Close-Up: A Case for the Kettle

The denizens of the Kettle River are at risk due to a myriad of threats. Thanks to the leadership of one dedicated advocate it may finally be getting the attention it deserves.

A picturesque and winding trout stream, the Kettle begins its 280 kilometre journey at Holmes Lake in the Monashee Mountains, flows though the Christian Valley to Westbridge where it is joined by the West Kettle, and ends at the Columbia River in Washington State.

The river is home to several species of fish, including wild stock (fluvial species) rainbow trout that can grow to trophy sizes in perfect conditions.

For fly-fishers who love rivers, it’s nearly as good as it gets.

LINK (via:Capital News)

Channeling my inner A.D. Maddox on behalf of the Kettle River

With apologies to A.D.

Above are the results of various effects applied to images of a Kettle River rainbow taken by my friend Travis Lowe on our recent rendezvous north of the border.

The Kettle is a beautiful 175-mile tributary of the Columbia that flows back and forth between southeastern British Columbia and northeastern Washington. Being a trib of the Columbia the Kettle at one time supported salmon and other anadromous fish but a couple of giant dams forever put the kibosh on that program.

As you can see above what remains are some very beautiful, very wary, rainbow trout. (And rumors of one phantom giant brown trout......perhaps more on that in a future post)

Unfortunately excessive water withdrawals and illegal harvest have consistently landed the Kettle on top of B.C.'s list of most endangered rivers. To make matters worse, in 2007 the Canadian Ministry of fucking up the the Environment granted additional Kettle water rights to the Big White Ski resort. If those rights were ever to be exercised, the Kettle watershed would be subject to the removal of an additional 488 million gallons of water.

Kettle rainbows already suffer from die off in the summer heat, a taste of which I experienced as we had 90 plus (35 celsius) mid September heat. You can kiss the beautiful rainbows of the Kettle goodbye if catch and release laws are not enforced and more water gets siphoned off for golf courses, and ski condo hot tubs.

The good news is there is a very dedicated group of people who are doing the heavy lifting to protect the denizens of the Kettle and their threatened habitat.

Their river is your river.

Reading the Signs on the Kettle

I created a little extra content for the Okanagan Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada's presentation of the F3T in my home town of Kelowna, BC. This is the reason I make fly fishing films, to affect change in the environs that I love. I am trying to help save the Kettle River. My river, is everyone's river.

- Travis Lowe

Fly fishing film festival grows along with local filmmaker

Kelowna Capitol News profiles Thai One On filmmaker Travis Lowe and his efforts to help save the Kettle River, one of B.C.'s most endangered rivers.

LINK

Kettle River tops BC’s Most Endangered Rivers List for 2011

This is the 19th year the the Outdoor Recreation Council of Britsh Columbia has published B.C.'s Most Endangered Rivers report.

For the second year in a row the Kettle River was identified as the number one most threatened river due to new water extraction proposals near its source. The river is already suffering from excessive water withdrawals, so unless greater measures are taken this river may never recover, foreshadowing what many other streams in the region will face with continuing climate change.

BC’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2011

1. Kettle River (water extraction, development)
2. “Sacred Headwaters” of Skeena, Nass and Stikine (coalbed methane)
3. Peace River (hydro-electric dam proposal)  
4. Fraser River, “Heart of the Fraser”(urbanization, industrial development, habitat loss)
5. Kokish River (IPP proposal)
6. Morice (pipeline proposal)
7. Taku River (mining development, road proposal, leachate concerns)
8. Similkameen River (cross border dam proposal)  
9. Elk River (development, increasing selenium levels, wildlife migration issues)  
10. Coquitlam River (excessive sedimentation, urbanization)
11. Bute Inlet Rivers (IPP proposal)
12. Atlin River (impacts of dam and Whitehorse, Yukon energy proposal)

LINK (Via: Spring Creek Film)