Projects

Gitksan Watershed Authorities is continuing work on this multi-year project to restore access, connectivity, and quality of critical salmon habitat in McCully Creek. The focus of this phase is to create berms using native species to stabilize banks and encourage single channel water flow, and monitor changes on wildlife and fish. This project, which supports 18 jobs, will engage and train Gitksan members on restoration and monitoring activities. (Photo: Gitksan Watershed Authority)

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)

Kwakiutl First Nation is completing a fish habitat assessment for the Giyuxw River to establish a baseline of habitat conditions for salmonids and determine priorities for restoration and protection work. This project, which supports 14 jobs, furthers the Nation's reclamation of Tsuqwa, an ancestral stone fish trap/pound that was an integral part of a historic fishing station and village. (Photo: Andy Fitzsimon / Unsplash)

Kwakiutl First Nation, in partnership with the Nature Trust of BC and all levels of government, is restoring coastal estuarine connectivity and habitat in the Gwa'dzi River Estuary. Through activities such as creating intertidal march benches, breaching a legacy forestry road, installing a footbridge, and conducting archaeological and water monitoring, this work aims to recover over two hectares of tidal marsh and mudflat habitat. This project supports 18 jobs. (Photo: Kwakiutl First Nation)

Cowichan Tribes is working with community partners to gather data and scope options for a water sustainability plan for Xwulqw’selu Sto’lo (the Koksilah River) watershed. In recent years, summer flow rates have been exceptionally low at times when demand for water (from domestic, agricultural, and industrial users) is greatest. This project includes technical work and analysis to support sustainable, long-term land and water management, in order to restore water flows for fish and water users. This project supports 12 jobs. (Photo: Taylor Roades / Narwhal)

The Kwakiutl First Nation is addressing large-scale active erosion in the Cluxewe River by designing and implementing fish habitat restoration measures. These measures will help to stabilize the channel and restore salmon spawning rearing areas in the lower river and estuary. This project will create at least eight jobs and provide on-the-job training. (Photo: Kwakiutl First Nation)

Cowichan Tribes is performing extensive work to rehabilitate the Cowichan and Koksilah Rivers by focusing on sediment management and habitat rehabilitation. Work involves removing ~90,000 m3 of sediment across six sites, repairing the Hatchery and old Southside Dikes, excavating and reactivating side channels, and monitoring of sites for flood and drought management. This project supports 41 jobs and is an integral part of Cowichan Tribes’ 5-Year River Management Plan. (Photo: Cowichan Tribes)

Ahousaht Nation is restoring the Anderson Creek watershed to revitalize spawning habitat for Chum salmon and protect the community's drinking water. Through a combination of restoration work and water monitoring activities, Ahousaht Nation and neighbouring communities will be prepared to make informed water and land use decisions that support a healthy ecosystem. This project supports nine jobs. (Photo: Ahousaht Nation)

Tŝilhqot’in National Government is increasing First Nations' water management and analysis capacity by implementing a new data management portal to centralize, analyze, and share up-to-date water quality and quantity data. Hydrometric stations will be repaired and new ones installed to expand monitoring data collection. This project, which supports 17 jobs, aims to equip First Nations decision-makers with the information needed to prioritize projects related to ecological and forestry recovery, climate change resilience, and flood and drought mitigation. (Photo: Tŝilhqot’in National Government)

Brochure: Tŝilhqot'in National Government: Water Quality & Quantity Monitoring Program

Kwikwetlem First Nation is hiring and training four full-time Resource Guardians, who will enforce conservation regulations, restore environmentally compromised sites, and monitor development activities to protect archaeological, environmental, and cultural assets. This project supports 10 jobs. (Photo: Andy Fitzsimon / Unsplash)

Scw'exmx Tribal Council is conducting water monitoring to track agricultural effluent along the Nicola and Coldwater Rivers. Communities and decision makers will use this data to understand how water quality may be impacted by agricultural activity during the spring freshet. This project will support two jobs. (Photo: Noémi Pomerleau / REFBC)

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)