Beaver wrangler Bruce Bevan’s been working the waters of Craigflower Creek since 2005. He’s a regular at the fish fence in View Royal where water is measured and tested while watching the health of salmon and trout.
“I keep my finger on the pulse of the watershed,” he says with a chuckle.
It’s not an exaggeration, a member of the Esquimalt Anglers’ Association, the man is there nearly every day for at least two of the four seasons.
Now into summer, he’s on site at least four days a week, looking for new blockages in the creek and checking water levels on the regular to ensure there’s flow. “If not, I have to investigate why.”
“I also manage beaver dams,” he admits, adding the oft-maligned, toothy creatures that permeate the watershed are as much a benefit as a pain. “Beaver dams help keep the creek wetted.”
Management is essentially an epic battle of water levels. The beavers want it high and still, while Bevan aims to keep enough flowing through the creek for the rest of the creatures, fish in particular, to survive. Other bonuses include dams filtering the creek of debris.
But low flow is an issue for other creatures, so he goes out and notches the dams, allowing water through, something the critters instinctively notice and remedy pretty quickly.
“It’s complex. You have to do it so the beavers are happy and I’m happy and the fish are happy,” Bevan says.
The whole balance is part of keeping Craigflower Creek, and its adjacent watershed, as healthy as possible. The anglers association is among the groups ramping up ongoing efforts to monitor, restore and protect the Craigflower Watershed.
Mick Collins of the Victoria Golden Rods and Reels Fishing and Social Club – another vested group – sees the waterway as a prime opportunity to tell a “remarkable story” of dynamic lifecycles and complex hydrology crafted to suit learners from Grade 3 to PhD.
“Why do stewards, stream keeper people, do this work when they could be doing 101 other things in this beautiful environment we have here still in Greater Victoria? Well, because urban salmon and coastal cutthroat trout are very important,” Collins says, noting the aquatic creatures face increasing challenges. “Fish don’t vote, so they need people to work on their behalf to get the attention they deserve.”
Another partner, the Gorge Waterway Action Society, recently scored a Pacific Salmon Foundation grant to help develop a“state of the creek” report assessing water quality, fish habitat, and riparian health.
“Our mission is primarily focused on the Gorge Waterway, and Craigflower Creek is part of that system,” executive director Brad Procter says. “The work we’re doing on the Craigflower is really an extension of work that’s been going on for years with a big collaborative.”
Work includes monitoring for water quality and smolts as well as restoration work on the creek, all to improve and monitor the health of coho salmon and cutthroat trout. It includes collaboration with federal fisheries, the province, municipalities of View Royal and Highlands and a number of environmental organizations such as World Fisheries Trust, Peninsula Streams and Shorelines, and Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting
“We’re actually looking to probably expand and solidify that collaboration,” Procter says.
The sound of wheels on pavement thrums in the background even as the men share their tales of the creek. The nearby Trans-Canada Highway is among the waterway concerns, bringing both toxins and mass water runoffs.
“This creek is really close to the highway system, so it suffers from a few issues that are connected to that. First of all, when there’s the first flush that comes off of the highway, the fish start to move upstream earlier than they would otherwise,” Procter said. “We’re (also) starting to better understand that pollutants that are coming off of tires are resulting in fatalities with coho salmon in particular.”
The goal is to also expand hands-on restoration work in the lower creek, removing invasive species and replanting native vegetation to improve salmon habitat.
“We’re also moving towards putting together a community group, a round table, a structure moving forward so that everyone who’s interested in the health of the creek can work together,” Procter says.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation recently awarded $1.8 million to 119 community-led salmon stewardship projects across British Columbia. The next application intake opens in September. Learn more at psf.ca.
