Flooded Creek - November 24, 2013

I had not hiked middle McIntyre for a few days because of cold weather, but on my hike today, saw there has been a mass flooding over the bridge closest to the College, and also the area surrounding the bridge by the Pump House.  There is a lot of broken ice, and the water is still fairly high.  The red marks show how far the flooding and ice extend.

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Each day brings new opportunities to enjoy and take pictures of the changing scenery, as winter moves into the Middle McIntyre Creek area.  The following two photos were taken one day apart, and you can see the difference in the stream as it heads towards the little bridge nearest the Yukon College.

November 10, 2013 

 

 

 

 

 

November 11, 2013

 

 

 

 The water forms some interesting sculptures as it freezes over the grasses, logs, and branches along the edges of the Creek.  Use your imagination on the following photo, and you can see some of the creatures that make their home in the McIntyre Creek area.

Natures ice sculpture - bird, fish, weasel, and what else can you see?

Website Update

Check out the updated website at http://friendsofmcintyrecreek.org.  You can download the newly created trail guides  in pdf format.  The new trail information signs are also available to view.  Check it out, and please try out the trails using the guides. We would be happy to get your comments for improvements to the guides, and of course, any other comments you may have. Just send an email to friendsofmcintyre@gmail.com.

With the assistance of people who hike/run/cycle the trails, four summer students walked the trails, and created the maps and descriptions. We hope these guides will encourage people to try some of the trails in the area that they may not have traveled previously.

But please travel cautiously, as with the skiff of snow over the previously melted snow, there are some very treacherous patches, which may not be visible until you step on them and start to slide.

"Happy trails to you" (from Roy Rogers theme song "Happy trails to you, until we meet again".

Sign Project October 25, 2013

There was a very good turn out for the official launch of the sign project in Middle McIntyre Creek.  Christina MacDonald of the Yukon Conservation Society, and Dorothy Bradley, President of Friends of McIntyre Creek, said a few words about the sign project, and the hope that this area would be protected for a park.

 Is it a wave?  Is it a blessing?  Let this be a park!

Dorothy Bradley and Christina MacDonald

Some of the people out for the noon hour launch of the sign project.

Dear FOMC members,

Please join the Friends of McIntyre Creek (FOMC) and the Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) in celebrating the official opening of the Middle McIntyre Creek Trail and Signage Project.  Over the past 6 months, FOMC and YCS have collaborated with community members and representatives of governments and local organizations to develop new features to increase responsible trail use and awareness of the environmental and recreational values of Middle McIntyre Creek.  These features are:

• 5 interpretive signs that present information about the local ecology
• 4 self-guided hike brochures (copies will be available at the event and at the YCS Office)
• Regulatory signage on designated motorized multiuse trails through the area

When: Friday, October 25, 2013, noon-1pm.  Please stay longer and take a guided hike around the area.

Where: meet at the McIntyre Creek multiuse bridge by the blue pumphouse.  Access is via the dirt road ¾ of the way up College Drive.

I hope you can join us to view these new trail features and celebrate the hard work of so many volunteers.  If you aren’t able to attend, the interpretive signs and brochures will shortly be available for viewing on the YCS and FOMC websites:

www.yukonconservation.org

www.friendsofmcintyrecreek.org

Sincerely,

Christina Macdonald

Project Coordinator

Yukon Conservation Society

ycswild@ycs.yk.ca

867-668-5678

Volunteers install an interpretive sign overlooking Stinky Lake in Middle McIntyre Creek

Yukon College Students

Yukon College students have been back into the McIntyre Creek area, using this area to supplement their studies, of flora, fauna, and the water.  Below are a few photos of some of the students I have seen on my hikes.

This looks pretty darned cold standing in the rushing creek!

McIntyre Creek Corridor

Winter is around the corner, and the animal are beginning to move down from the mountains and begin their migrations along the McIntyre Creek corridor.

Sept 17th a large black bear was spotted by Al von Finster just north of the KK on 17th.

Celeste Bendall took the attached photos of a mushroom she spotted, as well as moose droppings in the Ravens Ridge area.

Thankfully the berries have been plentiful, so the bears have been busy munching, and not being much of a problem in the community, but we do live in a wilderness area, and need to be wary.

