Our Watershed
Our Location
Winlaw Creek (also known as Cedar Creek) flows west from Mt. Eccles (2161 m.) towards the Slocan River. The community of Winlaw is located on the fan of Winlaw Creek. Elevation at the river confluence is 510 m. Most of the drainage area lies below 1800 m.
South-facing slopes on the north side of Winlaw Creek and the North Fork Tributary are rocky, well-drained, and sparsely forested. North-facing slopes are densely forested and are drained by numerous steep gullies.
Historical Land Use
Before European settlement, the Sinixt people had a summer campsite on the Slocan River, apparently alternating between the Winlaw Creek alluvial fan and the cottonwood bottomland immediately upstream on the west shore. (There were salmon in the river then.) Undoubtedly they knew and used allthe land, following game and food plants in their seasonal cycles.
LOGGING & SETTLEMENT
At the turn of the 20th century the CPR built a railway to serve the mining activity around Slocan city, and connect with barge transport on Slocan Lake. A few settlers arrived and started clearing the arable land for farming. J. B. Winlaw moved his portable sawmill south from Lemon Creek, next to the railroad, close to where the school is now. At the time, the creek (then called Cedar Creek) ran beside the mill. Mr. Winlaw had it diverted to an old, dry channel, which is where it still runs today.
The sawmill operated from 1902 – 1912. Anecdotal reports say there were as many as 40 workers and 50 loggers. Logging was done across the alluvial fan, along the river, and up on the nearly glacial terraces bisected by the creek. It was mostly “highgrading” with horses and farm tractors for large dimension cedar, white pine, fir, and ponderosa pine. Fire was always a danger. In 1904 the log yard burned. In 1912 the mill burned, and in 1914 the entire site was razed by fire. One of these later fires spread up the mountain and wiped out most of the accessible timber supply. (Burned stumps and trunks can still be found mil es up the creek.) Water quality and flow regimes were seriously impacted for several decades after this fire. MINING From some vantage points to the south today you can still pick out a small white spot high on the SE facing slopes above Winlaw Creek. Th is is the site of ‘the Old Silica Mine’. Listed in the provincial MINFILE Record Summary as “Snowdrift” (surface area 10m x 20m), this abandoned site lies 6 km east of Winlaw. In 1971 it produced 500 tonnes. Access evolved from an early pack trail to a very basic resource haul road, switch switch-backing up the rocky, sun sun-exposed mountain face. It crosses Winlaw’s main tributary, the North Fork, three times. Failure to install an adequate culvert at the first crossing resulted in a major washout in 1971, creating a gravel chute from the road right down to the creekside. Mining stopped, and the ‘road’ above the N. Fork crossing is now practically non non-existent. There were two more washouts higher up between 1987 – 89.
Creek Behaviour
Peak flow in Winlaw usually occurs mid to late May but sometimes in June. Peak discharge (given in cubic meters/second) has varied widely since data was first recorded in 1944. (Graphs from other periods can be seen in the “Resources” section.)
Low flow has occurred at widely different times from year to year—mid-August in 2004 and mid-February in 2001. The extreme low recorded in 2004 of .037 cu.m./sec translates to almost 10 gal/sec or 600 gal/minute.
Winlaw Creek is known to make sudden and dramatic shifts in its channel. The 1998 “Channel Conditions and Assessment report (see “Resources section) explains how a winter rain-on-snow event caused landslides in the headwaters, exposing a huge sediment source to be eroded into the creek.
Ecosystems
The Winlaw Watershed is a diverse and dynamic ecosystem supporting a wide array of wildlife. Large mammals like deer, moose, and elk traverse its varying landscapes, from the open, game-trail crisscrossed slopes to the lush Paradise Valley. In contrast, the steep, forested NE-facing slopes are a haven for numerous bird species and small mammals. The watershed also sustains black and grizzly bears, coyotes, bobcats, and a host of smaller creatures, all relying on its rich, interconnected habitats for survival.
Aquatic life thrives in Winlaw Creek, with rainbow trout and sculpins found up to 4 km from the creek mouth. The presence of diverse benthic invertebrates, such as mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, indicates high water quality and supports various fish and bird species. Efforts to improve fish habitat and manage creek dynamics reflect the ecosystem’s health and the ongoing commitment to preserving this vital natural resource.
Watershed Life
Micro
Macro
Mico Organisms
Healthy untreated water is teeming with microscopic life, most of it harmless to us. For E. coli info, see 'Resources-Water Test Results'.
Invertebrates
These are the tiny but important creatures that live in the creekbed. Many of them are the larvae of insects that we recognize once they reach their adult form –dragonflies, stoneflies, mayflies, caddisflies. Both larvae and adult insects are important food sources for fish, amphibians, bats and birds.
Fish
Rainbow trout and sculpins were found all the way up to the waterfall, about 4 km from the creek mouth. The trout ranged in size 4 km from the creek mouth, reaching the waterfall. The trout varied in size from tiny to 219 mm and in age from new hatchlings to 3 years old.
Animals
Bears (black and grizzly) share the ungulate trails as they follow spring greens and summer berries. Coyotes, bobcats, and cougar follow small and large prey, including grouse, snowshoe hares, and the multitude of mice, voles, shrews, and squirrels.
Riparian Corridor
In 1994, ducks Way Rd. Did not exist, and the land there was second growth forest. A 50 acre parcel straddling the creek was sold to developers with plans for logging and residential development.
The WWC was concerned that clearing right to the creekside would negatively impact the water, both for fish habitat and human use. Loss of shade would raise the water temperature, allowing more microbial growth. Extensive clearing could lead to creekbank erosion, without root systems holding everything together. The channel is known to experience periodic surges in movement of gravel and cobbles from natural slides up near the headwaters.
