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The Story
To protect farmland and communities, dikes were constructed along the Vedder River in the 1920s. These dikes isolated off-channel habitats where salmonids historically spawned and lived their early life stages. And while the Vedder River remains well-known for year-round sport fishing, the lack of off-channel habitat is likely contributing to declines in salmonid numbers. Urban development has also affected the health of the system, as has the encroachment of invasive plants into riparian areas. In addition, the constriction of the Vedder River gives the water no room to spread out in times of high water, putting stress on dikes and flood infrastructure.
Objectives
To restore and enhance off-channel habitat along the Vedder River, providing spawning, rearing, and overwintering habitat for adult and juvenile salmon. Part of a broader effort to re-water the Vedder River floodplain, this work will also give the river more capacity in times of high water, as well as improve public access, and promote public appreciation of these valuable ecosystems. Work is focused on reconnecting the Vedder River to side-channels known as Peach Creek and the Hooge Wetlands, which are fed by groundwater and located between primary and secondary dikes.
Hooge wetland, a side-channel of Peach Creek, provides rearing and overwintering habitat for juvenile salmon.
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Peach Creek channel extension and outlet.
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Hooge Wetland rearing and overwintering salmon habitat.
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Peach Creek extension extended
The Work: Monitoring
Monitoring is like taking nature’s pulse, to see how “alive” an area is, before and after restoration works are completed. That includes measuring water quality and what fish species are present around the project area. Between February 2019 and March 2020, minnow traps caught 319 fish of five indigenous species, including 169 coho salmon. The others were rainbow trout, stickleback, pike-minnows, and prickly sculpin.
The Work: Construction
First, Peach Creek was extended upstream from Peach Ponds In 2017, adding 312 m2 of habitat spawning salmon. This step was required to increase hydrologic pressure and provide enough flow from the lower portion of Peach Creak. Leftover gravel was used to create another 800 m2 of spawning habitat in Foley Creek.
Second, a kilometre of new instream habitat was constructed downstream from the Hooge Rd parking lot, through McFaden Pond, and out to the Vedder River. Large pieces of wood and root wads were added to provide shade for fish, and protection from predators. The new channel also connected Salwein Creek to the river, providing additional habitat for the Salish Sucker.
Third, in 2019 an off-channel pond was constructed, adding 2000 m2 of habitat, the size of two hockey rinks! Large wood and root wads were added. This pond is now called the Hooge Wetland, upstream of the Hooge Rd parking lot. That same year, the groundwater extension of Peach Creek was further extended, adding 75 m2 of spawning habitat.
The Work: Greening
Invasive plants were removed by the FVWC crew, as well as the District of Chilliwack, which treated large areas of Japanese knotweed, so it wouldn’t spread during construction of the project. Then 500 volunteers planted 16,000 plants and shrubs.
Willow, dogwood, cottonwood, hardhack, and snowberry branches and stems were harvested and pushed into the ground on the slopes of the Peach Creek channel and Hooge Wetland as a method of bioengineering.
Atmospheric River 2021
Work done for this project was intended to improve flood protection by giving the Vedder River room to spread out. Improvements worked as intended in November 2021, when three Atmospheric River events resulted in unprecedented flooding throughout the Eastern Fraser Valley. The Peach Creek and the Hooge Wetlands restoration sites were largely intact after the flooding. The restoration sites also provided critical habitat for salmon escaping the high water velocities in the Vedder River.
Funders & Partners
More Information
Contact the FVWC to access reports and documents regarding this site.
