By James Peters

Thompson River declared endangered

Mar 17, 2016 | 6:19 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Outdoor Recreation Council has placed the Thompson River on its annual list of endangered rivers in British Columbia.

Rivers Chair Mark Angelo says one of the main reasons for the designation is because of the dwindling Thompson River steelhead salmon population.

Angelo says the population is about 400 fish total.

He adds several actions could be taken to help preserve the Thompson, such as enforcing stricter water licenses on its tributaries.

“Tributaries like the Nicola, close to Merritt, or the Deadman between Kamloops and Cache Creek, or the Bonaparte near Ashcroft, those are tributaries but they play a really important role in terms of rearing and spawning. They also get hit really hard from a water extraction point of view,” said Angelo. 

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Angelo adds industrial operations like the KGHM-Ajax mine must be made to prove their operations will not contribute to leeching into the Thompson system.

by James Peters

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