| Abstract/Description or Keywords |
The Lower Okanagan River is a candidate for designation as a Sensitive Stream because: 1) It has important populations of sockeye salmon, kokanee, and rainbow trout, as well as historic populations of chinook and coho salmon and steelhead. The prospects for recovery are good for sockeye, but much more difficult for coho and chinook salmon and steel head. 2) The available water supply is inadequate in some years (more so in the tributaries than the Okanagan River main stem) to support both sustainable fish populations and existing off-stream uses. High flows at some times of year, and resultant channel scouring, are as much of a problem as low flows. Ensuring adequate, but not excessive, rates of flow has been the subject of disagreement between water and fisheries agencies for years. 3) A recovery plan could focus on promoting more efficient water use; restoring riparian vegetation and stabilizing streambanks on the tributaries, and where feasible, on the Okanagan River mainstem; removing some of the weirs in the channelized section of the river; improving instream spawning habitat in the Okanagan River and in at least lower Vaseux and Inkaneep Creeks; and if feasible, negotiating water release schedules from the Okanagan and Vaseux Lake dams that are more favourable to fish, without impacting flood control requirements or violating an international agreement governing water levels in Osoyoos Lake. |
