Progress Reporting

Progress Reporting

This WCRP was initiated in 2020. Since then, the passability of 100 structures has been assessed, and further habitat assessments were completed at 29 of these. Fish passage has been rehabilitated at 4 barriers: a culvert was removed and road deactivated on Boscar Lake Creek, and culverts on Niquidet Creek, an unnamed tributary to Bosk Lake, and an unnamed tributary to Horsefly River were replaced with clearspan bridges. This has resulted in improved or restored access to 4 km of spawning and rearing habitat (Table 9). Lateral (side channel and off-channel) connectivity and thermal refugia were also assessed in a portion of the mainstem Horsefly River in 2022 by the Horsefly River Roundtable, Northern Shuswap Tribal Council and Williams Lake First Nation, and fish passage at 14 trail-stream crossings was also completed by the Williams Lake First Nation in 2022.

Rehabilitated Barriers

Table 9: Barriers to Pacific salmon in the Horsefly River watershed that have been addressed (either through removal, replacement, or modification to improve passage) as of May 2026. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of upstream habitat that was reconnected by these projects.

Barrier ID

Site Name

Watershed Name

Assessment Step Completed

Type of Rehabilitation

Date of Rehabilitation

Next Steps

Notes

Supporting Links

126511

Trib to Horsefly R @ unnamed (126511)

HORS

Rehabilitated

Replacement - OBS

2023-01-01

N/A - project complete (rehabilitated structures only)

Culvert removed from under bridge

126594

Niquidet Cr @ R17330-730 FSR (126594)

HORS

Rehabilitated

Replacement - OBS

2023-01-01

N/A - project complete (rehabilitated structures only)

Crossing replaced with clearspan bridge

57168

Boscar Lk Cr @ Black Cr-Cruiser Lk FSR (57168)

HORS

Post-rehabilitation monitoring

Removal/decommissioned

2022-01-01

N/A - project complete (rehabilitated structures only)

Originally priced for a bridge, was decommissioned instead, hence major difference between estimated rehab and actual rehab costs.

https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/downloads/pdf/2021-2022-Projects-Technical-Briefing.pdf

57298

Trib to Bosk Lk @ Black Cr-Cruiser Lk FSR (57298)

HORS

Rehabilitated

Replacement - OBS

N/A - project complete (rehabilitated structures only)

Tolko confirms structure has been replaced with bridge

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=197832

Annual Progress Report

Since April 2024, the following actions were completed:

  • Barrier assessments were completed for 29 structures, resulting in 6 structures confirmed as barriers and 16 structures excluded as passable or non-existent, or because there was no habitat upstream and 7 barriers confirmed as non-actionable due to low-quality habitat.

  • Habitat confirmations were completed at 2 barriers, resulting in 1 being identified as a priority barrier, and 1remaining as a data-deficient structure with next step in-depth barrier assessment, to determine whether crossing is a seasonal barrier during freshet for juveniles or fall for adults.

  • CWF worked with Riversheds Society to complete landowner outreach in the Horsefly River watershed, targeting landowners who either were responsible for barriers identified in the watershed or unassessed crossings in need of barrier status and habitat quality assessments.

  • Fish passage was rehabilitated at crossing 57298 Tributary to Bosk Lake by Tolko Industries Ltd., resulting in improved or restored access to 0.08 km of spawning and rearing habitat and which, combined with the removal of crossing 57168 Tributary to Boscar Lake Creek in 2022, has resulted in improved or restored access to 1.13 km of habitat in the Bosk Lake system.

  • A Planning Team workshop was held in January 2026 to review field findings and determine next steps for identified barriers.

  • The connectivity model was updated based on the above actions, and outputs were incorporated into this WCRP.

