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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
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Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre
By Erin Wright
On the northern tip of Vancouver Island, near the town of Port Hardy, there’s a jewel hidden amongst the trees.
Just off Highway 19, on the banks of the Quatse (Kwot-see) River, the 62-site Quatse River Regional Park and Campground is nestled amid old and second growth forest. Open year round, the Quatse Campground offers private RV and tenting sites, friendly on-site hosts, free hot showers, firewood, sani-dump and fishing at your doorstep.
As you wander through the campground, you will find spring-board-notched stumps (evidence of early logging practices), educational interpretive signage and an amazing variety of native flora and fauna, from tasty salmon berries to majestic eagles. The Port Hardy Community Trail is a popular walking route year-round and links the Quatse River Campground to downtown.
In the fall the Quatse River comes alive with the return of spawning salmon, and you may see an opportunistic black bear or two feasting on the bounty. In the winter, this is a favorite haunt for Steelhead fisherman taking advantage of the fact that each spring the Quatse River is stocked with 20,000 marked winter-run Steelhead smolts.
But, there’s even more here than meets the eye as you pull into your campsite, this campground is managed by the Northern Vancouver Island Salmonid Enhancement Association (NVISEA). NVISEA is a not for profit organization that, for the past 30 years, has been dedicated to salmon and habitat preservation and restoration in North Island streams.
A portion of the proceeds from the campground is used each year to support the Quatse River Salmon Hatchery. The hatchery, which is located right next door to the campground, rears and releases roughly 2.4 million juvenile salmon to North Island streams annually. If you haven’t guessed, that includes the 20, 000 Quatse Steelhead smolts mentioned earlier, plus 20,000 marked Steelhead for the nearby Cluxewe River. The staff at the Quatse River Hatchery also raises Coho, Chum and Pink salmon, and has taken part in many habitat restoration initiatives over the years.
Some examples of their habitat restoration efforts can easily be seen from the campground, where large logs and boulders have been cabled together to aid in stream bank stabilization, and to provide rearing and resting spots for juvenile and adult salmon. The hatchery itself is open for public viewing. Outdoor signage around the facility gives insight into year-round hatchery activities, or guided tours are available for a small fee that, again, helps to support salmonid and habitat conservation.
And that’s not all! In 2009, NVISEA expanded its Quatse River Hatchery facility to include the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre. The Salmon Centre’s focal point is it’s one of a kind interpretive gallery, at the centre of which sits a seven meter diameter circular aquarium, which you can enter to find yourself surrounded by salmon. The gallery is very hands on and includes displays on salmon predators and prey, ocean and freshwater habitats, survival odds, and much more.
While you are enjoying your camping experience along the Quatse River, don’t forget to visit the Salmon Centre and learn more about the lives of salmon and their role in the coastal ecosystem. Your admission fee to the Centre and any purchases at the gift shop also help to support salmonid and habitat conservation, and public education programs that promote greater awareness of the benefits of healthy salmonid habitats on northern Vancouver Island.
The Centre also features a classroom and kitchen facilities that are ideal for events such a birthday celebrations and corporate meetings. Rental fees for these facilities also support the work that NVISEA does for salmon.
Check out our website at www.thesalmoncentre.org for information on upcoming events, and join us in the fall when we celebrate Rivers Day.
For families who like to enjoy the outdoors and fishing, Quatse Campground, and the Salmon Stewardship Centre are the place to be.