Our Water, Our Future

The Healthy Watersheds Initiative is creating jobs and bringing communities together to protect fresh water, restore salmon habitat, and adapt to climate change. 
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Recent Stories

We Are of Water

"We Are of Water", illustrated by Chenoa Gao, provides visuals connected to voices and knowledge shared by Indigenous Elders, youth, and community members through HWI projects on the significance of watersheds and water.
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Unpaving Kus-Kus-Sum: Restoring and Recycling

The Kus-Kus-Sum Unpaving Paradise project is decommissioning and restoring a historic sawmill site along the Courtney River.
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Symposium & Celebration Dinner

On February 23, 2023, project team members, First Nations leaders, provincial and local government representatives, and community members came together to celebrate the outcomes and learnings from the HWI.
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$100 million invested in Watershed Security Fund to be co-developed with First Nations

The BC Government and BC First Nations Water Table has announced an investment of $100 million towards creating a Watershed Security Fund and a commitment to co-developing the Fund with First Nations.
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60+
projects
700+
jobs
$27M
investment
270+
community partners
a jumping salmon icon

Supported Projects

Squamish River, Squamish. (Photo: Adarshana Thapa / REFBC)
Elaho River Chinook Salmon Restoration Project: Phase 3
Lead Organization
Squamish River Watershed Society
Grant Amount
$ 100,000.00
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Project Details
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Squamish River, Squamish. (Photo: Adarshana Thapa / REFBC)
Description

Squamish River Watershed Society, in partnership with Squamish Nation and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is continuing efforts to restore anadromous passage to spawning grounds in the upper Elaho River. This work involves removing any additional obstructions at previously cleared sites and implementing innovative monitoring techniques to assess impact. This phase of the project supports five jobs. (Photo: Adarshana Thapa / REFBC)

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Lead Organization
Squamish River Watershed Society
Grant Amount
$ 100,000.00
Project Type
Organization Type
Region(s)View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

Watershed(s)
Related Articles
Nicola Valley. (Photo: Stephanie Butler / REFBC)
Watershed Restoration in the Nicola Watershed
Lead Organization
Fraser Basin Council
Grant Amount
$ 100,000.00
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Project Details
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Nicola Valley. (Photo: Stephanie Butler / REFBC)
Description

Fraser Basin Council is restoring fish habitat in the Nicola River by stabilizing sediment wedges impacted by flooding and building beaver dam analogues to moderate water flows and temperature. This project, which supports 11 jobs, complements the work underway by the Scw’exmx Tribal Council and Nicola Watershed Governance Project. (Photo: Stephanie Butler / REFBC)

Lead Organization
Fraser Basin Council
Grant Amount
$ 100,000.00
Project Type
Organization Type
Region(s)View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

Watershed(s)
Related Articles
Yaqan Nukiy Wetlands Restoration (Photo: Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen / BCWF)
Yaqan Nukiy Wetlands Restoration Project
Lead Organization
Lower Kootenay Band
Grant Amount
$ 235,000.00
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Project Details
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Yaqan Nukiy Wetlands Restoration (Photo: Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen / BCWF)
Description

Lower Kootenay Band is restoring naturally appearing and functioning wetlands and floodplains by filling ditches, removing reed canary grass, and recontouring altered wetland basins along the Kootenay River. This project, which supports 11 jobs, uses innovative techniques that will reduce the need to maintain and artificially fill the wetlands. (Photo: Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen / BCWF)

snow melt in Syilx territory
Okanagan Lake Responsibility Planning Initiative and Restoration Project
Lead Organization
Okanagan Nation Alliance
Grant Amount
$ 50000.00
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Project Details
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snow melt in Syilx territory
Description

Okanagan Nation Alliance is partnering with the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program and the South Okanagan Conservation Program to develop an Okanagan Lake Responsibility Strategy using the nʕawqnwixʷ methodology, a consensus-based decision-making process that prioritizes the participation of Syilx Traditional Ecological and Cultural Knowledge keepers. This project, which supports one job, will engage local stakeholders to identify key issues affecting the security of the watershed and outline direct actions and solutions needed for its protection. (Photo: Okanagan Nation Alliance)

Lead Organization
Okanagan Nation Alliance
Grant Amount
$ 50000.00
Project Type
Organization Type
Region(s)View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

View map of BC's Natural Resource District.

Watershed(s)
Related Articles
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