good question.here is some info I stole from the ARMs site
http://www.alouetteriver.org/ its under Issues and Articles (2003)
ARMS Requests Regulatory Controls on
Motorized Vessels on the Upper Pitt River
Written and Compiled by Geoff Clayton and Caresse Selk
The Upper Pitt River is a small and shallow river system that has maintained viable and healthy populations of fish due in part to its year round catch and release fishery. Recent years have seen an increasing trend in the number of people using jet boats and jet skis to access hot springs 21 km upriver. While an increase in user groups and tourists to the Upper Pitt River has heightened public knowledge and awareness of the area, it has also brought degradation and disregard of the sensitive riverine environment.
Residents in the Upper Pitt Valley are active stewards of the River's Watershed and have seen first hand the potential for environmental destruction that can be wrought at the hands of unaware, or irresponsible visitors to this region. Boating issues of concern are: the potential for the destruction of fish habitat caused by the disturbance of fish on their spawning beds, hydrostatic shock to eggs and alevin in the gravel, and the anchouring of boats at holes or creek mouths targeting fish in these areas. Without regulation, jet boats traveling at high speed detract from bank and wading fisherman's sport as well. This repeated disturbance of speed and sound from the increasing number of jet boat river travels must be having some detrimental affect on the birds and wildlife too. Regulations will be required to see this watershed continue to thrive as a healthy, wild ecosystem.
For those that may read this and have never been to the Upper Pitt we profiled the mean average flows of the Gold River (which has limits on jet boats) and the Chilliwack/Vedder. The aforementioned are very similar, in mean average monthly flows to the Upper Pitt (CHS records). Just think about the reaction one would get from bank fishermen on the Vedder as you jet boomed by with the resulting wave action at 40-50ks.
These environmental concerns have prompted ARMS to recommend and request of the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and the DFO "regulatory controls" on motorized boats in the Upper Pitt River." Excerpts from our Ministerial request can be viewed below.
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Reasons and Rational
By Geoff Clayton
The issues of harmful impacts of motorized watercraft on some rivers on a worldwide scale are now becoming well known. Professionals charged with the protection and regulatory controls of fish and wildlife, that have been given funds and direction to study these concerns, have come forward with their results.
ARMS has included a small synopsis of some of these results from Alaska, Montana and New Zealand. We, of course, have only touched the surface of the research that has gone on in the field of harmful human impacts to river and riverine areas.
In dealing directly with the Upper Pitt River, our request for controls on motorized watercraft above the Rocky Main Bridge is based on the river becoming shallow and braided above this point. Clearly it is the accumulative impacts, by the growing number of powerboats frequenting the area, that have moved these issues to the regulatory level.
The lower section of the Pitt has already forced regulatory authorities to ban motorized vessels on the Alouette and Widgeon rivers, and speed restrictions at Grant Narrows Landing (lower Pitt). The use of paddles vis-a-vis motors and speed, being the issues here. But there is nothing slower and less able to move out of the way of a speeding vessel than a wading fisherman at waist level in the river, which is another issue in the Upper Pitt to be considered.
The River of the Upper Pitt has been carving a path from glacier to tide water for many millenniums, holding an abundance of salmon in its arms. Being born and raised in the flood plain of the Pitt sixty-seven years ago, I have seen, first hand, the shift from abundance, to the threat of extinction, of many west coast salmon stocks in my lifetime. Therefore governments aided by volunteers, must try to hold on to the vital remnants of the salmon gene pool in the hope of rebuilding these stocks in the years to come. Sport fishermen are one of the core user groups who must do their part for recovery to succeed. This is the core to our request for motorized regulations, protecting the aquatic habitat in the Upper Pitt.
"Rivers like the Upper Pitt hold the critical nucleus of tomorrows hope."
So if we err in regulatory control, we must err on the side of safety for our wild rivers. In this way there is a road back to our heritage- so beautiful- so fragile and yet, still visible in the Upper Pitt.
"In order for wild rivers to live and flourish in our mechanized world, governments must act, as they are the only means to rational control and protection in public ownership".
Below is a sample of some of the research that we have found on this subject. If you would care to review the full documentation, please contact our office.
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Background Research
Please read a small collection below of other's research," but our reason to act now":
Studies in Alaska and New Zealand have found that in shallow water where boat use is high, and especially where channels are constricted, developing salmon eggs and alevins in the gravel can suffer high mortalities as a result of pressure changes caused by boat operations, which can result in removal of gravel or mechanical shock generated in the area under the mid-line of the boat. A study by National Park Service (NPS) staff was carried out during the summers of 1986 and 1987 to evaluate resource condition under the current permit system. The most serious consequence of human activity along American Creek identified during the study was the increased rate of erosion and alteration of streambed morphology that results from jet boat use. Permanent photo points were established in 1989 to monitor riparian vegetation cover and erosion along the creek every 2 to 4 years.
In 1991, the NPS funded a study of the effects of jet-driven boat turbulence on sockeye and other salmonid reproduction in Alaska streams. Much of the field work planned for the study occurred on American Creek in Katmai. The study was conducted by the Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The study, completed in 1994, found that jet driven boats can indeed kill salmonid embryos in redds. Water pressure was not found to be the culprit; instead, mortality occurs when river substrate (gravel) is moved by the direct discharge from a jet unit. The authors found that limiting jet boat activity may be warranted in small streams where the potential for substrate disturbance is high. Any such restrictions, however, should be made on a case-by-case basis.
Today, jet-driven boats are becoming more popular because of their shallow draft. Shallow headwaters are preferred by Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.) and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as sites of egg deposition for reproduction. Based on a 1992-1993 study by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, jet boat operation can lead to significant salmonid embryo mortality through mechanical shock, intrusion of fine sediments into the gravel affecting eggs that remain in redds, and the removal of gravel covering eggs in redds with subsequent washing away of eggs.
Studies in Alaska and New Zealand have found that in shallow water where boat use is high, and especially where channels are constricted, developing salmon eggs and alevins in the gravel can suffer high mortalities as a result of pressure changes caused by boat operations, which can result in removal of gravel or mechanical shock generated in the area under the mid-line of the boat.
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Links to other sites with information on jet boating in the Upper Pitt River
The Steelheader Magazine
The Pitt River Lodge
A River Never Sleeps
A complicated issue.In my opinion the use misuse or over exposure from jet or other boats on a wild and possibly delicate system should be examined very closely and carefully regulated.
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Topic: ~~~Jet Boats on the Upper Pitt~~~ (Read 10263 times)