The First Fish | Tuesday, August 3, 2010

It's always an exciting time when the first salmon of the season arrive at the Whitehorse Rapids Fishladder. The first one arrived yesterday, with a couple of more making their way up the ladder today. The best time to view the salmon is first thing in the morning (9 a.m.). If you can't get to the ladder see them, they can be viewed on our live salmon cam. Please note that the camera does take a few minutes to load so we ask for your patience.

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The Latest Marsh Levels | Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Here is our weekly update on the summer water levels on Marsh Lake. Please contact us if you have any questions.

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Fishing for Information | Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Yukon Energy is currently looking into the possibility of using additional water from Mayo Lake for power production at the Mayo
generating plant. Before we know if this is feasible we must study the lake’s ecosystem to better understand what the potential effects might be.

To that end Yukon Energy recently finished a fish gillnetting program, aimed at providing information about the health and age class strength of the lake’s trout and whitefish. This is similar to studies done on Aishihik Lake every five to ten years.
The number of fish allowed for capture was set after consulting with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun (NND), Yukon Fisheries and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. In total 346 lake trout and 408 lake whitefish were processed.
Biologists took the otoliths (small bones located in the head that allows scientists to determine the fish’s age). Then the NND distributed most of the fish to people in the community.
Once we have the final results of the study we will share the information with NND, Yukon Fisheries, Fisheries and Oceans and other interested parties.
 Photo: NND summer student Charles Blysak helps with the gillnetting.

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Mid-July Water Levels | Monday, July 19, 2010

Here is the latest summer lake level forecast for Marsh Lake. Please contact us if you have any questions about this chart.

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Field Work on the Gladstones | Friday, July 9, 2010

There’s a creek and a chain of four small lakes in the Aishihik area known as the Gladstone system. Normally this region doesn’t see many people. However over the last few weeks a group of scientists has been stationed there gathering information that will help Yukon Energy determine the viability of a potential hydro project.

The idea, which Yukon Energy refers to as the Gladstone Diversion Concept, would involve putting in a control structure that would change the direction that the Gladstone Creek and Lakes flow. Instead of all the water going into the Yukon River drainage system as it does now, some of it would flow into Sekulmun and Aishihik Lakes, providing water to produce additional power at our Aishihik hydro plant. It could give Yukon Energy up to an extra 18 gigawatt hours of hydroelectricity annually, or almost five percent of Yukon Energy's current energy production per year (we produce approximately 370 gigawatt hours annually).
Yukon Energy is working with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and the Kluane First Nation on this concept (the area is within the traditional territory of the Champagne, Aishihik and Kluane First Nations). But there is much research that needs to be done before we can determine if it’s a viable project. That’s where the scientists come in. They have been doing a number of studies looking at the health of the fish, the types of parasites found in both water systems, and the hydrology (water flows) in the area. Other work includes doing rare plant and amphibian surveys and studying the movement of large animals such as moose, caribou, sheep and bison.
Below are photos of some of the summer work being done at Gladstone this year. Photo 1: Stefan Iwasawa from the Centre of Coastal Health and Photo 2: Stefan and Kathy Baynes from the Pacific Biological Station take samples to determine the health of the fish and to learn what parasites are in the water systems. The good news is that early results show the same organisms exist in both systems, so there should not be any significant health concerns with connecting the two water systems. Photo 3: A field crew takes measurements of the water flows.

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Latest Water Levels on Marsh | Friday, July 9, 2010

Here is this week's water level chart for Marsh Lake. Please let us know if you have any questions about it.

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This Week’s Water Levels | Friday, July 2, 2010

Each week during the summer months, Yukon Energy provides residents and property owners on Marsh Lake with a chart showing lake water levels to date. The chart also shows anticipated peak lake levels. Here is the latest chart. 

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Bird Watching at Mayo B | Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Before any clearing could take place on the Mayo B site, it was important to have bird nesting surveys done to ensure the protection of any migratory birds in the area. In most cases Yukon Energy does project clearing in the winter when migratory bird nesting isn’t an issue. However for the Mayo B project the clearing couldn’t start until the spring, once we had all our permits. 

 
A team of biologists surveyed about 30 hectares and identified 12 active nests. They flagged the nests with brightly-coloured tape and marked a ten metre buffer around each one.
 
Our contractor is not allowed to do any clearing inside the buffer until biologists have determined the nests are no longer in use (all nests are usually abandoned by the end of July and are only used one season).
 
The nesting survey work will continue for another few weeks until all areas are cleared. Photos: (right) American robin's nest; (below) biologists scan the project area for nests. Photos provided by EDI Environmental Dynamics.
 
Biologists scanning for birds nests

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This Week’s Water Levels at Marsh Lake | Thursday, June 24, 2010

As a service to property owners and residents of the Marsh and Tagish Lakes area, Yukon Energy provides weekly updates on actual and expected summer lake levels. Here is our latest forecast.

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Summer Water Levels | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Levels in the Southern Lakes upstream from our Whitehorse Rapids hydro facility can vary greatly from year to year, depending on winter snowfall, summer rain, and summer temperatures (which affect the amount of glacial melt in the area). A hot, rainy summer, especially if it follows a winter with heavy snowfall, can mean potential flooding of properties in low-lying areas near Marsh and Tagish Lakes.

Yukon Energy is often asked what we can do to help prevent flooding of people's properties in the high water level years. There is a misconception that if we would only let more water through our Whitehorse dam or our Lewes Lake gates, there wouldn't be a flooding problem.

The truth is that under our water license, we must have all our gates open no later than May 15 of each year. That means that we hold no water back during the summer months, and we have no ability to increase the water flow from the Southern Lakes.

However what we can do is share our information with local residents about what we expect summer water levels to be like each year. This will help people prepare their property for possible flooding in high water years.

In 2010, after taking into account the lower than normal snow pack from the previous winter and Environment Canada's long range forecast, we expect levels to be on the low side, just reaching our licensed Full Supply Level of 656.234 metres. This chart shows a light blue solid line that becomes dotted as we look into the future. We believe summer peak water levels will be in the range of this blue line. This chart will be updated on our blog on a regular basis during the summer months. We have also committed to emailing the chart to those local residents who request it.

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