Omar McDadi
Parks Canada I Parcs Canada
Yoho National Park’s Shelley Humphries, an Aquatics Specialist,(pictured right with Spirit the Golden Eagle), a resident of Field, B.C., recently spent some time with Spirit at a small bird rehabilitation facility located near Lethbridge Alberta (learn more about the facility at www.burrowingowl.com.) This facility was chosen to receive non-native brook trout removed from Hidden Lake and Corral Creek in Banff National Park because they have a similar mandate to Parks Canada, with a focus on conservation and public education.
Shelley and her team spent parts of the summer and fall removing non-native fish from Hidden Lake and its surrounding creeks as part of a long-term fish restoration project.
The fish were too small for human consumption – averaging about 100 grams each. These small fish were frozen in single layers on trays to ensure that they froze quickly and evenly.
In the end over 85 pounds of fish were donated to the facility. This will keep the eagles, who would normally eat fish in the wild, happy for quite some time.
To learn more about this fish restoration project visit www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/banff/plan/aquatiques/aquatics/hidden.aspx.