There was a cougar spotted near Jack Hulland school, so Porter Creek residents were on high alert.  I don't know how the rest of you feel, but frankly, I would prefer to meet a berry eating bear, rather than a cougar who is likely hunting for meat, which could be me!

Moose Droppings

Mushroom 

We had a very successful cleanup at McIntyre Creek. We found sites where people had been long term camping,leaving bedding, tent pieces, left overs of food wrappers, and other garbage. We found party sites with all the garbage left over from those events. We found vacuum cleaners, parts of automobiles, and other debris.

Thank you to all the volunteers who came  out to help to help out with the cleanup, the FOMC board members who again volunteered their time, and to John  who provided the excellent cooking services.

In spite of the large amount of garbage we found, I have to say it has been less than in previous years, so for that we are grateful.

Empty Board Position

At the last Friends of McIntyre Creek Board meeting, our Secretary, Karen Baltgailis, Yukon Conservation Society representative, tendered her resignation, stating that she was cutting down her working and after hours activities, in order to get more personal time.  It is a great reason, but we will definitely miss her.  She has been an amazing supporter, and contributed hugely to the activities of FOMC.

So we are now looking for another person to join our Board in the capacity of Secretary.  If you think you would enjoy helping out, and being a member of the Board, we would be happy to hear from you.   Christina Macdonald, of YCS,  has agreed to continue to provide support and secretarial services to the Board.  .

Our Board meets once a month, and normally has a light meal at the meeting, which makes it a social occasion as well as business, so it isn't at all dreary.  

You can email friendsofmcintyre@gmail.com or contact Christina at the Yukon Conservation office if you are interested, would like more information, or know of anyone who might be willing to join us.

Low Water Update

I hadn't been back to the McIntyre Creek trails since my last post.  The low water levels were too depressing, and my dog who loved to retrieve sticks in the pond, couldn't even swim.  The ducks walking on the mud flats just added to my despair over the state the little pond was in.

However, I needed a longer hike today, so went back to middle McIntyre Creek, and was thrilled to see water levels back to normal, with the mud flats now covered  under water, and the ducks actually swimming instead of walking on mud.

Whatever the problem was, it has been rectified, at least for the time being.  As I earlier said, I had heard that Yukon Electric was holding back water, but I didn't think they would have held back that much to just about totally empty the pond.  But now with the fast flow of the Creek  and filled pond, I guess we can relax, at least for the moment. 

All I can say now, is I am happy to see the pond full of water again, and hope the extremely low levels don't reoccur.  All those mud flats were a depressing sight.  It is sad enough to know the beavers were killed,  which meant their dams are leaking water, but to have the pond so empty that the ducks were walking on mud flats where they formerly would swim, was pretty awful.

Extreme Low Water in Middle McIntyre Creek Pond - August 20, 2013

I think it is time we all have a wake for the death of the middle McIntyre Creek pond, below the Yukon College, and by the blue water treatment building.  Each week the water is lower than the week before, and it will not be long before there is nothing left but a tiny trickle of a creek, and mud flats.

This low water level has definitely affected the water fowl, likely fish, and other life in the creek as well as recreation in the area.  Earlier I heard that Yukon Electric was holding water back for some concrete structure they were building, and stated they would not affect the creek levels.  But how long does it take to build a concrete barrier?  Is it necessary to drain the pond and reduce the Creek for the construction and is this in fact the reason for the low water? 

People, if you are concerned about the low water level shown in these photo, make some calls and start asking questions as to what is happening in this area.  The water is so low that it is very easy for a medium sized dog to walk to the little island, where they had to swim previously.  Ducks are walking where they used to swim.  The Creek itself shows rocks that never were visible before.

We are not only losing a wild life eco system, but a recreation area, and we need to find out what is going on.

If you get any answers, please send an email to friendsofmcintyre@gmail.com

Low Water & Sign & Hike

I was happy to see that the salmon sign that had been removed from the bridge area down from the College when the new signs were posted, has now been replaced, although in the spot that I believe was originally intended for the new sign.

