| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
In 1950 Alcan signed an agreement with the province of BC that led to the Kemano Project including construction of the Kenney Dam on the Nechako River and the formation of the Nechako Reservoir. Between 1954 and 1980 there was no flow management plan for discharge from Skins Lake Spillway. In 1980, in response to concerns over salmon utilizing the Nechako River, a temporary flow schedule was enforced through a court injunction. Subsequently the Nechako River Working Group was formed to address water flow requirements for salmon downstream of the reservoir. This resulted in the 1987 Settlement Agreement between DFO, BC, and Rio Tinto, which included conservation goals and a flow management schedule, which are still in place today. The Nechako Fisheries Conservation Program (NFCP) was established to implement the 1987 Settlement Agreement between Canada, B.C. and Rio Tinto (formerly Alcan). The NFCP is comprised of two committees: a Steering Committee and a Technical Committee. Both Committees are comprised of individuals representing the Canadian Federal Government (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), the British Columbia Provincial Government (Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations) and Rio Tinto. The Technical Committee also includes one independent member. The NFCP has three general goals. • Nechako Chinook conservation; • Manage flow and temperature to protect migrating sockeye salmon; and, • Manage water releases consistent with the Annual Water Allocation in the Settlement Agreement. The objectives of these goals are to: • Ensure that changes to instream habitat conditions do not jeopardize the population of Chinook in the Nechako River; • Reduce temperature related risks to sockeye salmon migrating through the Nechako River. |
