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Rock the River - Update!
Good news!!
The Club has been granted a Water License to begin construction on a rapid in the Yukon
River. (For those of you who are interested in reading the details contact Theresa
Landman.)
Bad news!!
The five spur whitewater rapid is on hold. We're now down to one spur and a lot of
monitoring work. Our funding proposals were all based on a five spur model. So we're in
the process of finding out what impact the project's redesign will have on the dollars.
Details:
In working through the Rock the River proposal with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
(DFO) it became very clear that for the project to proceed we had to address the
departments concerns over:
- the potential impact downstream to the constructed compensation channels for the Robert
Service Way Road reconstruction; and
- the potential to negatively impact fish and fish habitat.
With the assistance of DFO, the Club modified its proposal to include a feasibility
study. The study would see the construction of one in-water structure within the
Yukon River and, through a program of monitoring, assess the impacts of the structure as
well as provide information to facilitate the approval of an expanded whitewater park.
The Yukon Territory Water Board concluded it's consultations with respect to the revised
plans and approved the placement of a "test spur" in the Yukon River. However,
because this would be a feasibility study, the monitoring requirements imposed by the
Board are greater than what would be typically be required for the in-water structure
itself. To ensure that this monitoring will yield credible results, the Board has
directed that it be conducted by individuals of professional standing.
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