Boat ramp, sign kiosks construction completed! This has been part of multi-year project to improve river access.

The Morrissey boat launch along the Elk River reopened in mid September after construction of an official boat launch ramp, some access and parking imporvements and signage installation.  Signage content will be worked on over winter for placement in spring.

This project, at one of the most important river access sites on the Elk River for fly fishing and paddling, was a collaborative effort managed by Tourism Fernie Society with support from the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK), BC Parks, Province of BC’s Targeted Regional Tourism Development Initiative, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC), Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), Elk Valley Resources (EVR, formerly TECK Coal), Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (ORCBC) and the Elk River Alliance.

“Elk River infrastructure improvements at key river access sites have been a long time coming and a priority of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy and Tourism Master Plan” exclaimed Jikke Gyorki, Tourism Fernie’s Executive Officer. “The only official access site on the Elk River has been Dogwood Park in Fernie.  All other key sites such as Morrissey, Olsen Pit, Hosmer and Elko have never been formalized with land-use agreements and infrastructure.”

Back in 2020 the Province announced a new tourism development grant for eligible regional tourism projects.  The Elk River Access Improvements project was already a key priority for the valley and thanks to the initial proposal work done by Paul Samycia of Elk River Guiding and many additional local guides, and with support from the Elk River Alliance a grant application for funding was submitted.

The Province of BC awarded $300,000 in 2021 which was leveraged to source additional funders such as RDEK Area A, CBT, FFSBC and EVR to support the Elk River and Sustainable Tourism Projects in the area.  

“It has been an exciting yet extensive and costly project with many hurdles to get to this point,” said Jikke. “From confirming land ownership, partnerships and government land-use approval processes to engineering and design work, the federal processes and approvals for work in and along a fish bearing river and more, it has taken the project team three years to get to this stage. Though September is a busy time for river use it is the only month a boat launch is allowed to be installed on the riverbank due to fisheries. We worked with McElhanney, Lotic Environmental and Gally Equipment Services to complete the project within a short timeframe to support the users of the Elk River.”

Other river access locations have already begun to see some improvements, including Olsen Pit and Hosmer, and a new sign kiosk is in the works for Dogwood.  The Elko take-out is also now a ‘shovel-ready’ project with all permits and approvals in place for construction. However, additional funds are needed to complete that location.

“Our next goal with the Morrissey river access site under the Sustainable Tourism Strategy is to expand the parking and amenities by furthering our partnership with the Regional District of East Kootenay under their Regional Parks program,” said Jikke. “RDEK Area A Director Thomas McDonald has been extremely supportive and supports seeing BC Parks transfer Morrissey Provincial Park to the Regional District of East Kootenay parks system, which would allow for further Area A improvements to happen.”

For more information about Tourism Fernie’s Sustainable Tourism Strategy, the Tourism Master Plan or the Elk River Access Improvements project please email [email protected].  The Sustainable Tourism Strategy and Tourism Fernie’s AmbassadorWILD program won the Best Community Project Award last year from the BC Economic Development Association.

Group Image: Morrissey Access Site on the Elk River just south of Fernie.

People in the image, from left to right:

Jikke Gyorki, Tourism Fernie
Dan Savage, Project Partner & Consultant
Thomas McDonald, RDEK Area A Director
Rhiannon Paterson, Kootenay Rockies Tourism & representative for the Provincial tourism grant
Chad Hughes & Evgeni Matveev, Elk River Alliance
Happy & frequent anglers from the USA taking out at Morrissey & joining us for the photo

Missing from the photo include representatives from EVR, CBT, FFSBC, BC Parks & ORCBC

VIEW Elk River Map to plan your river activity.  Click here for more info on river access locations.