The Haig-Brown Institute is born, On the banks of the Campbell River

Roderick Haig-Brown lived much of his life on the banks of the Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, off British Columbia’s mainland coast. He was lucky enough to have lived there when the river was wild, before it had been dammed and polluted by mine tailings. In those days the steelhead were wild too and the salmon runs were stunning.

Times changed during his lifetime. He saw the steelhead run ruined, the searun cutthroat stocks start to decline, and the great Tyee begin to dwindle. Urban and industrial sprawl chewed at the Campbell’s estuary. The river was dammed for power. Mining and logging had its impact.

I doubt Roderick Haig-Brown would like the river much these days, not in the summer at least, when anglers line up elbow to elbow on some runs, and swimmers drift by on inner tubes.

But he would be pleased, no doubt, by what has happened to the old family homestead. Over the years the house and grounds on the banks of the Campbell River have been cared for and restored by people who revered Haig-Brown and who, like him, loved the Campbell River’s salmon runs. Because of their work coho are spawning in the restored stream that runs through the property. And you can see sea run cutthroat rolling, sometimes, in the main river right in front of the house.

The estuary is being reclaimed bit by bit, and a series of fisheries projects have helped bolster the salmon runs upstream, though they still don’t boast the huge Tyee that once made the river world famous.

Still, all in all, the Campbell River shows what can happen when people in communities pull together. They are fighting to get the Campbell back, and although there is a long way to go, much has been accomplished.

It is fitting then, that Campbell River and the Haig-Brown homestead should have given birth to a new force for the environment in British Columbia.

The Haig-Brown Institute is being organized as this is written. It is supported by the Haig-Brown family and a growing number of like-minded people.

You will be hearing about it in the months and years to come. It is, we understand, to be dedicated to the conservation principles that Haig-Brown wrote about; to restoring and saving watersheds like the Campbell and to the spirit of cooperation that is needed if we are ever going to get our great fisheries back.

We wish the Haig-Brown Institute well - and will bring you more news on it in future issues.

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