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[adriaticum]

I went out fishing a couple of weeks ago to my favourite spots and the river was pretty low at the time.
This revealed a ton of fallen branches and debris and even up-rooted trees fell into the river and blocked the flow.
I was pretty concerned that, come fall, fish would have a hell of a time going up stream through this mess and I wanted to come back and try and clean some of this up. Bring an axe, some rope and maybe a saw to remove these branches and trees.
Plus also eliminate the snag hell from some of the areas.
In some spots fallen trees block the entire span of the river.
Now, being a new to the Chilliwack I’m wondering if I should just leave it to mother nature and she will clean this up by flooding everything.
On the other hand I don’t know how much flooding can do.
Anybody out there that lives around the river that can tell me if it makes any sense to do this and how much the river does on it’s own?
Also if this something I should be doing, any bylaws prohibiting this kind of stuff.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Geff_t]

Phone the city and let them take care of it. If it is a flood risk they will clear the trees. They do that here on the Allouette. They just cleared to log jams that would of created a flood come high water. Trust me the last thing the city wants is a flood. Also fish use fallen trees and branchs as shelter from predators especially during low water.

[bentrod]

Don't worry, fish will find a way to get by.  I spend much of my time figuring out ways to add wood to streams.  The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife often requires other agencies to add wood to streams as a form of project mitigation.  The benefits of having wood in the stream far outweighs any negatives.  This wood will recruit more wood as well as provide places for fish to hide.  It will also slow the stream down around it and in the long run collect enough gravel to form an island and increase the complexity of the channel. 

[coryandtrevor]

Wood = good

Plie o' line and barbed hooks = bad , grab those if ya see 'em

This little rats nest was found  just 50 yards from the Selesse along with about 2 lbs of lead   :

[adriaticum]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I better leave it alone then.
I was primarily concerned about path for the fish being completely cut off, I certainly don't want to destroy fish habitat.
There are still plenty of places to fish to avoid snags.
Last fall I saw a couple of huge 30-40+ pound springs lodged in this debris and I just couldn't see how these monster fish could move in such shallow water and the debris blocking any escape route. Pretty sad sight.
BTW, I do see many barbed hooks in the river, so when I see someone using barbed hooks I try to educate first.
Beat up, second.
Just kidding 

[Rodney]

In-stream work such as debris or garbage removal is only done during the period when juvenile salmonids are not in the river and when the stream level is at its lowest. There is a designated period for this, I can't remember the dates specifically, sometimes in September and August. For getting the best answers on this type of questions, your DFO community advisor is a good person to ask, as well as the Pacific Streamkeepers.

Pacific Streamkeepers: http://www.pskf.ca/

DFO community advisors: http://www-heb.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/community/contacts/ca_e.htm