S T A N D I N G W A V E S
LWD: Lurking, watery doom. PHOTOS RYAN STUART
FISHY BUSINESS
INSTALLED LOG JAMS ON B.C. RIVERS HAVE PADDLERS FIGHTING SALMON TO HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD
FEW THINGS FOCUS a paddler’s attention on the river like the sight of the current rushing through a fallen tree extending from the shore. With branches reaching to grab boaters like a heavily perfumed great aunt, strainers are among the most respected dangers paddlers face on a river. It’s a little discon- certing then, to think that they are being intentionally added in some of British Columbia’s rivers. Like paddlers, salmon enjoy rivers with hydrau-
Photo: Dave Duncan
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lic features such as rapids and eddies. They also enjoy a little shade. Over the past 20 years, conservation groups have been actively ensuring that B.C.’s coastal rivers have these habitat fea- tures by placing strainers or log jams along river banks. The number of these projects has increased significantly in the last few years, yet until recently, paddlers had no say in their im- plementation. Engineers call these man-made strainers “large woody debris.” In this age of initialism they are less colourfully known as LWD. Biologists and anglers are pleased with how fish have made themselves at home in the shaded pools behind the logs. Paddlers are more concerned with the sticky upstream side as they come bearing down on them on the outside sweep of a rapid. To reconcile these different perspectives on
LWDs, the Whitewater Kayaking Association of B.C. and the Recreational Canoeing Association of B.C. have been working with conservation agencies and the government. Paddlers have demanded a voice in the process through Transport Canada’s Navi-
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gable Waters Protection Program and have won the right to be consulted on LWD proposals. Paddlers have presented the B.C. Ministry of Environment with a list of dos and don’ts related to whether proposed LWD will be putting people at risk. The guidelines suggest installing upstream guard rocks, angling the structures downstream, not plac- ing root balls or branches on the upstream side, not placing LWD around a blind corner or steep- sided rapid, and not using long cables to secure the logs. Meanwhile, anglers claim that
the structures, which cost about $5,000 each, are 10 to 25 per cent less effective after they’ve been scaled back to accommo-
date recreational use of the river. Angling
and conservation agencies also point out they have paid for warning signs and post-construction modi- fications to some structures, and they feel that the paddling websites have presented one-sided and out-of-date information about LWD. The recent cooperation between the anglers and
“instream users”—as paddlers are known officially— has left both sides more hopeful that B.C. salmon rivers may remain suitable habitat for both fish and paddlers. —Patrick Yarnell
RAPID
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