Upland Contracting has donated $26,250 to the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association in support of their new hatchery and in appreciation for their cooperation during the construction of the raw water pipeline for the Comox Valley’s new water treatment system.
Mark Stuart, president of Upland Contracting, said the company has done a lot of work with the Campbell River Salmon Foundation on projects and fundraising.
“Upland Contracting has a strong environmental commitment to the communities they work in and the hatchery project fits well with those initiatives,” he said in a press release.
The hatchery is being built as part of a unique agreement between C&DF&GPA and the Comox Valley Regional District where the land to build the deep-water intake was traded for an assured supply of cold water from the depths of Comox Lake.
RELATED: CVRD announces key water treatment project land acquisition
This agreement was made so the C&D&GPA could continue their enhancement of Trent River coho, which they have done since 1979. The hatchery will also have enough capacity to enhance Puntledge River coho and the unique run of summer chinook that was almost lost due to past hydro operations. These fish come in during snowmelt in the spring and hold all summer in Comox Lake, then drop back to spawn in the Puntledge River in the fall.
“When completed the hatchery will be a showpiece for our Association and its conservation programming,” said Wayne White, chair of the conservation committee. “It will be a year before the hatchery starts production since the new water intake will not be ready until mid-2021. We are now just waiting for CVRD construction activities to wind down so we can get to work.
“C&DF&GPA would also like to thank Upland Contracting for improvements to several of our facilities while they were working on our property. The archery and black powder ranges were lengthened and the safety berms at the black powder and shotgun ranges were raised and covered with topsoil ready for planting.”