Francois Depey sent this story and photo - thanks Francois.
Saturday, June 16,
2012
I like waterfalls!
So, I check them around, once in a while.
We went to the lower fall at Canyon Creek, a tributary of
the Bulkley River.
The water drop is located only 9 Km as crow flies, from the
mouth of Canyon Creek (at the Bulkley River), a bit of a longer distance “as
water flows” or “fish swims”…
What a pleasant surprise to see those fish jumping to make their
way upstream. Since I am not a fish
expert nor a fisher at all, I was spoiled to be there with a fish specialist
who could right away identify those fish as steelheads.
I learnt that steelheads spend one winter in the Bulkley
before heading up to smaller tributaries when the water level is right for them
to swim up. It is a matter of
timing. They don’t have to fight the
strong current of the Bulkley in springtime.
The fact that they spend the winter months in the river means that if an
oil spill would occur at that time or in early spring, they would be a prime target.
Unlike salmon, steelhead do the round trip from their spawning
grounds to the ocean up to four times (or maybe more!?) in their lifetime. That is an exciting nomadic life, I guess.
Watching them fighting their way to their spawning ground in
Canyon Creek is not a sight I would be prepared to sacrifice for all the
oil/tar sand in the world!
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