Progress Reporting – Elk River Watershed | Qukin ?amak?is Connectivity Restoration Plan: 2021

Progress Summary

This WCRP process was initiated in 2020 with a series of workshops completed with local partners and rightsholders, and the first WCRP was published in 2022. Since inception, the passability of 167 structures has been assessed, and further habitat confirmations were completed at 9 of these. In-depth habitat investigations were also completed for barriers in Brule, Weigert, Lodgepole and Bean creeks, and in select tributaries to Bighorn and Morrissey creeks. Fish passage has been rehabilitated at 2 barriers (unnamed tributary to Lizard Creek at Mount Fernie Park Road and Tobermory Creek at Elk River Main FSR), resulting in improved or restored access to 5.58 km of habitat. Designs for rehabilitating a barrier on Stove Creek in the Lizard Creek drainage have also been completed.

Rehabilitated Barriers

Table 9: Westslope Cutthroat Trout barriers in the Elk River (Qukin ?amak?is) upstream of Elko Dam that have been addressed (either through removal, replacement, or modification to improve passage) as of April 2026. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of habitat that was reconnected by these projects.

Table 9: Westslope Cutthroat Trout barriers in the Elk River (Qukin ?amak?is) upstream of Elko Dam that have been addressed (either through removal, replacement, or modification to improve passage) as of April 2026. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of habitat that was reconnected by these projects.
Barrier ID	Site Name	Watershed Name	Type of Rehabilitation	Rehabilitated By	Rehabilitated Date	Habitat Gain (km)*	Actual Project Cost ($)	Next Step	Notes	Supporting Links
62245	Tobermory Cr @ Elk R Main FSR	ELKR	Replacement - OBS	BCTS	2022-09-30	5.33	NULL	Post-rehabilitation monitoring		https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscism
62505	NULL	ELKR	Replacement - OBS	CWF	2023-09-30	0.25	251000	Correct deficiencies (rehabilitated structures only)	NULL	https://www.newgraphenvironment.com/fish_passage_elk_2020_reporting/appendix---50152---tributary-to-lizard-creek.html

Annual Progress Report

Since April 1, 2025, the following actions were completed:

Results of barrier assessments and habitat confirmations completed in 2024 were incorporated into the model.
Habitat permanently altered by mining was delineated and amount (km, % of total) of habitat permanently altered by mining was calculated upstream and downstream of Elko Dam.
The connectivity models were updated based on the above actions, and outputs were incorporated into this WCRP.

Priority Barriers

Table 10: Westslope Cutthroat Trout barriers in the Elk River (Qukin ?amak?is) upstream of Elko Dam that have been addressed (either through removal, replacement, or modification to improve passage) as of April 2026. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of habitat that was reconnected by these projects.
Barrier ID	Site Name	Watershed Name	Structure Owner	Structure Type	Partial Passability	Partial Passability Details	Number of Structures in Set	Habitat Gain (km)*	Next Step
1004602974	Grace Cr @ Line Rd (4602947)	ELKR	CanWel Forest Products	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	1	3.24	Engage with barrier owner
13635d39-ee0f-4d0c-bb9c-9649ac9a5c63	Harmer Cr Dam (1100001086)	ELKR	Teck	Dam	No	NULL	1	5.47	Rehabilitation
197533	Brule Cr @ Busato Rd	ELKR	MOTI	Stream crossing - CBS	No	NULL	2	0.13	Commission engineering designs
197534	Weigert Cr @ Hwy 43	ELKR	MOTI	Stream crossing - CBS	Yes	Proportion of individuals	1	10.32	Commission engineering designs
197542	Hartley Cr @ Dicken Rd	ELKR	MOTI	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	3	0.01	Rehabilitation
197559	Brule Creek @ Hwy 43	ELKR	MOTI	Stream crossing - CBS	No	NULL	2	21.56	Commission engineering designs
197825	Henretta Cr @ unnamed	ELKR	Teck	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	1	10.00	Commission engineering designs
197827	Fording R @ FRO Coal Haul Rd (4600762)	ELKR	Teck	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	1	21.01	Rehabilitation
50152	Stove Creek	ELKR	BC Parks	Stream crossing - CBS	No	NULL	1	0.36	Fundraise
50185	Trib to Morrissey Cr @ River Rd	ELKR	CanFor	Stream crossing - CBS	Yes	Proportion of individuals	1	2.89	Engage with barrier owner
62181	Dry Cr @ Railway	ELKR	CP Rail	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	Other (see notes)	2	4.53	Rehabilitation
62182	Dry Cr @ Fording Hwy	ELKR	MOTI	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	2	0.03	Rehabilitation
62416	NULL	ELKR	CanWel Forest Products	Stream crossing - CBS	Unknown	NULL	1	0.98	Commission engineering designs
98a6d14e-ea75-446a-80e5-8709bf2eb8e9	Hartley Cr @ dam 1	ELKR		Dam		Proportion of individuals	3	0.04	Engage with barrier owner
e86b513c-3dce-4b4a-a49e-e86e4dac935e	Hartley Cr @ dam 2	ELKR	NULL	Dam	NULL	Proportion of individuals	3	7.83	Engage with barrier owner

Table 11: Structures in the Elk River watershed (Qukin ?amak?is) downstream of Elko Dam that are confirmed as barriers to fish passage for Westslope Cutthroat Trout with confirmed habitat upstream, as of April 2026. Barriers known to be partially passable are indicated by “yes”, with further details provided in the adjacent column. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of habitat upstream of that barrier to the next structure that will be reconnected if that barrier is addressed. The number of structures in a set represents the number of structures that must be addressed concurrently to maximize habitat connectivity.
Barrier ID	Site Name	Watershed Name	Structure Owner	Structure Type	Partial Passability	Partial Passability Details	Number of Structures in Set	Habitat Gain (km)*	Next Step
197786	1004606398	ELKR	CanFor	Stream crossing - CBS		NULL	1	0.51	Engage with barrier owner
197787	1004606370	ELKR	CanFor	Stream crossing - CBS	Yes	Proportion of time	1	1.15	Engage with barrier owner
197844	1004605514	ELKR	CanFor	Stream crossing - CBS	No	NULL	1	1.71	Engage with barrier owner