2007 Dunlop Creek Fence Installation
On June 16, 2007, we finally pulled the fence from Dunlop Creek. The smolt counts and fry counts were down substantially this year. This is concerning as there seems to be a bit of a trend developing. The flooding was also hard this year on the fence as it was down three times and had to be repaired each time. Hopefully things will improve next year to reverse the trend.
Every year for the last four years we have partnered with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), the Gold River Rod and Gun Club and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations to count the Coho smolts and fry that migrate out of Dunlop Creek into Muchalat Lake every spring. Some other species show up in the box also and they are:
- Coastrange Sculpins
- Lampreys
- Steelhead smolts
- Trout Adults (Cutthroat, Dolly Vardon)
- Trout Smolts (Cutthroat, Dolly Vardon)
- The odd huge water beetle sometimes
If you wish to join our society or help out counting smolts, contact one of our members for more information.
In the beginning we used to set up the same fence template on Hutchinson Creek, but because of low water flows in the early spring we had to abandon it.