill in the creek click here.

CLICK HERE TO READ HOME TIPS FOR HEALTHY STREAMS

Volunteer, Adela pounds down a yellow fish decal on Walton Ave.

Homes adjacent to a storm drain received an educational flyer. (Photo: HSWS)

Lower Mainland Streamkeepers Enjoy Sockeye Feast

A glimpse of the fresh out-of-the-sea sockeye dinner prepared by Chef Robert Clark for Organic Ocean Seafood. (HSWS photos)

On Sept. 11, Hoy/Scott Watershed Society directors were invited to a sumptuously fresh, sockeye salmon dinner, hosted by Organic Ocean Seafood and the Salmon Habitat Restoration Program in Richmond to celebrate the opening of the Wild Salmon Season.

The event, which brought together streamkeepers from across the Lower Mainland, was held at the Organic Ocean Seafood facility located on the Steveston docks. Attendees were able to view the salmon coming direct from the boat to the cutting board, to the barbecue, and to their plates.

Words were provided by the Salmon Habitat Restoration Program, the City of Richmond, Chef Robert Clark, and Fin Donnelly, Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

It was a wonderful opportunity for local streamkeepers to enjoy camaraderie with other Lower Mainland stewards.

The Hoy/Scott Watershed Society extends a heartfelt thank you for the opportunity.

View our Facebook photo album

The team from SHARP (Salmon Habitat Restoration Program) standing with Richmond mayor; Chef Robert Clark; and Fin Donnelly, Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture. (Photo: SHaRP)

Second paint spill of the summer at Hoy Creek

DESCRIPTION - Hoy Creek running milky - looks like paint in the water coming from a culvert Trail off of Walton Ave - first culvert just before the bridge
LOCATION - Hoy Creek - trail off Walton
REPORTED - 09/08/2022 03:08:19 PM
PHOTO taken at 6 p.m.

The City of Coquitlam has advised the Society of another paint spill in Hoy Creek. The report came in at 3 p.m. on Sept. 7 and it was noted at the same location as the spill on Aug. 21.

We have been told that "Environment and Public Works Staff were dispatched and were able to identify the source of the spill. It was a single-family home that had completed exterior painting work and then poured the remaining paint/paint water directly into the catch basin. Staff have educated the homeowner and enforcement action will be taken. The catch basin is being vacuumed out and there is a boom at the outfall, but unfortunately, there is still some contaminated water making its way downstream (very slowly). "

An HSWS volunteer took this photo at 6 p.m. We continue to monitor our coho smolts at the hatchery with the new Flowlink water monitoring system.

The residents were fined $500.

The Society would like to remind Coquitlam residents that storm drains lead directly to our waterways, and everyone should exercise caution when disposing of pollutants, which include chemicals used for cleaning hot tubs and pools, etc. Nothing but rainwater should go down storm drains.

If you have information related to this spill, or to report a spill in the creek click here.

CLICK HERE TO READ HOME TIPS FOR HEALTHY STREAMS

Trash collected from Hoy and Scott Creeks and adjacent trails

Three of the four volunteers out on Aug. 20 at Runnel Drive. Left to right: Matthew Watts, Anne W., and Tyler Storgaard. (HSWS photo)

Volunteer work at the hatchery during the summer turns to focus on the riparian area and clean streams. It’s an optimal time of year to mark storm drains as well. It’s also a key time to review the creek system and look for jams which are often a mix of large trash items and fallen tree debris that could hinder salmon passage.

Hoy/Scott Watershed Society was out several times in August and early September working along Hoy Creek in Coquitlam at various locations. In total, nine large contractor bags of trash were removed, along with other large items, such as a bed frame and car muffler.

On August 20th, the area of the stream at Runnel Drive near Lansdowne was the focus. Collected were lots of loose plastics and fast food containers, as well as price tags. A baby playpen was pulled from the creek, along with construction signage, toys, clothes, needles and packaging. Four volunteers collected four large bags of trash that were removed in less than two hours. View more photos of the Runnel clean on our Facebook album.

Trash removed adjacent to the stream at Lansdowne and Runnel. (HSWS photo)

Matthew and Tyler unload bags of trash from truck into the wheel barrel after the Aug. 20 stream clean. (HSWS photo)

On Sept. 3 we worked on a section of Hoy Creek behind Mr. Lube. Three volunteers collected three large bags of trash in two hours. Wooden pallets, a muffler, and several two-by-fours were pulled from Hoy Creek just north of the Barnet Highway bridge. The rubbish haul included many clothing items, books, price tags, needles, stuffed animals, cans, bottles, face masks, and general plastic fast food carton waste.

View more photos on our Facebook page.

Sofia and Anne stand in front just some of the trash removed in two hours along Hoy Creek, behind Mr. Lube in Coquitlam.

Robbin Whachell stands in Hoy Creek to break up debris and remove trash.