Fin's updates from the Fraser River

This August Fin Donnelly went on a 25 day tour of the Fraser River with ten young leaders from across BC. The group took a 1,400 km trek down the Fraser River for the Sustainable Living Leadership Program.

Fin is Executive Director of the Rivershed Society of BC and has been leading youth tours of the river for seven years. During the journey, youth explore sustainablity concepts such as food security, environmental stewardship and green economics while meeting First Nations and other Fraser River community Stewards.

These are Fin's updates on the progress of the trip.

Glen Valley Organic Farm Tour post by Fin Donnelly, August 27th

Today, we paddled from Mission to Maple Ridge, stopping at Glen Valley Organic Farm for a tour of their operation and to talk about food security. The Glen Valley farm is great food cooperative that needs to be supported and replicated throughout the Fraser Valley. Before arriving at the farm we paddled up to three researchers in a small boat with a net in the river. They told us they were taking fish samples, but there was hardly any fish. The SLLP participants are learning tons, from people we meet on and along the river, from our discussions, the readings, the community stops and from all the planned activities. At this point, half the participants have made their project plan presentations, where they inform the group of their plans to implement an educational project in their community upon their return. There have been some excellent project ideas!

Heart of the Fraser post by Fin Donnelly, August 26th

We paddled from Hope to Mission over two days. This stretch of the Fraser River is world class; rich in biodiversity, it is now being called the “Heart of the Fraser”. It contains large gravel deposits, which support many species of salmon, trout, sturgeon and other fish and wildlife. It is here where we also start to see real change along the banks of the river – large gravel operations, residential developments and agricultural and industrial impacts. On Wednesday evening, we shuttled to Xaytem Historic Site, where we went on a tour to learn about the history and culture of the Sto’lo Nation – viewing a pit house, the transformer rock and learning to use cedar bark strips. The Fraser River and its people have an incredible history and a rich diversity – definitely worth protecting.

Hell’s Gate post by Fin Donnelly, August 24th

After finishing our discussion about the green economy, we left the Nahatlatch camp, stopping briefly at Boston Bar to unload gear in preparation for rafting through Hell’s Gate. Going through Hell’s Gate was full of anticipation, but ultimately a lot of fun! I thought about when, in the early part of the last century, debris from blasting the canyon walls (for the railway) was allowed to just fall into the river, blocking fish passage, and I wondered if the obstacles the salmon face today are just as bad – just in a different form – low water flows, increased water temperatures from climate change, habitat destruction from urban development, sea lice, pollution, over fishing. We have come a long way in the last 100 years, but we are still not living sustainably. I feel it will take leadership at the federal level to turn this situation around.

Leaving the Cathedrals post by Fin Donnelly, August 23th

On Friday, we left the Cathedrals; hitting some big water at French Bar rapids. We made our way to Leon Creek, stopping for lunch at Johnson Bar to check out more petroglyphs and a historic site where Chinese workers placer mined for gold a century ago. The evidence of history and culture along this river is widely apparent. Landing at our camp that afternoon, beside Leon Creek, we could see the hillside was burning; but luckily the fire was almost out.

On Saturday, we rafted into Lillooet, hitting the massive powerline rapids along the way - our 28 foot raft went neatly vertical! We then entered a section of the canyon that looks ocean-like. At Bridge River rapids, we saw the blue tarps covering hundreds of fish racks that local First Nations people have used for thousands of years; however the one thing that was eerily different form previous trips, was the lack of people fishing on the rocks. Normally a beehive of activity – there was almost nobody here – a weird feeling, and hopefully not a harbinger of things to come. It was timely that we were discussing resource use, salmon and the Fraser River fishery as we travelled through this part of the river.

After we walked around the Bridge River rapids we got back on the raft and floated into Lillooet. We went straight into the ‘2nd Annual Salmon in the Canyon’ event – which was started last year to celebrate our arrival to Lillooet. Chief Perry Redan of the Cayoosh Creek Band welcomed us to their land and spoke of the plight of the salmon. It was a festive event with displays, music and food. Over 200 people attended.

On Sunday morning, Kim North of the Lillooet Naturalists spoke to our group (camped by the river) about their restoration project and dream of a nature centre on the banks of the Fraser. Former Fountain Chief Roger Adolf told us a transformer story of how the salmon came to Lillooet and finished with strong words about the mismanagement of the Fraser River fishery by the federal government and the destructive path our society is currently on. We left Lillooet and after lunch we passed Lytton, where the Thompson River joins the Fraser. We landed at the mouth of the Nahatlatch River where we set up camp and had a discussion about what a green economy might look like. The group came up with some interesting ideas.

Contemplating Change post by Fin Donnelly, August 20th

Today we spent half the day in silence. The participants went on a half-day solo hike. The Cathedrals is the perfect place to explore, view the Fraser and connect with nature. This is one of the hottest spots on the Fraser, with desert like conditions, but inspirational. I spent the rest of the day reading about the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, which the U.S. has had in place for forty years. I asked myself why we have no similar legislation in place in Canada that protects any of our significant rivers like the Fraser (166 rivers in the US enjoy this protective status). Meanwhile, we in Canada have just repealed the Navigable Waters Protection Act. This weakens protection of rivers and watercourses in Canada. This is not in line with our values - we need a change!

