A Large Aggregate Cutblock in the Heller Tranquille Creek Watersheds Northwest of Kamloops

This complaint was about a proposed cutblock located in the Deadman River and Tranquille River watersheds. The watersheds are approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Kamloops, in the Kamloops Forest District and within the area covered by the Kamloops Local Resource Management Plan (LRMP). In the 1980s, the Skeetchestn Indian Band (the complainant) voluntarily halted fishing in the Deadman River due to declining salmon stocks. The Band worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to inventory fish stocks, and established its own hatchery on the Deadman River. In 1990, heavy rainfall resulted in large flows within the river system that caused considerable damage to fish habitat along the Deadman River.