'Looks really bad' but Maritime Link cutting is sound: Salmon Federation

Some salmon anglers have been complaining about tree cutting near riversas work continues for the Muskrat Falls transmission line, but the Atlantic Salmon Federation says everything is being done properly.

Don Ivany, director of the federation, said he's been hearing from people who aren't happy with the way the tree cutting looks, especially where the power lines will cross rivers.

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Ivany visited South West Brook, near the Burgeo Highway, and walked through with Emera, the Nova Scotia company responsible for the Maritime Link transmission line, to ensure everything was up to snuff.

"It looks really bad, but purely from an environmental perspective it's not as bad as what people might think," said Ivany.

"For example, there is no siltation or anything occuring in the river, theres no runoff that I saw or any risks like that, so I think overall they've done their best to try to minimize impact."

The clearing of vegetation is a necessary step for this kind of work, Ivany said, because trees can't be allowed to reach the power lines, for safety reasons.

According to Ivany, Emera has done everything above and beyond what its environmental obligations are.

He's consulted with scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as Emera and contractors, and said he's assured the work, while perhaps ugly, is sound.

"It doesn't look as nice as a nice mature forest ... but that goes along with the work they're doing."