The WWC applied to the B.C. Habitat Conservation Fund to have a roughly 25 m. wide Riparian Corridor excluded from future lot development on Lots 44 – 48, a distance of just under 1 km. Many landowners downstream from the highway expressed their willingness to put conservation covenants on their own creek-front lands, effectively extending the corridor length to 2.8 km.
After extensive negotiation, the Corridor was purchased outright by the HCF, and exists to this day. HOWEVER, there is no oversight body with responsibility for monitoring activity in the corridor. WWC members have made several trips since that time to locate the survey posts or pins along the south side of the creek. Residents along Ducks Way Rd have been cooperative – their fencelines have been just where they should be.
What is Needed
Ideally there would be people looking out for the protection of this corridor, especially as more development occurs along the north side of the creek. (in ‘the old gravel pit’) the very best ‘Guardians of the Corridor’ would be the people who live along it, or close to it on either side. We need to ensure that:
- the boundaries are respected
- that new residents, and more people in general, understand the importance of the corridor, and why it was created
Forestry Work & Logging
History
Through the 1990s the forestry tenure in Winlaw Watershed was held by the Ministry of Forests' Small Business Development Program. The aim of this program was to make some timber available to operators other than the big timber companies. Contracts were generally awarded by the lowest bid process. SFP also had some blocks in our boundary areas, notably Trozzo. The WWC (Winlaw Watershed Committee) engaged extensively with MOF, pushing for best practices and overall rather than piecemeal planning. Various small cut blocks were done. In 2002, Small Business morphed into the BC Timber Sales Program. In 2004, the pine beetles hit. Plans for road building and extraction ramped up.
Current
Our two forestry tenure holders are:
1) Woodlot 1832, with 593 ha. on the ridge between Dumont Creek and Winlaw North Fork.
For map and info, see www.winlawwoodlot.ca , and 2) SIFCo, holder of the Community Forest Licence we worked so hard to create.
Since 2009, timber harvesting has been planned to create areas around settlement where wildfire would slow or stop.
Our activity changes forest appearance; its intact forest function we aim to maintain.
For more on SIFCo’s work (the Resiliency Centre, water monitoring, etc.) see link below.
Since the 1912 fire spread up the valley, this watershed has been lucky.
Some of Winlaw’s upper reaches were burned in the 2021 Trozzo fire.
Several lightning strikes caused ignitions above Paradise Valley and were quickly extinguished.
Wildfire on the dry ridge between Winlaw and Dumont Creeks would be catastrophic, which is why work is underway to reduce the fuel load surrounding settlement there.
(see sifco.ca for info on Type 1 treatment)
Watershed Advocacy and the Creation of SIFCo
Throughout the 1990s the WWC worked to save the watershed from industrial scale logging. The tenure holder (Ministry of Small Business / BC Timber Sales) inventoried the timber, but the all-important creek was undocumented. We set out to gather solid facts to back up our protective stance. SOME ACHIEVEMENTS: - Our Fish Habitat Assessment studies (commissioned by WWC) proved that Winlaw is a fish-bearing stream. - The Slocan Valley Water Monitoring Program gave us solid data on temperature, volume, and timing of flow. (Huge thank yous to Jennifer and Tony Yeow, for your persistence, guidance and expertise. Also to all the volunteer “creek readers”, who trudged up to the monitoring stations in all weathers to get the data.) We also contributed administration, and helped keep the program going for many years. - The Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assessments established that Winlaw Creek hosts a wide diversity of this tiny aquatic life (larvae of Mayflies, Stoneflies, Caddisflies and others). We contributed countless volunteer hours to counting and identifying those samples at Passmore Laboratory. - We pushed hard for Detailed Terrain Stability Mapping of the watershed, which was done in 2001 for Ministry of Forests, and obtained the report. - We commissioned our own Wildlife Study. - We started and organized the original May Days as a fundraiser to support our research initiatives. - We engaged Ministry of Forests staff in countless meetings, made field trips, and made an official complaint about a cutblock in the headwaters. (Complaint Investigation 040582) AND THEN: By the early 2000s BC Timber Sales was planning large-scale logging in the Winlaw valley, with extensive road building and multiple crossings of the creek. Protests and blockades are reactionary tactics of last resort. Often they result in nothing more than delay. We aimed at a bigger vision: get control of the Forestry Tenure in our own backyards for ourselves. WWC members began working with like-minded watershed defenders from EACT (Elliot - Anderson - Christian - Trozzo), and RMRA (Red Mountain Residents’ Association), who faced similar threats of industrial logging from commercial tenure holders. It took several years of dedicated effort, but we achieved a Community Forest Licence. To hold the licence and operate it, the combined watershed groups created SIFCo -Slocan Integrated Forestry Cooperative. Staffed by the same people who had spent years opposing accepted industrial logging practices, SIFCo evolved a new vision of forest management, where water and overall ecological integrity are valued as highly as timber. It’s a huge responsibility with many challenges – hotter summers, changing winters, beetle infestations, bigger and fiercer wildfires. As a Watershed Committee, we are pleased to note that SIFCo’s management approach, based on a much smaller AAC, and activities focused on wildfire mitigation, is gradually gaining traction amongst the mainstream forestry players. A local vision can start to change the world. For info on SIFCo community initiatives (the Resiliency Centre, conferences) and videos on Streamkeepers, Dance Umbrella, Slocan Lake Stewardship Society, Valhalla Wilderness Program, Hempcrete House, Tiny House, please go to sifco.ca
Resources
Visit our Resources page for essential tools and guides, including "Understanding Your Water Testing Results" and "How to Calculate Your Water Usage," to support responsible watershed stewardship. Access our archival data drive for valuable documents and historical insights to help you manage and protect our water resources effectively.