Fraser River Proposed for Canadian Heritage Status
2/4/97
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Fraser River Proposed for Canadian Heritage Status
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VICTORIA, British Columbia, Feb. 4'97 (ENS) - The Fraser River has been
formally nominated for national recognition under the Canadian Heritage
Rivers System, British Columbia Environment, Lands and Parks Minister
Cathy McGregor has announced. The nomination came at last week's meeting
of the Canadian Heritage Rivers board in Peterborough, Ontario.
McGregor said the Fraser should be recognized as the world's greatest
salmon river. "As we work toward improved measures to protect our salmon
stocks, national recognition of the Fraser will strongly convey the
message of stewardship and careful management to a much larger audience."
The Fraser River has its source near Mount Robson in Jasper National Park
on the Continental Divide and empties into the Strait of Georgia 1360
kilometres (850 miles) downstream near the city of Vancouver.
The Canadian Heritage Rivers System was established by the federal,
provincial and territorial governments to recognize significant rivers in
Canada as a means to help ensure future management and to protect and
enhance their heritage values. To qualify for national recognition, a
river or section of river must have outstanding significance for its
natural heritage, human heritage or recreational value.
"The Fraser has already been officially recognized provincially through
the B.C. Heritage Rivers program, but the acceptance for national
consideration will help raise the river's profile even further," said Mark
Angelo, chair of the B.C. Heritage Rivers board. "The Fraser and its
tributaries are the lifeblood of British Columbia, and its management,
protection and stewardship are vital for hundreds of communities and the
important natural ecosystems it supports."
David Marshall executive director of the Fraser basin management program
said national recognition will be helpful in implementing the Fraser
management plan. "By putting this river on the national stage, its
importance will be reinforced to all levels of government, business and
community groups."
The salmon runs on the Fraser River are already governed by a complex
formula under the Pacific Salmon Commission's Fraser River panel. The
formula must take into account the needs of United States, Canadian and
aboriginal fishers for several varieties such as sockeye and pink salmon.
There are also specific allocations made to the seine fleet, the gillnet
fleet, trollers, recreational fishers and the in-river "Indian food
fishery." The scientists are supposed to be able to predict how many
salmon of each species are going to arrive each season from far out in the
Pacific Ocean, a flawed process at best.
Agricultural, industrial and residential pollution all complicate Fraser
River management plans.
Nevertheless, British Columbia must now submit a management plan for the
Fraser to the Canadian Heritage Rivers board. That plan is the second and
final step in the designation process, and along with the nomination
documents and the board's own research, will be considered before naming
the Fraser to the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.
Rivers already named to the national system include a 48-kilometre (29
mile) section of the Yukon River, the South Nahanni in the Northwest
Territories, the Athbasca in Alberta, the Jacques Cartier in Quebec and
the St. Croix River in New Brunswick. The Fraser is the first complex
river system in Canada to be put forward for national recognition under
the Canadian Heritage Rivers System.