The Sargeant Bay fish ladder project met another key milestone this week with the installation of a new viewing platform.
With the wheelchair-friendly viewing platform done, Sargeant Bay Society (SBS) president, Rand Rudland, said the project is two-thirds complete.
He said the day after the new fish ladder was installed SBS members saw the first pink salmon show up.
Construction began in early August and the viewing platform was installed on Aug. 18.
Calling the project a “joint effort,” Rudland said the society had been trying to replace the previous fish ladder, which was installed in 1991, made of wood and described as “well past its best before date,” for years.
SBS volunteers built the new viewing platform using cedar provided by the Sunshine Coast Community Forest.
He recalled several times in the last few years when they almost lost the old ladder – such as during atmospheric rivers.
Once SBS got in touch with BC Parks, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) chose an “improved” design, which has a longer lifespan and will ideally provide salmon easier access to the spawning channels above the ladder, Rudland said.
Funding came from multiple sources to make the project possible. DFO funded a “significant portion” of the ladder itself, the Pacific Salmon Foundation assisted with the installation costs, the SCRD contributed towards construction materials and the Rotary Club of Sechelt provided funds for the tempered glass viewing panel, Rudland said.
The final phase, a wheelchair-friendly connecting trail from the parking lot to the fish ladder will begin once archaeological surveys are complete and SBS has been given the green light from shíshálh Nation.
Rudland estimates the trail construction could take as little as four days of “fairly intense work,” once they are given the go-ahead.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
