Oldfield Creek Hatchery officials hatch plan for mudslide removal

A big dig is ahead for the Oldfield Creek Hatchery which is moving forward
with plans to remove the debris field created from September's landslide
(Photo from Oldfield Creek FB page)

It's been over two months since the heavy rains of September cascaded down Mount Hays and wreaked some significant havoc on the Oldfield Creek Hatchery and its ecosystem, with officials at the Wantage Road facility now sharing some notes on their plans ahead.

In an update posted to their Facebook page last week the Oldfield Creek crew shared word that they have now secured a tender to construct a road to their intake area to get the removal of the mudslide debris underway. 

Once they have that area cleared, they'll have a clearer picture of the work ahead for the creek channel and to determine if the waterline can be replaced in its current location.

No timeline is noted towards when they hope to have the first stage of what will be an extensive bit of work completed and how they will move forward from that point.

Among those supporting their efforts on the project are the Department of Fisheries and Oceans,  the Pacific Salmon Foundation, McElhanny Engineering and the City of Prince Rupert.

The extreme weather event of September, created an emergency situation for the Hatchery which made the decision at the time to release their 7,000 plus collection of coho salt to ensure their viability.

As a result of the damage, the Facility is still listed as Temporarily Closed.

You can follow the progress of the remediation work ahead from the Oldfield Creek Hatchery Facebook page.

More items of interest from around the Northwest can be found from our Community Notes archive.