Springer Creek Ecological Restoration
A Slocan Waterfront Society Project
Located in the heart of Slocan Valley, Springer Creek flows from the mountain range to Slocan’s east, through the City itself, eventually draining into Slocan Lake. With a total watershed area of nearly 5000 hectares, the creek’s aquatic and riparian environment serve as important sources of ecological diversity for Slocan and its surrounding communities.
Historical Context
From the early 20th century forward, Slocan proved to be an attractive destination for logging activity. The City's proximity to Slocan Lake, as well as to the Canadian Pacific Railway, provided a reliable system for transporting materials to and from Slocan.
In the 1960s, Pacific Logging Company expressed their interest in the Slocan region and established a sawmill on the shore of Slocan. The mill dominated the City's waterfront for more than 50 years, eventually closing in 2013.
Current Ecological Composition
The aerial imagery shows a vastly more abundant riparian environment than exists today. Although that vegetative cover has experienced a steep decline in density and area, understanding the current environmental conditions is a necessary part of promoting stream health.
The following maps were created by Selkirk Innovates, in partnership with Living Lakes Canada, to provide a spatial representation of the ecological composition around Springer Creek.
The two maps above offer a comparison between the primary and secondary vegetation species around Springer Creek. The leading species map on the left hand side illustrates the predominance of Douglas Fir within the lower extent of the creek's watershed. Although other tree species exist in this area, Douglas Fir is consistently the most dominant in terms of overall landcover.
The secondary species map on the right hand side exhibits some of the diversity in vegetation that occurs around Springer Creek. Each seperate polygon represents an area where either Western Hemlock, Paper Birch, Lodgepole Pine, or Western Larch exist as the second most abundant tree species (after Douglas Fir).
Springer Creek's lower watershed also falls within the BEC zone ICH. Short for Interior Cedar Hemlock Biogeoclimatic zone, regions that fall within the ICH zone are described as "(l)ower to mid-elevations on the windward slopes of the Cariboo, Monashee and Selkirk mountains; in the floodplains of the Purcell and Continental Ranges; and in the Nass basin of northwestern BC" by the Ministry of Environment.
Soil Subgroup Type in Lower Springer Creek Watershed.
Soil is another important component to understand when it comes to ecological restoration. The map above illustrates the soil subgroup type most prominent within the lower watershed of Springer Creek. Orthic Dystric Brunisol is a subgroup that falls under the Brunisolic soil order. Brunisolic soils are typically found in forested areas and can exist in a variety of different climatic conditions. More information on the characterisitics of Orthic Dystric Brunisol can be found in the Canadian System of Soil Classification ( https://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/taxa/cssc3/chpt04.html )
New Opportunities
Despite the sawmill's official closure in 2013, the land remained privately owned until it was purchased by the City of Slocan in 2020. The shift in ownership of the mill site sparked conversations about how the land could best be repurposed to benefit the community.
It is important to note that while most of the mill's infrastructure has been removed from the land, some material remnants continue to impact the natural landscape today. Because Springer Creek runs through the mill site, certain mechanisms were introduced when the sawmill was built to artificially direct the creek away from any future active operations. A concrete culvert was constructed in Springer Creek about 100m from where it drains into Slocan Lake. This culvert makes the stream impassable to fish species, preventing any migration upstream.
The Slocan Waterfront Society is committed to advocating for the proper restoration and rehabilitation of Springer Creek's aquatic and riparian habitats that have been damaged by decades of human interference.
Why Change?
The measures that were taken to control the flow of Spinger Creek continue to impact its ecosystem even now. According to a report on Bull Trout presence in Slocan Lake published by Jeremy Baxter, the culvert functions as a complete obstruction to any fish trying to migrate further upstream. As a result, a considerable portion of Springer Creek's fish spawning habitat is unusable.
Baxter suggests that this lack of a sufficient spawning channel has caused the Kokanee population that was once abundant in Springer Creek to face a steep decrease. Without Kokanee spawning and migrating further upstream, Bull Trout have all but disappeared from the Creek.
By removing the culvert, Baxter estimates that nearly 1.25km of of valuable fish spawning habitat would be added to Springer Creek. Not only would this support the growth of the Creek's Kokanee population, but in doing so, Bull Trout would also regain their primary food source.
More about the Slocan Waterfront Society
The Slocan Waterfront Society was formed by a group of concerned Slocan Valley residents, when the old mill site was put up for acquisition. We all want to see the restoration of the waterways, for the good of all species, now and into the future.
The Village of Slocan bought the site, and is potentially years away from making any restoration actually happen. We and many others believe that there are many factors that should help prioritise the immediate restoration of this historic creek to fish bearing. Climate change is further challenging our fish communities, with many species being brought to the edge of extinction.
Springer Creek is a novel, cold water refuge and could help repopulate Slocan Lake and River with fish. Our ideas could also be shared with others, for example the Kootenay Lake/Reservoir cannot maintain fish, we could help provide them with Kokanee fingerlings in our proposed "Hatchery in a Box" from First Nations, the Okanagan First Nations Alliance, which includes members of the local Sinixt and Syilx Nations, on whose traditional lands we live..
In collaboration with all interested parties SWS plans on helping the village to restore Springer Creek, help us to do the right thing.