Koeye River Weir (the ultimate bushcraft project!)

[grantcallegari]

I thought I'd share some photos of a fish weir I designed and built on the River Koeye in B.C. Canada last spring. The Koeye is one of the few unlogged watersheds on the west coast of B.C. It's a unique and intact ecosystem full of grizzly bears, wolves and salmon.


The project was a collaboration between Hakai Beach Institute, a scientific research organization for whom I work and Qqs Project Society, a Heiltsuk First Nation nonprofit organization supporting youth, culture and environment.


First Nations people on the Northwest Coast built weirs (basically picket fences) and fish traps on salmon rivers as a means of harvesting returning fish. However, they have not been used in Bella Bella for close to 100 years.

The main goal of this project was to count the returning sockeye run for scientific study but it turn out to be a quite the bushcraft project!

 

[realearner]

Beautiful pictures, oh so very jealous. Would love to visit one day.

 

[HHazeldean]

That whole area looks stunningly beautiful, and that picket fence looks like a very ethical way to trap large quantities of the right size salmon. What an incredible opportunity to be a part of something like that, very jealous indeed!!

 

[forestschoolmatlot]

Beautiful pictures, oh so very jealous. Would love to visit one day.

Ditto. Really beautiful bit of the world you've got there.

 

[Mesquite]

Seriously beautiful area and what a great project to work on.

Thanks for sharing it with us

 

[Ecoman]

Stunning scenery and a great project. Photos are really good too. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Toddy]

Looks excellent Grant and a beautiful bit of the world too

I see photos like this and am poignantly reminded that that's how our rivers used to look in the UK before Industrialisation and huge population growth and the concommitant pollution

Something to aim for
Thank you for sharing

atb,
Mary

 

[Clouston98]

Amazing! Love the first photo .

 

[crowded-solitude]

Looks fantastic!

 

[sgtoutback]

Just came upon this, cracking work and pictures.

 

[jackcbr]

Wow. That is fantastic. What were the results of your study?

 

[VaughnT]

Gorgeous country! That must have been like stepping back in time!

What's the story on that shelter top thing? Very neat way of making a quick shelter, and it looks like you could have a decent fire under it.