2005 the bow river lives

Mother Nature just dealt the Bow River and it's Tributaries a severe blow. These things are cyclical and I'm sure have happened before - and the river survived. No one was around then to document it so we don't know what happened. We do know the Bow became the best trout stream in North America and possibly the world. In 1995 we had what was called the "Flood of the Century" and the Bow River survived. History repeats itself and we now find ourselves in unfamiliar territory.

I just got off the phone with David Blair, owner of Fish Tales Fly Shop here in Calgary, and he informed me that from the air the river looks fine. We had a lengthy discussion about the Bow and he shared with me what they saw from above the river.

Some Fish Tales staff flew along the Bow River yesterday and the opinion of Terry Johnson, head Fish Tales guide, is that the Bow River is absolutely fine. We believe there are three issues. First, the effect of flood waters on the river. This was a 200 year epic flood event and there has been eroding of banks, some islands will have been rearranged as well as gravel bars, but the river will recover. The view from the air was powerful and they could see the areas that had been affected. The report is that the major damage occurred at Policeman's Flats access. As mentioned on previous pages, this access point was totally destroyed. I enquired if there were any log jams on the river and the response was no. Not even in the back channels. This is good news but the water will have to drop to really know what is hidden at this time. As far as the other access points it is a wait and see situation.

Second, It is believed that some of the Rainbow spawn will have washed away. The early and normal spawners should have had time for the eggs to become fry and it is likely a large amount of them might have survived. It would be the late spawners that might be in jeopardy. It will become evident in the near future when Fish and Wildlife completes an Electro shocking of the river. It may show a loss of a given age class of Rainbow trout. This is not uncommon and has happened before for various reasons. And the Bow River and the trout survived. Some of the insects will be washed away and their numbers diminish. The scouring of the river bed will be good for Stones and Caddis and they should be prolific as a result of the newly aerated gravel bars. Also there is a danger that some trout will be stranded in the back waters as the river recedes. This is a yearly occurrence when the irrigation canal is shut down for the winter. Fish get trapped in this 30 Km. long canal. Trout Unlimited organizes an annual Fish Rescue and returns on average about 100,000 fish to the Bow. Unfortunately they are only able to work about 10 per cent of the canal. Many, many more fish perish. This problem could be rectified if the Alberta Gov't would put fish exclusion devices on all canals in the province. To date they have not done so.

This notice appears on the home page of two Calgary fly shops.

NOTICE

Due to the recent flooding and rapid receding of the high water, fish may become locked in pools of water in the fields with no way back to the river. It is imperative that we make an effort to return the fish to the river.

If you find fish trapped please contact Trevor Rhodes at Alberta Sustainable Resources (403) 297-5569, email at Trevor.Rhodes@gov.ab.ca or Brian Meagher of Trout Unlimited Canada at (403) 209-5185, email bmeagher@tucanada.org

Or Call the TUC- Fish Rescue Hotline 1-866-374-5455

This notice appears on the home page of another Calgary fly shop.

Due to the recent flooding in the area, there has been a great deal of concern and unfortunately, some uninformed supposition as to what will happen to fish species in the Bow River Drainage. It is our belief that any statement regarding damage to our fish or fishery is premature. The small amount of data we have shows that our resources rebound quickly from natural events such as flooding.

One of the most common and legitimate concerns during this event has been whether fish will be stranded when flood waters recede. We do not know to what extent this will occur, but feel that appropriate steps be taken to assist fish should they be stranded.

Comment:

These notices bring to the attention of the fishing community and public two very important points. The first is that there indeed might be fish trapped in pools in fields as the river recedes. How many fish can't be known at this time. If you discover trapped fish call a local fly shop, Trevor Rhodes or Trout Unlimited. The necessary action will be taken. Phone numbers and emails above.

Secondly, it is unwise to spread false information and rumors. It is damaging to allow uninformed supposition to run rampant throughout the fishing community and beyond. This can only add to whatever damage may or may not have occurred. It is far too early to draw any conclusions as to possible damage to the fishery. Keep in mind that these flood events happen cyclically and Mother Nature does rebound.

Thirdly, access to the river once it drops and becomes fishable is a serious concern. Given the known facts at this time we need to make contingency plans and put those plans into action when the river drops. It is known that Policeman's no longer exists. Upstream is Fish Creek 22X access. I'm told it has been damaged. The Park took a major hit and the priority should be to repair the boat access. McKinnon's Flats access is undetermined at this time. Terry Johnson says, from the air it looks OK. Again we won't know for sure until the river drops. The likelihood is that it will be functional with some clean up. Jensen's is on the critical list. How could it not be given the photos. The question here is can we gain access to the island or is the back channel scoured and now 40 feet wide and 10 feet deep? Once this is determined plans can go forward for repair of Jensen's. Carseland is still underwater and it is undetermined. The likelihood of the first concrete ramp surviving is good. The point access used by the guides is a bigger question mark. The road to the point access is under water with no where for that water to drain as it is a low part of that land. The road may not be passable even if the point access survived.

As I see things, and I could very well be totally wrong, the fishing community ( both guiding and public ) need to step up and push the Gov't into developing contingency plans NOW. Based on the findings when the water drops the appropriate repair plan can be activated. Access is a critical issue and the guiding season and the entire fishing season depends on what action is taken and how soon that happens. We certainly don't want the Gov't to take their summer break before this issue is addressed. They need help in dealing with this flood event and whatever motivation we can give them, we should.

This is an access map ( courtesy of Bow River Shuttles ) showing the very limited access points. We can't afford to lose any of them. This map does not show Jensen's access but it is located about half way between McKinnon Flats and Carseland.

During several other phone calls today I learned that the Heritage Pointe Golf Course survived this high water with very little flood damage. Pine Creek overflowed its banks and flooded some fairways. Cottonwood Golf Course had more damage as they are located closer to the Bow. They got 8 inches of water in the Clubhouse basement and some fairways were also flooded. The back channel running between the Clubhouse and their outer buildings grew to be very large. The island was flooded somewhat but the buildings on the island remained dry.

North Bow Lodge is high enough above the river that they were untouched. Michelle said the Bow did not breach it's banks there. At this time I'm trying to obtain Intel on other property along the river. I heard that the Bow River Conservancy ( BRC ) had some seepage but the river didn't breach it's banks upstream of them. The river did rise however up on to the lawn at the BRC. This report on the BRC has not been confirmed as of this time.

2005 BOW RIVER FLOOD INFORMATION JUNE STREAM FLOWS