In 1990, Harley Bastien founded and organized the first annual Fish Rescue at the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District canal and aqueduct. Fish Rescue removes fish left stranded as a result of turning off the water intake at the end of the irrigation season in October. The methods of recovery are both innovative and relatively low in cost while keeping stress to the fish at a minimum, as shown by the hundreds of thousands of fish saved by the volunteers from the Piikani Nation over the past 18 years. Fish Rescue combines environmental sustainability, awareness and education while enhancing community involvement.
Barriers/Challenges To Success
The early years of the FR were labour intensive for the volunteers and saw many hardships. At that time, there was no communication with Alberta Environmental Protection (AEP), which made timing difficult in regards to drainage. The aqueduct operator would fully open up the drain causing the water to drain very rapidly, which meant that work had to be completed quickly in order to rescue the fish. Furthermore, FR volunteers also had limited access to the aqueduct in that there was no access to transport vehicles and equipment to the north side of the duct. Access to the aqueduct is controlled by locked gates for AEP use only. The AEP coming on board in 1996 made transportation issues much easier to handle.
Contact
Mr. Harley Bastien
Founder Member / Director
Peigan Friends Along the River
