Ch’ḵw’elhp-Gibson Creek (CGC) is a small salmon bearing watercourse in Átl’ka7tsem Howe Sound, on the Sunshine Coast. It is one of five major creeks in the ‘West Howe Sound Watershed’. The recharge areas of provincial Aquifers 560 and 552.
CGC extends approximately 6.5 km from its headwaters on Mt. Elphinstone (~1170m above sea level) to its mouth in west Howe Sound. It drains water from about 300ha of forest lands on the slope of Mt. Elphinstone then flows through the residential areas within the Town of Gibsons and West Howe Sound Regional Area of the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD). The creek flattens out in its last ~300m and drains Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) Ch’kw’elp Reserve before entering marine waters. Gibson Creek is entirely within the BC Aquifer 560 Recharge Area.
Pictured above: Mouth of Ch’ḵw’elhp-Gibson Creek.
Three stormwater outfalls originating within the Town flow into Gibson Creek upstream of the Che’kw’elp Reserve. The Reserve itself is divided by Marine Drive; it and the culvert that accommodates the Creek, are under the jurisdiction of BC’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI).
The significance of the Creek to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw is evidenced by the early establishment of it as a Reserve circa the 1870’s. Clearing the forested lands upstream in the watershed by colonial settlers for logging, farming, road building and eventually residential development has led to increased alterations in the stream flow both in quantity and in timing of flow. It is believed that the lowest reach now accommodates twice the amount of run-off as it did pre-development.
In 1930, below Marine Drive, the Department of Indian Affairs subdivided the entire length in lots that were available for lease. . Many of these lots eventually had summer homes built on them by settlers. The basement of one house, near the mouth, actually spanned the creek channel itself. With the expiry of many of the leases approximately twenty years ago, the houses were torn down and removed, leaving only concrete foundations, walls and sidewalks - some of which are still in place alongside and in the Creek.
It is unknown if the culvert under Marine Drive did initially allow for easy Coho salmon passage. To date the scoured plunge pool at the downstream end is further compromised by a large boulder prohibiting returning salmon to effectively jump up into the culvert against the oncoming flow of water. The metal closed bottom culvert was installed without baffles and concrete was used since to patch the corroded bottom. Both these conditions do nothing to slow down extreme water flows; and they further restrict any salmon's ability to reach spawning grounds should any manage to enter the culvert. Replacing the failing culvert with one that supports fish passage to upstream spawning habitat is long overdue. Once the culvert is replaced and the Creek has adjusted to its new channel, fish habitat can be restored downstream both upstream, and downstream of Marine Drive.
Pictured above: Marine Drive culvert.
Recent History
Since 2021
SCCA staff and liaisons have engaged the Squamish Nation, Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) advisors and local conservation partners, BC Ministry of Transportation (MOTI) local government staff and elected officials in a multi-jurisdictional conversation around the need for habitat restoration. We built a team and started project planning to undertake a full culvert replacement under Marine Drive, as well as fish passage and habitat restoration in partnership with Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw, with support from MOTI, DFO, Town of Gibsons, SCRD, Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers Society and Squamish River Estuary Society.
Volunteer & Community Support
SCCA funded the training of 10 volunteer Streamkeepers and created a Streamkeepers group to monitor the Creek. Our Freshwater and Marine Liaisons Dianne Sanford and Angela Kroning contribute to the project in many ways. As Streamkeepers trainers, they share our shared long-term goal that all salmon -bearing waterways on the Sunshine Coast should be monitored and kept to the highest standard possible for salmon and people.
The Sunshine Coast Streamkeeper Society is a local umbrella network connected to the province-wide Pacific Streamkeepers Federation. They collaborate to develop, train and support stream keeping groups and activities on the Sunshine Coast. The Streamkeepers are participating in the CGC Working Group.
The Town of Gibson is a partner in monitoring and restoration initiatives for Gibson Creek. Former Mayor Bill Beamish was a keen participant in the "Friends of Gibson Creek" group and act an advocate for the creation of a "Friends of Chapman Creek" located south of Gibson Cr. He worked closely with the SCCA Executive Director, Suzanne Senger to raise awareness about issues impacting the Aquifer 560 Recharge Area and advance watershed conservation efforts.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District staff were provided the opportunity for Streamkeeper training by the SCCA in 2021. SCCA staff are working closely with the SCRD to support regional watershed governance planning.
Take Action
- If you live in the Che’kw’elp-Gibson Creek watershed and wish to become involved in monitoring efforts please contact us via email info@thescca.ca, with Che’kw’elp-Gibson Creek Support in the subject line.
- To learn more about stream keeping please visit the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation website at https://www.pskf.ca/
- To learn what local streamkeepers are up to please visit the Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers Society website: https://sunshinecoaststreamkeepers.com/
- Streamkeeper Training is offered intermittently by Dianne Sanford and Angela Kroning. With support from the SCCA. Please contact info@thescca.ca for further details.
- If you would like to donate to help cover costs of our work on the Ch’ḵw’elhp-Gibson Creek Restoration Project please visit the SCCA Canada Helps page. Tax Receipts will be issued for amounts over $25
More info to come
- Aquifer 560
- 30 years DFO/ToG/SFN conversations. SFN, NWH design