Tretheway, Shovel and Big Silver creeks, east of Harrison Lake, are under threat from a proposed private power project and right now we have an important opportunity to push back against the privatization of these watersheds.

This cluster of projects is going through an Environmental Assessment, which means that the government and company need to hold a public open house to hear from the surrounding community. Big crowds at these kinds of meetings have played a key role in stopping other private power projects including the Upper Pitt, the massive Bute Inlet project, and Glacier Howser in the west Kootenays.

The public open house will be held Thursday, January 19, 5pm to 9pm at Evergreen Hall, Cheam Room at 9291 Corbould Street in Chilliwack.

Every year thousands of people visit Harrison Lake to hike the surrounding hills and fish in the creeks that flow in to the lake. And it’s not just tourists and nature lovers who you will find in those hills. They are also home to western screech owl, tailed frog, harlequin duck, northern goshawk, spotted owl, red legged frog, pacific water shrew and grizzly bears, many of which are listed as species at risk.

The surrounding creeks are also home to rainbow trout and dolly varden, steelhead, coho, sockeye, longnose dace and cutthroat trout, including Shovel and Big Silver creeks, which are both fish-bearing streams.  

All of this is at risk if we allow Cloudworks Energy Inc. and their new owners Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. to fragment this wilderness with roads and transmission line right of ways.

Both companies have records of being involved in controversial projects. Freedom of Information requests done by the Wilderness Committee showed that Cloudworks’ nearby Upper Harrison project and their Rutherford Creek project in the Sea to Sky region had used poor construction practices, caused destruction of fish habitat, damaged wetland habitat, logged streambanks, illegally built a bridge, and illegally harvested wood and caused numerous landslides.

Innergex, furthermore, is the current owner of the Ashlu project near Squamish, which sparked much of the opposition to private power projects in BC when it was forced through over the objections of the local Regional District when the provincial government passed Bill 30.

Clearly we need to stop these companies from getting their hands on any more of our streams and rivers. That is why it is so important for you to join us at this public Open House. If you can't be there in person please forward this message to your friends and family in the area and take a moment to write a submission to the Environmental Assessment Office.

Thank you for standing up for our rivers.

Sven Biggs | Outreach Director
Wilderness Committee