NEWS RELEASE 
Port Hardy, B.C. – May 13, 2011 – The British Columbia Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR) is pleased to make a donation to support the Quatse River Fish Hatchery, located just outside of Port Hardy. The TRCR is contributing $1,900 plus taxes to allow the hatchery to purchase stainless steel tables for its wet laboratory.
Ken Fuller - Manager
“This will complete the wet lab infrastructure for the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre allowing us to offer the facility for potential local research and studies” said Ken Fuller, Manager of the Quatse River Hatchery. “We are thrilled to have the current support of the TRCR, as well as the previous support of BHP Billiton when construction was initiated. It has been a huge endeavor for our volunteer directed community not-for-profit association to bring the Quatse Salmon Stewardship Centre to reality. We are very pleased with the valued partnerships obtained through the construction and ultimately thrilled with the new facility.”
As part of the Annual BC Reclamation Symposium, held in Courtenay, BC in September, 2010, approximately 100 reclamation practitioners and experts from industry, academia and government toured the Quatse River Fish Hatchery while visiting BHP Billiton’s nearby closed Island Copper mine site. “The TRCR is grateful to the Quatse River Hatchery for providing BC’s mine reclamation professionals with an opportunity to learn about what is being done to enhance fish populations on Vancouver Island” said Ben Chalmers, 2011 Chair of the TRCR.
“Sharing information about different reclamation techniques is a core goal of the BC Reclamation Symposium and to be able to learn about successful fish enhancement practices was enormously valuable and greatly appreciated” stated Chalmers. “It serves to highlight the important role of science and diligent efforts in achieving any restoration goals”.
Reclamation specialists gathered in Courtenay, BC in the fall of 2010 to learn from each other and observe firsthand the recent reclamation work at the Mount Washington Copper Mine near Courtenay as well as the results of extensive reclamation efforts at the Island Copper Mine near Port Hardy. BHP Billiton partnered with the Quatse River Fish Hatchery to make it possible for participants of the Reclamation Symposium to tour the hatchery.
About the Technical & Research Committee on Reclamation (TRCR):
The TRCR originated in the early 1970s in response to a demonstrated need for greater government-industry communication in the area of environmental protection and mine reclamation. Membership is drawn from industry, government and academia. The TRCR organizes the Annual B.C. Mine Reclamation Symposium; the 2011 symposium will be held in collaboration with the 6th annual International Mine Closure Conference to be held in Lake Louise, Alberta, from September 18 to 21, 2011. (www.trcr.bc.ca for registration information)
For more information, contact Ben Chalmers, Chair, Technical and Research Committee on Reclamation at 778-828-2607 or bchalmers@mining.bc.ca or visit www.trcr.bc.ca
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