New Directions post by Fin Donnelly, August 19th

Before we left the Alkalai Creek camp we did a session on ancient circle houses, then walked the permitre of camp to view numerous pit house depressions, estimated to be thousands of years old. After a hot, dry day of rafting the Fraser we ended up at Cathedrals, one of the most magnificent camps along the river. Here we would hold up for a layover day. After dinner, I thought about the need for a new direction, or at the very least a shift, in Canada's economy, and how to make that happen.

The Fraser Canyon post by Fin Donnelly, August 18th

After the participants completed their leadership matrix activity on the beach, we pushed off from Sheep Creek camp and descended into the heart of the Fraser Canyon. We stopped for lunch at a spot in Iron Canyon where we viewed petrophyphs that are thousands of years old. The stories on these rocks are incredible. After lunch we continued on to Alkalai Creek, just south of the Chilcotin River junction. We've now entered the bunchgrass region, where the rocks walls and hoodoos are spectacular. This area is world class - Canada's very own Grand Canyon. As we drifted by Doc English Bluff I shared my story of five years ago when on this very rock wall I had an epiphany that I wanted to spend the rest of my life protecting the Fraser River. We ended the evening watching three presentations by the participants on Deep Ecology, Bioregionalism and Simplicity.

Interior Douglas Fir Zone post by Fin Donnelly, August 17th

Today, we loaded the big rafts and headed for Sheep Creek. We are now in the Interior Douglas Fir biogeoclimatic zone, one of the hottest areas in BC. It felt good to move into this hot region, which is one of my favourite places on the Fraser River. We ended the day with a presentation from local Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, Guy Scharf and Roy Argue, who talked about the salmon life cycle and issues related to the fishery; and Sue Hemphill, a Williams Lake Naturalist, who talked about the importance of fish habitat and the need to protect the riparian zone along the river.

Stories of the Xats'ull post by Fin Donnelly, August 16th

We spent the day at Xats'ull Heritage Village. Our drive yesterday from the interior wet belt to the dry Douglas Fir Zone created a chance to dry out our gear and get ready for rafting. Elder Ralph Phillips of the Soda Creek First Nation shared stories of his people, including the legend of White Buffalo; and Mike Stinson, a group leader following in Ralph's footsteps, showed us around the village - inside a modern and traditional pit house. Bette McLennan, a naturalist from Williams Lake, talked with the group about the importance of journaling. We finished the day with a discussion about sustainable living and how long our economy can continue, in it's current form.

Heart of the Robson post by Fin Donnelly, August 15th

Today we left the Goat Rivershed in the heart of the Robson Valley and stopped at the Ancient Rainforest Interpretive Site, along highway 16, just east of Prince George. Here we marvelled at giant cedar trees, some upwards of 2,000 years old, found in this Interior wetbelt region of the Fraser River Basin. We then proceeded to Prince George, where the numbers of returning Fraser River sockeye salmon currently number less then 700,000, a far cry from the 9 million predicted. People here are hoping that they're not witnessing the collapse of the Fraser River fishery. We ended our day at Soda Creek First Nation's Xats'ull Heritage Village- a reconstructed example of authentic aboriginal life of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) people.

Blazing forward post by Fin Donnelly, August 13th

Today we blazed a section along the historic Goat River Trail. Roy Howard and three others from the Fraser Headwaters Alliance brought tools so our group could help with trail maintenance. It felt good to work hard, knowing that we were contributing to the goal of bringing awareness to this amazing rivershed-known for its old growth forests and its exceptional fish, wildlife, and social values which are definitely worth preserving.

Into the Valley post by Fin Donnelly, August 12th

Paddled into McBride yesterday. What a day! Sun, rain, wind. We saw more salmon, lots of birds, two bears and many species of plants. A noticeable change from last year was the increase in the spread of the Mountain Pine Beetle - it has spread across the valley. After 5 1/2 hours of paddling, covering about 60 km we arrived safely, set up camp and made a great stir-fry and rice dinner. After dinner we talked with the participants about the project plan goal statements. Today we paddle to Crescent Spur and travel up to the trailhead in the Goat River Valley.

A Busy First Week On The Fraser post by Fin Donnelly, August 11th, 4:37 p.m.

The trip has been incredible so far. Last night we stayed at a farm in Dunster and experienced the most amazing hospitality, which included home-made buns from the wood stove and stories from long time residents.

When we left Tete Jaune Cache earlier this week, the Chinook salmon were just starting to arrive on their migration. The jumping was amazing.

We arrived in McBride today and are starting our hike through the Goat River Valley with local guide Roy Howard from the Fraser Headwater Alliance.

Internet and telephone access might be spotty (sometimes we go days without either), but I’ll keep you posted.
Fin

Fraser Inspired post by Fin Donnelly, August 6th, 6:00 a.m.

The Fraser River is the one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world! It is also known for its diversity, consisting of many landscapes, a variety of plant and animal life and a host of unique communities. Having swum its 1,400 km length twice, and paddled and rafted many parts of it over the years, I have come to know the Fraser intimately. It is hard to pick a favourite spot, with so many places to choose from; like the incredible Robson Valley, near the Fraser’s headwaters, the wide-open Cariboo Chilcotin, the breathtaking Fraser Canyon, the fertile Fraser Valley or the magnificent Fraser estuary. But one spot that provides me with inspiration is Doc English Bluff, just south of the Sheep Creek Bridge, near Williams Lake. It was there that I had the epiphany that I wanted to spend the rest of my life working to protect and conserve this world-class river system!

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