Rainbow trout signal progress in restored Cottonwood Island channel

PRINCE GEORGE – A small side channel at Cottonwood Island Park is showing promising signs of recovery nearly two decades after it was damaged by a Nechako River ice jam.

The channel, which separates Cottonwood Island from the mainland and runs beneath the replica Cameron Street Bridge, was destroyed by the 2007 ice jam. Since then, restoration efforts and ongoing monitoring have focused on bringing the habitat back to life.

The Spruce City Wildlife Association has been monitoring water quality and documenting the fish using the channel. Operations coordinator Jesi Lauzon says volunteers have used minnow traps, beach seines and, most recently, snorkelled the entire channel to get a better picture of the fish population.

That survey produced an encouraging discovery: three rainbow trout.