Correspondence - Email from Peninsula Streams Society
Request for partnership and support for the Millstream Fishway Project at Atkins Road.
From: Peninsula Streams Sent: December-15-16 4:10 PM To: David Screech; Ron Mattson; Mayor And Council Email; Heidi Rast; John Rogers; Aaron Weisgerber Subject: Millstream Fishway Project
Dear Town of View Royal Mayor and Council,
Peninsula Streams Society (PSS) is an ENGO operating on the Saanich Peninsula, and we have recently begun developing partnerships with the City of Langford, City of Colwood, District of Highlands, CRD, Ecoasis (Bear Mountain) Developments, Goldstream Hatchery and others towards the installation of a fishway on the culvert at Atkins Road. Currently fish passage is impeded by the presence of a 4 m. high 'perched' culvert located on Millstream Creek at Atkins Road . If fish were able to ascend past this culvert, an additional 8+ kilometers of fish habitat would be available to fish returning from the sea. Constructing a fishway would allow recreational fish a means to ascend past Atkins Road and access this habitat indefinitely. Multiple municipalities and groups have spent over 20 years improving fish access upstream from tidewater to Atkins Road culvert with 2016 returns of 700+ coho salmon adults. Recently, speaking to Peter McCully (Goldstream Hatchery), we discovered that the Town of View Royal has also been involved in improving fish access in Millstream Creek and we invite your participation in and support of this project.
PSS has just applied to DFO's Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnership Program (RFCPP) for funding for a 2-year project, with 2017-18 as planning/project development and 2018-19 for fishway construction and performance monitoring. The project cost for Year 1 is 93.5K and Year 2 is 417K. We will also be applying to Pacific Salmon Foundation for funding in their February 15th intake.
I've attached the letter of support template that we forwarded to all project partners, to provide you with some additional information regarding the project. We would like to contact you in the new year to discuss how View Royal might like to be involved in this project, including possibly providing us with a letter of support for our Pacific Salmon Foundation application (Feb.) and other potential support. Additionally, is there a View Royal staff member that we could liaise with regarding this project?
Thank you, and please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments about this project.
All the Best of the Season to you~!
Francesca Loro Stewardship Coordinator Peninsula Streams Society 250-363-6480 PeninsulaStreams@gmail.com www.PeninsulaStreams.ca
[please insert your letterhead here]
November 29th, 2016
Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program (RFCPP) Fisheries and Oceans Canada 401 Burrard Street Vancouver BC V6C 3R2
Dear Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program,
RE: Letter of support for the Peninsula Stream Society’s RFCPP Grant Application – Millstream Fishway Project
It is my pleasure to provide this letter of support for the grant application to the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program (RFCPP) for Peninsula Stream Society’s (PSS) Millstream Fishway Project in 2017.
Goldstream Volunteer Salmon Enhancement Society (GVSEA) volunteers in partnership with the City of Langford, the City of Colwood, the Town of View Royal and many others have spent over 20 years improving fish access upstream from tidewater in Millstream Creek. If the fish can ascend past Atkins Road, an additional 8+ kilometers of fish habitat will be available to fish returning from the sea. Constructing a fish ladder would allow fish a means to ascend past Atkins Road and access this habitat.
The 2017-18 phase of the project will involve engineering study and design, as well as partnership development. PSS has 15 years’ experience in assembling partnerships and sees this as a ‘natural’ with multiple ‘wins’. This partnership would potentially include the City of Langford, the Town of Colwood, the District of Highlands, CRD Parks, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Pacific Salmon Foundation, GVSEA and other volunteer groups that may be initiated to support salmon stocks. As well, private companies such as Ecoasis Developments and others are invited to participate in the project as sponsors and as a source of volunteers. The construction of the fish ladder is scheduled for 2018-19.
I commend the RFCPP for supporting the Peninsula Streams Society on past projects, and encourage your continued support with this project. Once again, it is my pleasure to provide this letter of support for this exciting and beneficial project.
Sincerely,
[insert signature, name, title etc.]