Sara King-Abadi, Local Journalism Initiative, Rocky Mountain Outlook

KANANASKIS – A newly uncovered, genetically distinct population of bull trout in an area of Kananaskis could be lost forever should a proposed logging operation go ahead, according to a new study.

Prepared by Fintegrate Fisheries & Watershed Consulting for Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), the study began in 2023 and highlighted the importance of headwater populations found in relatively isolated areas such as Loomis Creek, said Joshua Killeen, a co-author of the study and programs manager with CPAWS Southern Alberta.

“[The population] is actually genetically isolated, but still doing well and reproducing in this watershed. That’s quite unusual for bull trout,” said Killeen.

“We were a little bit surprised to find such high quality bull trout habitat, and to find a population that’s really important,” says Killeen.

Barriers on the lower part of Loomis Creek prevent the species from migrating between the creek’s watershed and the Highwood River.

The researchers had a hunch that the area was important for bull trout, Alberta’s provincial fish, which is listed as ‘threatened‘ under Alberta’s Wildlife Act and the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), but no detailed surveying had been conducted until now.

Bull trout require clear, cold water in order to thrive, and the research found the habitat quality to be “relatively pristine” in the creek, with minimal disturbance, making it an excellent spawning ground.

That could change, however, should a proposed logging operation go ahead, according to the report.

Current logging plans for the Upper Highwood area of Kananaskis Country from West Fraser Timber – formerly known as Spray Lake Sawmills (SLS) – would harvest more than 1,100 hectares of forest starting this fall, with the area beyond Loomis Creek scheduled for 2026.

‘A big problem for trout’

Removing forest creates erosion risks and leads to sediment entering streams, which is “a big problem for trout” as sediment is detrimental to feeding and reproducing, Killeen said.

Logging also requires access roads to cross bodies of water, the construction of which can increase erosion and loss of the riparian area, the vegetated bank directly adjacent to streams.

“That riparian area is really important for the health of the stream itself, and when it’s lost, that can also have a big impact,” he said.

Amendments to the plan published this year added 30-metre riparian buffers, the length considered critical habitat for bull trout in the federal recovery strategy, which hadn’t previously been included.

But while those changes are “a step forward,” Killeen said they aren’t adequate to protect the bull trout population in Loomis Creek from both large-scale changes caused by forest removal as well as the erosion and sedimentation issues.

“There’s not enough in there that would mitigate the risk,” he says. “The safe and precautionary approach would be to avoid logging altogether in this watershed.”

Operations planned near watercourses identified as critical habitat by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) require approval to be obtained by the department on detailed construction protocols, monitoring and reclamation commitments in advance of any work beginning, director of communications for West Fraser Timber, Joyce Wagenaar, told the Outlook in an emailed statement.

The current logging plan would require three clear-span bridges on Loomis Creek and one on the Highwood River. Applications for the water crossings have been submitted to DFO and are awaiting approval, she confirmed.

“When planning our operations, we work to avoid watercourse crossings whenever practical,” wrote Wagenaar. “However, when they are necessary, we apply rigorous best management practices to maintain water quality.”

In 2023, DFO launched an investigation into a logging bridge constructed on the Highwood River in Kananaskis without the proper permits by SLS, before the timber company was acquired by West Fraser Timber in November 2023. The bridge was removed in 2024 and the investigation is ongoing.

West Fraser foresters and biologists are currently reviewing the report contents and Wagenaar said that following the review, the company will view the area in the field with CPAWS later this summer “to discuss the on the ground application of the report contents in relation to the proposed plans.”

The logging company and CPAWS have been engaged in discussions over the planned harvest in the Highwood over the past year, she added.

When it comes to the logging plan for the Upper Highwood, Killeen fails to see a solution that would satisfy everyone. Rather, he believes that the risk is too high in some areas, and it’s time the logging industry acknowledged it.

“There has to be a recognition from industry that there are some places within their forest management agreements where the risk of clear cut logging is simply too high for the species at risk that inhabit those areas,” he says.

“I think that risk has to be taken seriously, and there has to be a willingness for industry to avoid logging in places like that.”

Bull trout play important role in species recovery, says co-author 

When a bull trout population declines, recovery can be a years-long process as the species is slow to reach sexual maturity, produces relatively few eggs and may only spawn every other year, according to the Alberta government bull trout fact sheet.

