Millennium Creek Project.

[beedhead]

I would like to commend Guy Woods and Jake Gotta (dekkard), for their very hard, labor intensive work, to enhance Millennium Creek into a viable spawning habitat for Brook Trout...Awesome work guys!!!...Below are some links to some great footage of the construction and the end result, Spawning Brookies... :thumbup:

 

Part One; Project Construction:

Part Two; First Spawning activity:

Part Three; Main Spawning activity:

 

[dekkard2019]

Thanks a lot! It was a cool project to work on. This is a nursery stream, so I would appreciate it if you kept lines out of the water. So would the brookies. Peace.

[admin]

Wow, thanks for sharing. The results are quite amazing in such a short time. Kudos to all involved.

[beedhead]

Dekkard, correct me if I'm wrong, was it not all pick axe, shovels and buckets for the excavating??....A lot of work done there...

 

Cheers...Jeff..

[Bigtoad]

Thanks a lot! It was a cool project to work on. This is a nursery stream, so I would appreciate it if you kept lines out of the water. So would the brookies. Peace.

 

Why not put a sign there explaining all of the hard work that was done there and why and telling/asking people to kindly keep there lines the hell out of that area?

 

Great work!

 

If anybody knows of any other similar projects (especially around the central area) that are happening in the future I'd love to get involved.

 

Cheers.

[dekkard2019]

Hey Bitgtoad...good idea on the signage. It was just Guy and me working away for two and a half weeks. Yep. We were swinging pick axes. Like for hours in a day into hard rock. Sometimes I was wondering what the heck I was doing, but the project was well worth the effort. We didn't have any heavy equipment and no tools were plugged in. Anyways, the fish are happy in their new spot, and that is all that matters.

[jasonvilly]

Totally awesome,

 

It amazes me the length that trout will go to procreate. How do they get over those two huge rocks near the outflow. Just amazing.

 

Excellent work gentlemen.

[DonAndersen]

Guy & Jake,

 

I know what it takes to work on projects of this type. Lots of stuff go on that are not apparent to the fishermen. My hats off to both of you for persevering in the face of some opposition.

 

For those folks that are interested, copied below is an account of what it takes sometimes to bring off a successful project. Not all folks are real happy about stream rehab. work. I've had the same ducks vs fish thrown @ me a number of times.

 

All the best,

 

 

Don

 

 

 

 

Rebuttal

Community

Posted 2 months ago

 

 

I will not stoop to false accusations or rude innuendo in my response to Mr. Daniels letter. However, I will provide some facts to reinforce my statements defending my work on Millennium Creek in recent years.

 

Daniels stated that I had admitted complete failure in my efforts to restore Millennium Creek into a natural thriving trout stream. The fact is that the restoration program on Millennium Creek has been a substantiated success. The original objectives proposed in the three phases, four year program, have all been met.

 

Prior to the start date in the restoration program, the Alberta Conservation Association and SRD Fish & Wildlife conducted an electro-fishing project on Millennium Creek, to assess the pre-project populations of trout in the stream, if any. During the 2004 assessment, a total of 5 brook trout were captured between the confluence with the Bighill Creek and the Griffin Road culvert.

 

In 2007, after the first two years of the restoration program, Trout Unlimited Canada completed the first electro fishing program since the project start date, on the same length of stream channel that was first assessed in 2004. The result of that 2007 electro fishing program, was a total of 40 trout captured in the creek. The catch consisted of 19 brook trout, 24 brown trout, seven mountain whitefish and one rainbow trout.

 

In 2008, Trout Unlimited Canada electro fished a section of the creek from 50 metres downstream of the Griffin Road culvert to 50 metres upstream, on the north side of Griffin Road. This 100 metre section yielded a total of 23 trout captured. There were 11 brook trout, four brown trout, one rainbow trout, two mountain whitefish and one hybrid brook and bull trout.

 

In 2009, Tera Environmental Ltd. completed an electro fishing of the same reach that was shocked in 2004. They captured a total of 48 trout. Their catch consisted of 32 brook trout, eight brown trout, seven rainbow trout and one hybrid brook and bull trout cross.

 

Electro fishing capture represents only a percentage of the stream's trout population and the entire reach of the creek was not assessed. With this in mind, the results of these assessments do not indicate that the project was a failure.

