What are B.C.’s most endangered rivers?

B.C.’s annual list of most endangered rivers has been released.

The Outdoor Recreation Council, which compiles the list, noted that while there is concern, there is some encouraging progress being reported as well.

Tied for top spot on the list this year are the Heart of the Fraser, between Hope and Mission, and the Cowichan River on Vancouver Island.

“These are both iconic waterways,” Mark Angelo, the Outdoor Recreation Council Rivers chair and founder of both B.C. and World Rivers Day, said in a blog post.

“The Fraser is one of the most productive rivers on the planet. The Cowichan is an important salmon stream, culturally significant to the Cowichan people, and a recreational asset for anglers and paddlers. All this is at risk. But on both rivers we are seeing glimmers of hope.”

Of concern for the Fraser River are threats from urban encroachment, agricultural expansion and industrial development.

The Cowichan River is facing low summer flows, as well as leaching of toxic chemicals from construction waste and illegal dumping.

“Illegal dumping is an issue that is impacting the river, but our report this year really wanted to focus on the climate change, low flow aspect, because that’s had a devastating impact on the river for many years now,” Angelo told Global News.

Going forward, levels of the Cowichan River will be better regulated with plans underway to raise the level of a small dam on Cowichan Lake.

Meanwhile, there’s encouraging news for the Fraser River, as a conservation group recently purchased Carey Island, an important salmon and sturgeon area near Chilliwack.

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According to the report, other rivers and issues of concern include the Elk River in the Kootenay region, Kettle River in the Okanagan, Stikine River in the northwest region, the Similkameen River in the Southern Interior, and the Thompson / Chilcotin rivers steelhead populations in the Interior.

According to the Outdoor Recreation Council, the Thompson / Chilcotin rivers are not so much a river health issue, but a fisheries management failure.

The population of steelhead expected back to spawn in the Thompson River is only 19 this year and as few as nine are expected in the Chilcotin, when thousands used to return every year.

The organization said there is little hope on this issue as it seems like the federal and provincial governments have yet to find a solution.

“To date, there has also been an unwillingness to curtail indiscriminate, non-selective commercial fishing rather than focusing on more selective methods that allow non-target fish to be released alive and healthy,” the organization stated in a release.

“The result is the imminent extinction of the Interior population of steelhead stocks.”

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