CRSF led the gravel placement project at Site 7 on the Campbell River just below the John Hart power station. Gravel was placed here in August 2016 but was washed out by extreme flows released from John Hart Dam during a storm event in November. A total of 1500 metric tons of Chinook spawning gravel was placed in the river, providing spawning habitat for 150 pairs of Chinook.
In an effort to reduce the loss of spawning gravel at high flows an innovative approach was used for part of the gravel placement – some of the river bottom was dug out to a depth of 1 meter prior to placing the gravel to see if it will withstand higher flows. In addition, for gravel sensors were planted in the new gravel and these will measure the level of flow where the gravel starts to move and to what depth it washes out.
The replacement of gravel in the river is very important for the recovery of Chinook and is used by other salmon species as well. This project was funded by BC Hydro Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program ($189,000) local DFO technical support (($3,000) and the CRSF ($4,000).
CRSF continues to be engaged with BC Hydro and other local fisheries related organizations in looking for a solution to the lack of spawning gravel in the Campbell River. Through this process, the CRSF application for 2020 spawning gravel placement at Site 9 has been approved in the amount of $194,975.60