By John McHutchion, Whitehorse Star
A whitewater paddling playground proposed for the Yukon River is being scaled back amid
concerns over salmon habitat.
When it was first proposed late last year, the park was supposed to cover about 150 metres
of the river just downstream from the popular paddling site at the old city intake.
The playground was to originally envision feature rock piles and shore spurs to create a
series of eddies, waves and holes.
However, concerns that the changes to the topography of the river could affect the habitat
of salmon that travel upstream to their spawning grounds mean only one prototype test spur
would be built if the project wins approval.
Bob Daffe, a member of the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club, said the project has had to go
through several federal government departments. They include DIAND’s land use branch,
the territorial water board, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and even the Coast
Guard.
In an interview Wednesday, Daffe said the concerns about fish habitat are valid, but he
expressed frustration that the numerous bureaucratic hoops means the project may not go
ahead until next spring.
The test spur being proposed would be a three-metre bar jutting from the bank of the
river. Two large boulders would be dropped into the river and held in place by the
addition of smaller rocks. Daffe said the aim is to create a “playhole”
accessible to whitewater kayakers and canoeists in Whitehorse.
“The (whitewater) rodeos are really popular and a play hole right in Whitehorse would
be really helpful,” he said.
The proposed spur is just upstream from several salmon channels that were constructed in
the Yukon River last year to compensate for the lost of habitat with the 1997
reconstruction of Robert Service Way.
Gail Faulkner, chief of the habitat and enhancement branch of DFO, said the department has
given its approval for the test spur, but it wants to know how the rocks might affect the
salmon.
Daffe said the club is hiring a firm for two years to study the spur’s possible
impact on salmon travelling upstream.
Judi Doering, manager of the Yukon Territory Water Board, said it’s waiting for the
Coast Guard to issue a navigable waters permit for the project. Once that happens, the
water board will be able to issue a decision on whether the club can go ahead.
Jim Naylor, a navigable waters protection officer with the Coast Guard in Vancouver, said
Wednesday the club has to advertise its proposed changes to the river in two local
newspapers and the Canada Gazette.
“All we’re really looking for is to ensure the public has had a chance to speak
to it,” Naylor said.
If the Coast Guard doesn’t hear any public concerns about safety or navigation, it
will grant approval for the project.
Naylor calls it unfortunate that the project may not go ahead until after the short Yukon
paddling season is almost over, but he said the department is constrained by its
requirements that all proposed changes to rivers must be advertised.
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