The Adams River Salmon Society will host a “paddle-in” at the mouth of the Adams River at month’s end, but the gathering won’t be focused expressly on North Shuswap development plans.
The event on Sept. 30 will be part of World Rivers Day, a celebration of waterways held every year on the last Sunday in September. It’s also meant to draw attention to environmental threats and encourage improved stewardship.
There are plans afoot to develop the former West Beach property adjacent to Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park at the river’s estuary. The property was recently sold to businessman Greg Darroch after Kamloops developer Mike Rink, the original owner, fell into arrears.
Adams River Society, meanwhile, continues to lobby senior governments to intervene and purchase the property to protect the integrity of salmon habitat.
David Baxter, one of the organizers of the paddle-in, is a society member and also belongs to the Shuswap Lake Coalition, which continues to fight against estuary development.
“This is the best salmon river in North America if not the world,” said David Baxter, a member of the society. “And how anybody could contemplate — as Mr. Rink did — putting any kind of motorized vehicles where salmon are at the fry stage?”
The 12-kllometre river has often been described as a biological treasure for its remarkable spawning productivity and is regarded as one of the seven natural wonders of Canada.
For the Rivers Day event, paddlers are invited to assemble at 10 a.m. at the beach just to the east of the river mouth on the McKay Bay site (next to the log boom).
