Inspirational Truth and Reconciliation comments by Sto:lo Elder Titelemspath Eddie Gardner September 30, 2025
Wild Salmon (Coho) returning to spawn in West Creek located within
Gloucester Industrial Estates, 272 Street and 56 Avenue Langley B.C.
This is the seventh year that the spawning cycle has been observed and
recorded. This spawning cycle has probably been going on for centuries,
beginning at the end of October and the middle of November, depending on
the rainstorms that open-up these waters.
GREAT NEWS MAY 2025
West Creek in Gloucester Industrial Estates in May 2025 has a great abundance of wild Coho smolts and Coho fingerlings. The smolts have moved up stream into the glacial formed spring-fed pond for the first time in the nine years that the salmon have been observed in these waters.
In the evening at around 7:30 PM the smolts start jumping right out of the water. They are preparing their bodies for the journey to the ocean according to the local DFO officers, but they did not have an answer for the actual jumping activity. Over a ~3 week period they undergo the physiological kidney and gill changes required to go into the salty ocean from fresh water streams.
By the end of May, usually after a heavy rain storm, the smolts will leave, meet up with other smolts from local streams and migrate en masse down the Fraser River. There is safety in numbers and they are more likely to reach the ocean as a large school of young salmon.
The fingerling Coho that hatched out in February of this year have been found in the headwaters of West creek in very large numbers. Professional photographer Dave Beningfield (Flying Circus) used his GoPro under-water camera to see an abundance of these fish feeding in the stream. He is in the process of producing a video which I should be able to provide very soon.
A great return of these wild spawning fish indicates hope for the future.
“Respect the Salmon and wetland” “*Səyemstəxw məqwe:m
– Səyemstəxw sce:ɬtən -”
by Fern Gabriel (Halkomelem language)
Prepared by: Ted Lightfoot & Lynn Perrin westcreekawareness.ca
May 5th. 2025 wcreeknaturehouse.ca
WILD COHO SALMON
WILD COHO SALMON NEST / REDDS
“It always a thrill to see these salmon return and to know that the cycle of
nature continues on but, under the threat of industrial development in
Gloucester Industrial Estates”
Photos by; Ted Lightfoot October 29&30 th 2024
A great beginning to 2024 Water Salmon and Cedar Ceremony
CANOE JOURNEY OCT 21, 2023
Full Article: Canoe Journey a Wake Up Call
Press Releases
Is 2024 a repeat of 2023. Removing beaver dams down to the creek bed Jan and Feb even though it is not permitted before April 15. This is harmful to wild coho smelts and migratory birds such as mallards and wood ducks.
For healthy habitats, leave it to the beavers — and other animal engineers!
According to Wildlife Trusts, an organization instrumental in European rewildling efforts, beavers and the landscapes they generate benefit people and wildlife by helping to reduce downstream flooding — “the channels, dams and wetland habitats that beavers create hold back water and release it more slowly after heavy rain.” They also reduce siltation, and the wetlands sequester carbon, an essential process for fighting the climate crisis.
GLOUCESTER AREA WETLANDS BIOBLITZ JUNE 1 to 14
Wetlands reduce climate change
ECCC WETLAND POLICY (accessed from CER Trans Mountain expansion hearing submissions by ECCC)
Page 38
The Wetland Policy highlights the importance of wetlands and wetland functions for Canadians and sets out goals for conservation of wetlands as well as strategies to attain these goals. The primary objective of the Wetland Policy is to “promote the conservation of Canada’s wetlands to sustain their ecological and socioeconomic functions, now and in the future” (Government of Canada, 1991). In support of this objective, the GoC strives for the goal of no-net-loss of wetland function in certain situations (outlined in further detail herein). As a way to achieve the Wetland Policy’s primary objective highlighted above, and based on the important role that wetlands play in sustaining populations of migratory birds and species at risk, EC recommends that the hierarchy of avoidance and minimization of impacts to ecological wetland functions be broadly considered in project design. This mitigation hierarchy is recognized as best practice in environmental assessment, and recommended as a wetland conservation approach in many Canadian jurisdictions (e.g. Alberta Water Council, 2008; Nova Scotia Environment, 2011) and the United States (US Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency, 2008
Page 39
2.3.2.1 The Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation and the Environmental Assessment Process The key policy objectives of the Wetland Policy relevant to federal environmental assessment can be found in Strategy 2 Managing Wetlands on Federal Lands and Waters and in Other Federal Programs. These include an objective to: “Commit all federal departments to the goal of no-net-loss of wetland functions (i) on federal lands and waters, (ii) in areas affected by the implementation of federal programs where the continuing loss or degradation of wetlands has reached critical levels, and (iii) where federal activities affect wetlands designated as ecologically or socio-economically important to a region. Due to local circumstances where wetland losses have been severe, in some areas no further loss of any remaining wetland area may be deemed essential.” (Government of Canada 1991) With respect to (ii) and (iii) above, for projects on non-federal lands and waters, such losses are evaluated (1) in terms of the scope of any federal permits, licenses, authorizations and other instruments under federal jurisdiction which may be applicable, and (2) where the associated wetland functions support areas of federal jurisdiction (for EC, for example, these include migratory birds and species at risk). Although the Wetland Policy applies broadly to all wetlands
Page 40
When EC advises a Responsible Authority on the Wetland Policy, EC recommends that proponents describe the functions or natural processes of potentially impacted wetlands (physical, chemical, and biological) and perform an assessment of the potential impacts and proposed mitigation. For EC, functions of particular interest include those supporting migratory birds and species at risk. Hanson et al. (2008) ‘Wetland Ecological Functions Assessment: An Overview of Approaches’ ( http://publications.gc.ca/site/archivee-13 archived.html?url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/ec/CW69-5-497-eng.pdf ) should be reviewed before undertaking a wetland functions assessment. The Wetland Policy is applied on a regional basis to reflect current conditions. The policy applies to natural, degraded, and artificial wetlands. In British Columbia, for example, the geographic areas where the documented continuing loss or degradation of wetlands has reached critical levels are defined as: • Lower Mainland / Fraser Valley region • East Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands • Okanagan Valley
Page 44
EC recommends that a detailed assessment of baseline wetland functions be completed prior to the start of Project construction for all wetlands that the Project would directly impact and for any wetland(s) that are hydrologically connected to these wetlands. In conducting this assessment, the Proponent should ensure that wetlands are considered in the context of the larger watersheds of which they are a part. Wetlands and their associated ecological functions are particularly sensitive to effects from adjacent land use, which can affect wetland hydrology and other functions. A landscape and/or watershed perspective that considers factors such as topography, soil types, and hydrological linkages should be applied, as wetlands can be impacted by activities in a watershed that may be a considerable distance.
