Calgary’s Brown Trout Spawning Areas Are Increasing!

On November 4, 2016, 16 volunteers joined Calgary River Valleys representatives for the annual “walk in the river” to count Brown Trout spawning nests or redds in the Lower Elbow River, from the Glenmore Dam to Fort Calgary.  The results showed a big improvement (231 redds in 2016) over the low numbers seen since the flood of 2013 (101 redds in 2014).  Most of the increase in the numbers from 2015 to 2016 was in the section of the river between Stanley Park and Fort Calgary.  This may be due to the fact that gravel from upstream has been pushed downstream and deposited there, creating better habitat areas for spawning in the downstream section. In previous years much of the gravel in the downstream area was larger cobble-sized rocks which were suitable as cover in the summer for the young fish to hide in, but not suitable for spawning by adults as this requires smaller gravel.  Below is the chart of the redd survey data over time.  For more details on the redd locations in the Lower Elbow River, please contact us.

Follow these links for news coverage of this year’s Redd Count by CTV News Calgary , and by CBC News Calgary.

For pictures from our 25th Anniversary Celebration on April 20, see our News page.

Calgary River Valleys (CRV) is an independent, not-for-profit, volunteer-led organization, dedicated to building a strong and effective voice for river valleys protection and water quality in Calgary.

Our principal purpose is to “champion and engage the public in the protection, appreciation and stewardship of Calgary’s rivers, creeks, wetlands and watershed resources.”