Watershed Moments

WATERSHED MOMENTS;

1913- The first interest in the watershed was the west side of Upper Pitt Lake area and over to Indian Arm, which had been identified as a potential park by the Dominion Government. Subsequently 1966,1980,1987/88/89/90 years centered around recreationally developing the west side of Pitt Lake and Upper Pitt River.

June 1993- Pinecone Lake – Burke Mountain area was selected as a candidate for the NDP Governments program to double its park area in the province and as a result the first comprehensive management plan for Pitt Lake and the Upper Pitt River began

January 1994- Pinecone Lake -Burke Mountain Park Study Report was released and produced an impressive criteria of wilderness values

May 1995- Boat tour with BC Parks manager and Chilliwack Forest District manager to discuss designating the north end of Pitt Lake and Upper Pitt River as a scenic area by reducing logging cut blocks that would compromise visual quality and to encourage land use planning for the area.

June 1995- The NDP and Katzie First Nation announce the creation and co – management agreement of Pinecone Lake – Burke Mountain Provincial Park. This set the stage for interested groups to call for a more integrated management plan involving the Lower Pitt River, Pitt Lake and Upper Pitt River

September 1996- Golden Ears Park is petitioned by parks and wilderness groups to make a boundary adjustment to add Mystic and Magic Lakes to its land base. This protected these unique mountain lakes from being logged and added to the Upper Pitt River Valleys east side wilderness destinations.

April 1998- Boating restriction made by BC fish and wildlife branch
because of critical rearing and spawning areas in Red slough along with high wildlife values

August 1998- Katzie First Nation call for a logging moratorium on the Upper Pitt Lake and Pitt River Valley

August 1998- “Paddle for A Plan”. Fin Donnelly of the RiverShed Society swam the length of Pitt Lake with the support of four municipalities that each share a part of Pitt Lake Country. The goal of the event was to bring attention to the need for a community based management plan for its water and resources.

October 1998- City of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and Maple ridge passed a resolution for a Land Use Management Plan for the Lower Pitt River, Pitt Lake and the Upper Pitt River.
June 1999- Pitt River Area Watershed Network is formed. - P.R.A.W.N Representing over 60,000 members was formed in a response to a proposed sitting of a new gravel mine on Olsen Creek, a tributary to the Upper Pitt River.

September 1999 -Tourism Pitt Meadows conducts a familiarization tour of Pitt Lake and Upper Pitt River Valley to plan for future tourism and recreation use.

April 2000- Mark Angelo, Chair of Outdoor Recreation Counsel of BC and World Rivers Day, declared the Upper Pitt River the most endangered river in BC and calls for a Community based Management Plan.

April 2000- Simon Fraser University school of Resource and Environmental Management published a comprehensive management plan for the upper Pitt River watershed and grad students conclude the area needs a management plan.

September 2000- Mainland Sand and Gravel application is stopped by PRAWN from extracting sand and gravel on Olsen Creek the last all wild Coho spawning grounds in the lower Fraser river.
May 2001- PRAWN receives a $25,000 grant to initiate a Community-Based Management plan for the Upper Pitt River.

August 2001- Senior Land Officer from MFLNRORD toured the dry land wharf facility with Alvin community residents and in writing commented that there were several issues that needed addressing. A few of the comments were, there was increasing importance of commercial recreation activities in the area and that commercial recreation is a booming industry. He also made comment to identify the need for unrestricted public access from Pitt Lake to the Upper Pitt River Watershed and as a result, the extension of the forest service road to the wharf with a ten meter easement along the east side of the dry land sort yard was created.

January 2002- a comprehensive preliminary draft for a management plan was published by PRAWN for the Upper Pitt River Watershed.

January 2005- a group of 23 Elk were transported from the Sunshine Coast and reintroduced to the Upper Pitt River Valley.

October 2005- All Alvin community residents attended a meeting at MFLNRORD to discuss issues of concern about the wharf facility and vehicle parking  and to address proposals made towards creating separate private tenures.

November 2005- Pitt River Lodge initiated the cleanup of an old dump site from the old town of Alvin that was polluting the Upper Pitt River.

November 2008 - Prawn stops Run of River Power Inc from constructing 8 micro hydro power plants on 8 of the most highly productive salmon spawning creeks of the Upper Pitt River.

Spring 2019- 2022 - World Wildlife Fund Canada in partnership with Coca-Cola Canada is funding a long-term Katzie First Nation led Upper Pitt river restoration  of fish producing creeks with the support of the  Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, DFO and others.

August 2020 - Province of British Columbia posts a sign on the 5 kilometer bridge above the Upper Pitt River asking jet boat operators to be careful not to disturb salmon rearing in the spring and salmon spawning in the fall.

Spring 2022 - BC Parks Foundation purchases 733 acres of private land along the lower part of the river which has become one of the provinces largest conservation donations in history. 

NOTE – Most of all the above initiatives have been carried out by a coalition of the Katzie First Nation, Alvin Community residents, naturalists, ecotourism, recreation, sports fishing, government agencies and stewardship groups.

Red Slough is at the eastern side of the Upper Pitt River Delta and encompasses approximately 437 hectares. Red slough was originally a large overflow channel from the main stem of the Upper Pitt River before it was diverted to the east side of the Delta by the Pitt River Forest Service Road bed. The Red Slough Wetlands include a unique wetland type, -Tidal Lake Delta Marsh, as well as Floodplain swamp and Delta Marsh.The Slough is an important rearing area for several species of salmonids including coho, chinook, chum, steelhead, rainbow and cutthroat trout.