Experts join Fraser rock removal effort
Next phase to focus on blasting house-sized boulders blocking remote section of the upper river
The team trying to clear the landslide at Big Bar on the Fraser River is consulting dozens of experts, including private industry and the military, in an effort to remove boulders the size of “houses and cars.”
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Canadian Armed Forces have been involved in the planning along with industry experts in the use of explosives.
“We had a number of recommendations for removing the slide including a single, military-style explosive, but there was no guarantee that an uncontrolled blast would solve the problem,” said federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan.
“It could create more flow-related problems, so we are keeping that as a tool in the tool box, but it’s not the best way forward right now.”
The federal government issued a call for advice from the private sector on demolition and rock blasting services, along with excavating, rock crushing and dredging, in an official request for information. More than 30 companies responded and contracts for those services went to tender Friday.
“That … is going to give us our best ways forward because we know how important these salmon runs are,” said Jordan. “The remoteness of the area is a huge problem, so its going to be extremely challenging to get the equipment and the people in there.”
The next phase of operations is focused on blasting and removing the massive boulders shorn off the 125metre cliff above the river.
“We have to be cognizant of the safety of people working up there, but we have to get this open as soon as we can,” said Jordan. “It’s going to be an engineering feat inside a very short window.”
It is vital to remove the debris during the winter period of low water flows before the spring freshet in order to save four upper Fraser salmon runs from extirpation.
“It’s my understanding that some of these rocks are the size of houses and cars and they are still creating a big drop for the fish to navigate,” said Gord Sterritt, executive director of the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance.
“Just getting to those rocks in the middle of the river is a huge logistical challenge, but we need to lower the level of the river there,” he said.
The remediation project is jointly managed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the B.C. government and B.C. First Nations, who are guided by an Indigenous leadership panel.
Interior salmon runs are an important part of the local First Nations culture and economy, said Sterritt, a member of the Gitxsan First Nation.
“We were concerned going into this season about the upper Fraser salmon stocks going into sharp decline,” he said. “They were not returning as we anticipated and that was really exacerbated by the Big Bar slide.”