The McIvor River flows from the east side of Mount Leiner and empties into Veron Lake, It joins the Sebahall River in the estuary. This river is crystal clear, glacier water that tastes so sweet. It is a beautiful river with some of the island’s biggest fir trees growing along its shores. My boys and I went in to measure some of these giants recently, and I was completely blown away by the hugeness of these ancient old-growth elders of the forest.
Standing below these wonders of the natural world is quite humbling, to say the least. The great thing is these giants and the shores of this river are protected in more than 1 way. First off, there is so much First Nations history, including middens and fish camps. The Namgis traditionally harvested sockeye in the Sebahall and McIvor rivers.
This area is also a nesting area for the Marbled Murrelet. These birds are protected, and so are their nesting sites. They need these old-growth forests for nesting. They do not build normal nests as other birds do. They find a wide moss-covered branch and in a slight depression, they will lay one egg. They prefer the wide branches of giant Douglas Firs and Western Hemlocks.
There was a big run of Sockeye Salmon that would follow the Nimpkish River until they reached the Lower Sebahall River, where it ran out of Vernon Lake. They would spawn in the lake. The Nimpkish also supported a very large run of chum and a big run of Pinks. There was also a small run of Chinook. The sockeye stayed in the lake to spawn, but many of the other salmon species could easily reach both the upper Sebahall and McIvor Rivers to spawn. I saw lots of small fry in the McIvor River, but could not determine if they were salmon or trout. It was good to them in good numbers, though.
There is an extensive estuary where the McIvor and Sebahall Rivers enter Veron Lake. This is good for rearing young fish. I have seen over the years quite a bit of salmon restoration work being done on the lower Sebahall River, and this is good to see happening.