Hi, my name is Carly Bastien-Wells. I am fundraising to purchase a stone memorial in honor of my dad the late Harley Jack Bastien. My dad passed away on September 28, 2025 from cancer. His battle was short, the cancer was aggressive and it all happened so fast. Harley was a true steward of the land, especially Southern Alberta and the Old Man River.
We would like to put this memorial near his beloved camp “Buffalo Rock Tipi Camp” which is also the location he and the crew have saved fish from. The Flume Bridge. We would like to honor him this October and place a memorial in honor of his dedication to not only the fish but the Old Man River as a whole.
I have copied the presentation of the Fish Rescue that I did shortly after his passing. I was invited by the Lethbridge and Northern Irrigation District to present this at their annual conference in Lethbridge Alberta.
As a proud Piikani Nation member, my dad dedicated his life to protecting the land, sharing knowledge, and preserving culture. Raised in the Oldman River valley, he spent decades restoring Southern Alberta’s ecosystems and bridging Indigenous teachings with Western science. He founded the annual Peigan Friends Along the River fish rescue in 1990 in hopes of helping a species in need, a species critical to the ecosystem of the Old Man.
The fish rescue began 35 years ago with my parents, my 2 siblings and I, my dads 2 best friends and a handful of cousins. At the time we really had no clue what we were doing and we definitely did not come prepared. My dad just came inside one Saturday morning and said “Get ready and put your rubber boots on, we’re going to rescue some fish”.
This may have sounded like a crazy request to a lot of people, but it was like a shrug and OK cool for us. You see, we grew up in the Old Man River Valley where we were taught from a very young age to protect it. We spent weekends wrapping cotton wood trees with chicken wire to prevent the beavers from chewing them down, but you know, beavers will be beavers. We spent an equal amount of time planting trees. Creating picnic spaces for our community to enjoy. Learning at a young age what trees grow in the valley, what animals live there, what birds live year around and which ones migrate. Did you know that when all of the birds come back after winter, when they sing and begin building their homes that they wake up the trees. It’s their way of knowing that its time to wake up.
This was what it was like growing up with an environmental conservationist for a dad. Trained to notice the world around us which includes everything from humans, animals, birds, water, plants and all living things. Understanding at a young age that well preserved forests and rivers are the arteries for the grasslands. They are the lifelines that make the ecosystems livable.
Seeing first hand the negative impacts, habitat loss and fragmentation resulting in the loss of biodiversity and highly compromised watersheds. The ever growing pressure from agriculture, oil and gas drilling, residential and commercial development, water use and recreational activities has greatly affected these ecosystems. My dad saw a need to preserve the fish as a crucial part of this ecosystem.
So we begin the annual task of saving the fish trapped in the flume bridge and irrigation canal. Peigan Friends Along the River was already a non profit organization dedicated to preserving the Old Man River valley. We then included saving the fish. We started off with fish nets and rubber boots. Then we opted for hip waders and head band flashlights and a net. We would slide our feet on the floor of the interior of the bridge both because we didn’t want to step on a fish and we didn’t want to slip. We call this a sweep. When the sweepers arrive at the North opening of the bridge the rest of the crew is prepared with fish nets and buckets in hand, we begin the actually really fun task of capturing them into buckets that are then lifted up and dumped into our holding tanks. The fish sit for a bit in the oxygenated tanks until there is enough to do a river dump. We did for a very long time measure, weigh and identify the species, gender and record this information which was shared with the Provincial Government. To date I feel like we have rescued over 300,000 fish. Which I think is pretty cool. Its a great feeling at the end of the day. This happens every single Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend rain, shine, wind or blizzard (sometimes all 4 in the same day) you can bet that we will be there. However over time and with the sneer of politics somewhere along the line this information sharing stopped. However today, with the generous heart and open mind of Gary Burke we are once again working on creating a bridge of communication and collaboration.
We have built the PFAR Fish Rescue into an event that brings like minded people together for the common goal of saving the fish. Thus allowing them to continue to reproduce and thrive as a very important species that inhabits the Old Man River. Our life saving initiative has gained the attention of of many organizations and people including the;
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
Indigenous Vision
Crown of the Continent Geo Tourism Map
Won The Queen Elizabeth 11’s Platinum Jubilee Medal - in recognition of his valuable contribution to the province. On February 8, 2023
Nominated for an Emerald Award
Mother Earth is my Religion and the Forest is my Church. This is what my dad so often said. So I leave you all today with a message from my family to yours. Water is truly life. As we all know the water that the LNID directs to farmers, ranchers and businesses alike provides us with the necessary nutrients and sustenance to sustain our life. Thus, we must walk in harmony and balance on this journey of life being mindful of water and all it provides for us and with a common goal of ensuring the next 7 generations and those beyond that, still have access to water.
Thank you.
Thank you Carly for telling the truly heartfelt story of, as I keep saying to people, the most honourable man I've ever met. I hope to attend Harley's memorial in October.
Very nice/ informative as well.