 

Mr. Daniels was adamant that I had ruined the creek for waterfowl, during my restoration program.

 

In a meeting with Daniels and some of his neighbours in 2005, I assured him I would increase the open water surface acreage on the stream to make up for any loss in the creek channel, before my program was finished. This commitment was made for both Paul and his ducks.

 

I later fulfilled this promise during the 2008, Phase Three program, when I created a rock v-weir at the outflow of the Millennium Creek Spring Pond, commonly referred to as the duck pond.

 

This rock structure created a damming of the pond, which increased the open water area of the pond by approximately 700 square feet, more than doubling any open water area that had existed in the creek channel, prior to the project's start date.

 

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The enhancement results have increased the nesting area along the creek, in its entirety, by over 500 per cent. Ducks require good riparian cover for nesting, as well as dry ground. Our efforts have provided both of these requirements.

 

We have also planted over 1,000 willow plants which will provide excellent nesting habitat for waterfowl such as ducks.

 

Presently, mallard ducks are utilizing the creek channel's riparian habitat for successful nesting and rearing. I was down on the creek on Aug. 11, and I spotted a mallard hen with five young ducklings.

 

As for the beavers, all I can say is that Millennium Creek has trout, ducks, beavers and other wildlife, just like many other healthy and productive trout streams in our area. Seems like a good balance to me. The beaver dam has already been removed.

 

I can honestly say that the support of this stream restoration and fish habitat enhancement program on Millennium Creek has been overwhelming; judging from the comments that I have received from residents of the community that frequent the area.

 

In closing, with the assessment work that was completed by other professionals, indicating a very positive result for the Millennium Creek Project, rest assured that this program was a complete success. "No true bird lover should be forced to eat crow."

 

Guy Woods

 

Cochrane, AB

Article ID# 2718935

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[FraserN]

I bought his book, "Fishing These Parts" when I was in Bragg creek awhile back. Guy has single-handedly engineered trout habitat improvements in and around the Cochrane area. We are starting to see the results of this down in Bearspaw reservoir, with the rainbow trout there. Now that this Jumpingpound strain of Rainbow trout is protected in the waters of the reservoir, thanks to strict new regulations, the trout fishing should continue to improve. All of this is due to the vision and considerable efforts of one man. I commend Guy for all the good work he has done.

[ÜberFly]

Wow looks like a heck of an effort! Nice work!

 

I'm curious, however... I thought people wanted to rid the system of brookies?!

 

P

 

[Hawgstoppah]

I do hope it's an isolated system... however, Let's not degrade the work done here by having a brookie vs. native trout debate on this thread, perhaps? These guys worked hard on this and at least deserve some recognition. I for one, thank them.

 

Brian

[bigbowtrout]

Let's not degrade the work done here by having a brookie vs. native trout debate on this thread

Brian

 

And with that and a few PM's. I will be moving all the brookie debate posts to a new thread.

 

Thanks

[beedhead]

These guys worked hard on this and at least deserve some recognition. I for one, thank them.

 

Brian

 

I concur....Thats why I posted this topic....There is so much work done by Individuals, volunteers and groups, that go'es unheard of, to help maintain Environmental Habitats and Fish....

[Guest Sundancefisher]

I love these types of projects and success stories. Good job everyone.

 

Are they making a catch and release area here to protect the spawning area or making it closed? I read where it was requested people don't fish but being as this is posted on a public forum...what is the intent of that comment?

 

Is it just me and do other just like sitting and watching fish spawning. Is it weird?

[beedhead]

I love these types of projects and success stories. Good job everyone.

 

Are they making a catch and release area here to protect the spawning area or making it closed? I read where it was requested people don't fish but being as this is posted on a public forum...what is the intent of that comment?

 

Is it just me and do other just like sitting and watching fish spawning. Is it weird?

 

Sun, your far from weird, lol... I also really like to just sit and watch the spawners, its awesome!!!...Dekkard is out chasing Steele at the moment....He is scheduled back in the next day or so, well, hmm, ya never know??...lol....Im sure he will elaborate more on regs of the new Habitat....We did talk about it, and both agreed,- "A guy would have to be pretty hard up to chase them small Brookies in the Creek"....And if I ever saw or heard of anyone fishin them..........................

 

Cheers...Jef..