Habitat degradation and fragmentation by human activities are listed as threats to the species, among illegal harvesting from poaching and misidentification and migratory barriers.

Whether isolation due to migratory barriers is a significant risk to this particular population is “unknown,” Killeen said. In the big picture, however, genetically isolated groups like the bull trout in Loomis Creek can play an important role in recovering mainstream bull trout populations.

As barriers change over time, such as during the 2013 floods, unique stocks can assist in recovery by helping naturally restock mainstream populations, assisting in the recovery of genetically-damaged stocks and contributing to the genetic diversity of mainstream populations, he says.

“We have lost large numbers of individual bull trout populations in Alberta, to the point where every further population loss makes it more and more difficult to recover the species.”

As the species’ range gets smaller and more restricted, further population loss becomes a stepping stone on the way to extinction, he explained.

“We’ve continually seen their habitat be damaged and lost, and we’ve continually seen populations disappear,” Killeen said. “So, it’s really important that we take a stand on some of these things and to say, ‘Well, we’re going to have to do things differently.’”

Government, industry responsibility

The report highlights what CPAWS calls a “broader regulatory failure” around accountability where neither DFO nor the logging industry are required to conduct the kind of field-based hydrological or ecological risk assessments undertaken in this study before logging near critical habitat.

“It’s a real missing piece right now,” said Killeen. “Doing that kind of work for a threatened species is falling upon [non-governmental organizations] and members of the public who are really passionate, rather than being something which either industry or government is taking on.”

The cost of the study – including time, labour and a contracted consultant – was roughly $60,000, including in-kind contributions and was supported through a crowdfunding campaign and the Bow River Trout Foundation.

Without that public support, the work to discover this important bull trout population and understand the risks from the logging plan would remain unknown, Killeen added.

“We’re really proud of this work,” he says. “But we want to highlight that there are places across the east slopes where there are probably similar issues to this that are flying under the radar because there’s this lack of monitoring and assessments.”

Documents shared with the Outlook obtained through freedom of information requests by CPAWS show two instances where SLS, the timber company acquired by West Fraser in November 2023, was fined for contravening the Forests Act.

In September 2024, the company was fined $6,000 after an inspection found SLS failed to provide adequate erosion control and prevent sediment from being deposited in a small, permanent watercourse in Jumpingpound Creek. The incident took place in August 2023.

The severity of the fine was considered “major” and noted negligence and a history of non-compliance with two similar occurrences. The decision also noted SLS took mitigative measures when informed, reclaimed the site and committed to additional training for staff.

A $16,800 fine was issued to SLS in May 2024 for three separate incidents in the Burnt Timber Creek area in the Ghost Public Land Use Zone. The incidents, which occurred in 2022, caused sediment to enter watercourses, which are also areas of critical bull trout habitat and note that SLS was aware of the importance of the habitat and failed to adequately prevent sedimentation.

West Fraser said they are “committed to listening and meaningful engagement” and reiterated a commitment to viewing the area with CPAWS later this summer and discuss the “on the ground application” of the report contents following an internal review.

“While DFO does not undertake hydrological assessments, the department can require them from proponents, where warranted,” a spokesperson for DFO shared in a statement. “In this case, the proponent is required to undertake hydrological assessments as part of the provincial approval process.”

“Where impacts to fish and fish habitat cannot be avoided, a Fisheries Act authorization or permit under the Species at Risk Act, with enforceable conditions, may be required.”

In an emailed statement, Ministry of Forestry and Parks press secretary Neil Singh said watershed assessments are required when forest management plans are being developed, and highlighted how forest management frameworks in the province “are designed to limit and mitigate hydrological changes that may result from forest industry activity.”

“Where risks are identified, harvest planning is adjusted. These regulations contribute to healthy fish habitats in harvest areas.”

West Fraser’s approved 2025 plan is set to begin later this summer or the fall, he added, and the timber company is currently working on harvest plans for the summer of 2026. The proposal has not yet been submitted to the Alberta government.

“An operating plan gives companies the authority to harvest timber, but authorization is required by DFO related to water bodies within the harvest area,” Singh stated in an email. “It is Alberta’s expectation that timber disposition holders have all required regulatory approvals in place prior to harvesting timber.”

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