Page 45
2.3.2.4 Temporary Loss of Wetland Functions EC advises that the Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation’s goal of no-net-loss of wetland functions also applies to temporary loss of functions. Impacts from temporary loss of wetland functions can affect migratory birds and species at risk that are dependent on wetland habitats for part of, or their entire lifecycle. For species at risk in particular, temporary impacts can exacerbate some of the effects from other existing threats and potentially jeopardize the survival and recovery of the species. EC notes that loss of wetland functions could be prolonged by the following:
1 • construction activities that occur over an extended time period, over which impacts to wetlands would be expected to occur;
2 • limitations related to infrequency of monitoring of wetland recovery, which includes
3 identifying the need to implement additional reclamation measures, e.g. proposed to
4 occur in the first growing season post construction but limited to bi-annually after this
5 time (Exhibit B239-27, PDF page 9);
6 • compensation measures that are implemented only after year 5 of the Wetland
7 Function Post-construction Monitoring Program, when the need for compensation
8 would be evaluated and confirmed; and
9 • the timeframe within which functions of the compensated wetland would achieve an
10 equivalent, or higher, level than the functions lost from the original wetland
ECCC Written Argument in Chief https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/REGDOCS/File/Download/2905414
Page 31
Wetland Survey and Mitigation Plan that includes:
a) A summary of supplementary survey results for wetlands potentially affected by the Project.
b) A description of any wetlands for which ground-based surveys were not possible, an explanation as to why not, attempts made to obtain access, and what further information on each wetland will be collected immediately prior to or during construction.
c) A description of the functional condition of each wetland for comparison during postconstruction monitoring, including individual functional conditions (e.g., habitat, hydrology and biogeochemistry) and a description of the methods used to determine functional conditions.
d) A description of the crossing methods, mitigation measures, and reclamation measures to be implemented for potentially affected wetlands, including clear and unambiguous criteria, and rationales for such criteria, explaining under what circumstances such methods and measures will be applied.
e) Measurable goals for evaluating wetland mitigation and reclamation success.
f) A description of how the avoidance, mitigation, and offset hierarchy, and the goal of no net loss of each individual wetland function, were considered in developing the plan.
g) Details of the monitoring plan for wetlands for the first five years of operations, including corrective actions that might be necessary and the circumstances under which each such action would be taken.
h) A Preliminary Wetland Offset Plan for those wetlands that will have a temporary loss in any individual functional condition and for those wetlands that, after five years of operations, have not achieved reclamation success. This plan must include: i. an explanation of how the need for offset measures will be determined and quantified, including offset ratios; ii. iii. iv. the potential offset measures, the process for selecting which will be implemented, and an evaluation of the probability of their success; a discussion of how the effectiveness of offsets measures will be monitored, assessed, and reported on; and the offset measures that will be implemented during the first five years of operations to compensate for expected temporary losses to individual functional conditions, including a timeline for their implementation and monitoring.
AND
Page 32
A description of the functional condition of each wetland for comparison during postconstruction monitoring, including individual functional conditions (e.g., habitat, hydrology and biogeochemistry) and a description of the methods used to determine functional conditions. This description should be based on site-specific, quantitative baseline information, including: i. ii. Surveys to assess for the presence, abundance, density, and distribution of migratory birds and species at risk (red and blue listed species, SARA-listed, and COSEWIC assessed) in relation to potentially impacted wetlands and associated riparian areas. Surveys should: 1) meet appropriate standards (e.g. Resource Information Standards Committee standards (RISC)); 2) be species or bird group specific as appropriate; and 3) be conducted during the appropriate times of the year. Surveys for species at risk should: 1) assess species individually (typically an indicator approach is not appropriate for species at risk); 2) not be limited to species or groups of species that are wetland-obligate, but rather should include any species known to use wetland habitats as part of its lifecycle; and 3) include data sufficiently robust to identify which wetland classes are important to which species (and for how many) on which to assess recovery and direct compensation.
Education 
Leave a comment