I was just about in panic mode yesterday when I hiked the McIntyre Creek trails and saw what used to be the little pond created by beavers, had been reduced to the lowest level I had ever seen  and I have been hiking there since 1986!  I was sure that in spite of the rain we have been receiving, that if the beavers did not return to this area, we would see the McIntyre Creek return to only being a creek, and the pond would entirely disappear.

So today when I heard on the CBC news that the water was being withheld by Yukon Electric as they were building some cement barrier further up the Creek, I was relieved to learn that this may not be a permanent situation.  In spite of the claims of Yukon Electric that  leaving the water this low would not  affect the wildlife and environment, it definitely was.

The water is so low, the dogs, and likely coyotes and foxes,  can walk to the little island, and I heard a very panicked bird as one dog was investigating the island.  The bird must have a nest there, and whereas it was previously safe on the island, it was now available to predators.

The steadily lower levels of the Pond has reduced the nesting ducks to zero this year.  I saw ducks check the pond out in the spring, but none stayed to raise their young.  The ducks used the marshes to hide their nests, and with the pond water so low, there was no longer any safe nesting areas.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, as in my mind August signals the beginning of Fall, and the down slide to winter.  I know some of you look forward to snow for your winter activities, but I still think we need to get out now and enjoy the sun and daylight while we still have it.

FOMC has been asked to conduct an hour or so hike on the McIntyre Creek trails August 10.  I have volunteered to begin the hike at 1:00 pm sharp, so if any of you would like to join, share any information you have on the plants and your wild life sightings in the area, or just want to go for a group hike,  please show up at the Takhini Elementary public school on Range Road.  We plan to leave promptly, so we can be back in time for a BBQ, so please be on time.

Happy Fall!

Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

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Let's help keep our shorelines sparkling! Registration is open for the 20th annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. September 21 – 29, 2013 Visit ShorelineCleanup.ca to register for a shoreline in your community. As you enjoy spending time outdoors along rivers, lakes, oceans and ponds this summer, be sure you’re part of the solution to keep those waterways clean and healthy for the coming fall - and year. Many of you may have already registered for this year’s Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, presented by Loblaw Companies Limited, but if you haven’t yet, now is the time. While you’re at it, take the additional step of encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to join you. During last year’s Shoreline Cleanup, enough litter items – such as cigarette butts, plastic bags, and food containers – were collected to line the entire length of highway between Vancouver, B.C. and Thunder Bay, Ont. (a little over 3,000 km). It’s a lot of litter (over 136,000 kg worth!), but it doesn’t even come close to encompassing the total amount of litter that still plagues Canada’s shorelines. That’s why this year, even more volunteers and site coordinators are needed. This year, we’re hoping for 64,000 participants – please help us reach our goal! Remember, cleanup locations are registered on a first come first serve basis, so register today for the spot of your choice, ShorelineCleanup.ca.

Q: I want to organize a shoreline cleanup with my group, but there are only public cleanups available. Can I still register? When you spot a blue circle on our cleanup sites map, this indicates a public cleanup, one that already has a site coordinator, and is in need of more volunteers to join. You can still register your group to join a public cleanup, but please check with the site coordinator to make sure they can accommodate your group. Simply register as a participant and then use the online message centre to let them know how many people you plan to bring. This is also a good time to ask if there is any way which you can assist, such as bringing additional cleanup supplies. If you have more questions about how to contact the site coordinator or would like to discuss options for organizing your own cleanup, feel free to email shorelinecleanup@vanaqua.org for assistance.   Truth: Plastic bags do not biodegrade, but they will photodegrade - breaking into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic until they can no longer be seen. These pieces of plastic can then get ingested and enter our food web. Last year, Shoreline Cleanup participants removed more than 69,700 plastic bags from shorelines across Canada. That’s the equivalent to one person using a plastic bag every day for the next 189 years. Dare: We dare you to make a difference by bringing your own reusable bag. Over the course of a lifetime, just one person using reusable bags could keep over 22,000 plastic bags from entering into our environment, thereby exponentially reducing the amount of plastic that can eventually enter the food web. Isn't that a good reason to take on this dare?

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Low Water Levels -

The pond below Yukon College by the Blue water station has been dropping at an alarming rate.  Soon, it will return to just being a creek, as the beavers are not there to keep the pond full, and the water levels must also be controlled from higher up the Creek at the pump station.