Morice River
Encyclopedia
The Morice River is the outflow of Morice Lake south west of Houston, British Columbia
, Canada
. Morice Lake and Morice River are named after Father Adrien-Gabriel Morice Geographic Name details The Morice River is a small river when it leaves Morice Lake but it converges with the Thautil and Gosnell Rivers approximately 15 KM downstream at which point it gains a lot of volume and would best be described as a medium size river. The Morice river continues on to the town of Houston at which point the river is joined by a small tributary river called "The Little Bulkley" and the two rivers joined become the Bulkley River
. They become the Bulkley, not the Morice despite the fact the Morice is larger. This was done by Poudrier, a government cartographer whom, it is rumoured, never saw the region.
Pipeline. The report was issued by the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia.
Report Excerpt:
The Morice River, which joins the Bulkley River
near Houston, helps form one of BC’s most productive river systems. However, the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline will run along the Morice and its tributaries for close to 60 kilometres with a crossing of the Morice 50 km south west of Houston. The Morice produces 30% of the Chinook Salmon
in the entire Skeena system and also plays a major role in providing extensive Sockeye Salmon
and Coho Salmon
spawning habitat. Along the Morice itself, the proposed pipeline route runs parallel to 32 kilometres of the most important spawning and rearing habitat in the entire watershed (given the braided, complex nature of the Morice river channel, this is equivalent to 150 kilometres of habitat on river systems with typical more defined channels). An oil spill lasting the duration of the one that occurred from the Enbridge pipeline near Kalamazoo, Michigan
last year would release approximately 12,000,000 litres of oil into the Morice. Since much of the pipeline along the Morice will run through rugged, remote and hazardous mountain terrain, a major spill is likely to last far longer than the one on the Kalamazoo River
and prove far more difficult to respond to. The heavy tar sands bitumen oil will mix with the shoreline log jams and other debris, as well as the river bottom substrate that characterizes the Morice and the Bulkley - and which provides such good fish habitat. There is little hope that a major spill in this river system could be effectively cleaned up – and the impacts of such an event would be devastating to the fish, the grizzlies and other wildlife that depend on them. The effects would also be catastrophic to the First Nations' cultures along the rivers that are centered on the salmon, as well as other groups who depend upon and enjoy these amazingly productive rivers.
Houston, British Columbia
Houston is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the Bulkley Valley of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known as the "Steelhead Capital" and it has the world's largest...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Morice Lake and Morice River are named after Father Adrien-Gabriel Morice Geographic Name details The Morice River is a small river when it leaves Morice Lake but it converges with the Thautil and Gosnell Rivers approximately 15 KM downstream at which point it gains a lot of volume and would best be described as a medium size river. The Morice river continues on to the town of Houston at which point the river is joined by a small tributary river called "The Little Bulkley" and the two rivers joined become the Bulkley River
Bulkley River
The Bulkley River in British Columbia is a major tributary of the Skeena River. The Bulkley is 257 km long with a drainage basin covering 12,400 km²....
. They become the Bulkley, not the Morice despite the fact the Morice is larger. This was done by Poudrier, a government cartographer whom, it is rumoured, never saw the region.
BC's Most Endangered Rivers
The Morice River was listed as the 6th most endangered river in British Columbia due to the proposed EnbridgeEnbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a Calgary, Alberta based company focused on three core businesses: crude oil and liquids pipelines, natural gas transportation and distribution, and green energy. The company has approximately 6,000 employees, mostly in Canada and the United States...
Pipeline. The report was issued by the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia.
Report Excerpt:
The Morice River, which joins the Bulkley River
Bulkley River
The Bulkley River in British Columbia is a major tributary of the Skeena River. The Bulkley is 257 km long with a drainage basin covering 12,400 km²....
near Houston, helps form one of BC’s most productive river systems. However, the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline will run along the Morice and its tributaries for close to 60 kilometres with a crossing of the Morice 50 km south west of Houston. The Morice produces 30% of the Chinook Salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
in the entire Skeena system and also plays a major role in providing extensive Sockeye Salmon
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...
and Coho Salmon
Coho salmon
The Coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch, is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". It is the state animal of Chiba, Japan.-Description:...
spawning habitat. Along the Morice itself, the proposed pipeline route runs parallel to 32 kilometres of the most important spawning and rearing habitat in the entire watershed (given the braided, complex nature of the Morice river channel, this is equivalent to 150 kilometres of habitat on river systems with typical more defined channels). An oil spill lasting the duration of the one that occurred from the Enbridge pipeline near Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
last year would release approximately 12,000,000 litres of oil into the Morice. Since much of the pipeline along the Morice will run through rugged, remote and hazardous mountain terrain, a major spill is likely to last far longer than the one on the Kalamazoo River
Kalamazoo River
The Kalamazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Michigan. The river is long from the junction of its North and South branches to its mouth at Lake Michigan, with a total length extending to when one includes the South Branch...
and prove far more difficult to respond to. The heavy tar sands bitumen oil will mix with the shoreline log jams and other debris, as well as the river bottom substrate that characterizes the Morice and the Bulkley - and which provides such good fish habitat. There is little hope that a major spill in this river system could be effectively cleaned up – and the impacts of such an event would be devastating to the fish, the grizzlies and other wildlife that depend on them. The effects would also be catastrophic to the First Nations' cultures along the rivers that are centered on the salmon, as well as other groups who depend upon and enjoy these amazingly productive rivers.