Priority Barriers

Table 10: Structures in the Horsefly River watershed that are confirmed as barriers to fish passage for Pacific salmon with confirmed habitat upstream, as of May 2026. Barriers known to be partially passable are indicated by “yes”, with further details provided in the adjacent column. Habitat gain represents the amount (km) of habitat upstream of that barrier to the next structure that will be reconnected if that barrier is addressed. The number of structures in a set represents the number of structures that must be addressed concurrently to maximize habitat connectivity.

Barrier ID

Site Name

Watershed Name

Structure Type

Assessment Step Completed

Next Steps

Reason

Notes

Supporting Links

123937

Molybdenite Cr @ unnamed (123937)

HORS

Other

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Collapsed woodbox culvert creating barrier. Industry barrier from improperly deactivated road

123938

Molybdenite Cr @ Unnamed

HORS

Other

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Industry crossing. Collapsed woodbox culvert creating partial barrier in side channel, with potential for main channel to become blocked over time.

124150

Trib to Deerhorn Cr @ unnamed (124150)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Undersized culvert, fish present

Landowner says fish present

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=124330

124249

Wawn Lk Cr @ Millar Rd (124249)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Habitat confirmation

Engage with barrier owner

Currently backwatered by impassable beaver dam. Undersized

Deferred until Vedder and Wilmot complete

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?habitatConfirmationId=1882

124256

Harpers Cr @ Horsefly Rd (124256)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Habitat confirmation

Commission engineering designs

Decent rearing habitat in Harpers Lake

Designs on hold while Vedder and Wilmot addressed

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?habitatConfirmationId=1883

124268

Vedder Cr @ Horsefly-Quesnel FSR (124268)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Barrier assessment

Commission engineering designs

Salmonid juveniles observed indicating high quality habitat

Designs in progress

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=124448

124272

Trib to Woodjam Cr @ Unnamed (124272)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Undersized culvert, fish present

abundant fish downstream during 2017 assessment. May be passable to adults

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=197823

126471

Trib to Woodjam Cr @ Unnamed (126471)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Habitat confirmation

Engage with barrier owner

Potentially easy fix

Cattle trail, may be able to decommission or replace with small 3 m bridge. Discuss with barrier owner. Short habitat gain, parr able to pass at some flows, dewatering/ stranding potential.

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?habitatConfirmationId=685

197762

Divan Cr @ spur (197762/198873)

HORS

Stream crossing - Ford

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Industry barrier

No permitted roads to site. Talk to Tolko about potential hand removal

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=198782

197765

Vedder Cr @ Private (197765/198876)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Easy fix, high quality habitat

Small flexi culvert, likely could be removed by hand

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=200136

198300

Molybdenite Cr @ unnamed (198300)

HORS

Stream crossing - Ford

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

Industry barrier

Remove debris from collapsed bridge from stream channel. Currently a barrier at low flows

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=199520

199419

Trib to Molybdenite Cr @ KcKinley Tr (199419/24738332)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Barrier assessment

Engage with barrier owner

. Industry barrier.

Medium quality habitat. No confirmed anadromous presence but Rainbow Trout confirmed at 57198 immediately downstream

57158

Trib to McKinley Cr @ R02156-887 (57158)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Habitat confirmation

Engage with barrier owner

Industry barrier

Short habitat gain (wetland upstream). Poorly defined channel beyond wetland.

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=197835

57484

Trib to Tisdall Lk @ Black Cr FSR (57484)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Engage with barrier owner

Industry barrier

Confirmed RB presence. Salmon values unknown.

57507

Wilmot Cr @ Horsefly Rd (57507)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Detailed habitat investigation

Commission engineering designs

High potential for use by salmon, direct connection to Horsefly mainstem

Designs in progress

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?assessmentId=197825

57556

Sucker Cr @ Black Cr FSR (57556)

HORS

Stream crossing - CBS

Habitat confirmation

Engage with barrier owner

Culvert passes fish but is not fully backwatered. Higher density of juveniles downstream

May just need to adjust backwater, consider replacement at end of life. Work with barrier owner to determine timeline for rehabilitation

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/pscismap/imageViewer.do?habitatConfirmationId=1885