NL-Outsidethebox [confederation]

I hope that if and when the Lower churchill goes ahead we learn from our past mistakes with Hydro damming and put in fish ladders in so as to mitigate the impact on fish migration routes and spawning grounds.

Case in point the Deer Lake hydro project which cut off the entire bucans plateau of 190 miles of lakes (Grand Lake, Sandy Lake, Birchy Lake, and Hinds Lake) and unknown spawning rivers from fish without so much as a fish ladder.

I am having trouble finding articles or pictures of fish ladders in Newfoundland/Labrador, I'm assuming because there aren't many. Some of the Hydro projects that I am familiar with but have never noticed a fish ladder are.
Deer Lake Main dam Junction Brook, Jackson arm Cat arm river, Bay D'espoir, Hinds Lake.

The exception to the rule would be the salmon ladder which was put into the Exploits river after the fact and the great impact it has had on renewing the spawning grounds and fish habitate by putting in the fish ladder. Check out the Grand Falls/Windsor Salmon festival and see for yourself.

It isn't to late to lobby for fish ladders at these sites as well as ensure that if and when the Lower churchill goes ahead it should be manditory that a fish ladder be incorporated into the project.

Another mandatory requirement for flooding reservoirs is the inclusion of lime dosers to counteract the rise of PH levels due to minerals being added to the water from flooded land.

People are wondering why the salmon aren't returning to the rivers. I would contend that putting in fish ladders to return access to the original spawning grounds and lime dosers to neutralize the effects of flooding land would be a good place to start.

"I hope that we can learn from the wipe out of a complete salmon run in 1924, when a dam was built on Junction Brook, a major tributary of the Humber River, the elimination of another run on Rattling Brook, a major tributary of the Exploits River in 1958, and the annihilation of trophy trout populations when the Star Lake Hydro Dam was constructed just a few short years ago,"

http://www.asf.ca/Communications/2006/02/hydrothreat.html

IMHO the best route to take to ensure action on this travesty against the fish spawning grounds and populations would be to unite through your local fish and wild life clubs and such organizations. Mainly due to the fact that a single voices is lost in the wind but a united concerted effort by an organized group like Atlantic Salmon Federation,Ducks unlimited, School, Clubs, Organizations, political groups, would have much more sway.