August 27, 2015 – Another day out in the field, this time to Gates Creek Spawning Channel in D’Arcy, on the Mainland past Pemberton.
We got up to D’Arcy around 11:15am to meet the channel manager and as we were making introductions two guys came out of the building and pointed to the mountain on the far side of the lake where we could see a small plume of smoke rising from the trees on the ridge near the top.
We walked the site with Harry, also the Chief of the Band, providing a dialogue on the channel swim-in and creek pass-through numbers of sockeye and the state of the run. The channel was built back in 1968 and Harry has worked there in some capacity since the start. On our way back from viewing the intake and the barrier in the creek we could see that the fire up on the hill had increased sizeably and we could see trees candling as the fire crowned, then the flames were concealed again within the boiling clouds of smoke rising into the sky.
We finished up our discussions, said goodbye to Harry and a couple of guys from Stock Assessment who had showed up, and drove down to the lake where we ate our lunch at a picnic table near the lake edge and watched the smoke fall down the side of the mountain to the lake below. It was frightening how fast it kicked up and grew in size. It’s a good thing there is some heavy heavy rain coming in the next 48 hours. We need it desperately.
In the meantime, the salmon make their way up the Fraser, through Seton Lake, along Seton River, down Anderson lake, and up Gates Creek to spawn. Some continue on into the Birkenhead and beyond. It’s an amazing trip and given the poor returns this year its’ nice to see some make it through to close the circle and spawn before their life expires and their carcasses return nutrients to the waters for the next generation.
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Hope all the little buggers make it this year.