Salmon Steward is the official publication of the Pacific Salmon Foundation in British Columbia, Canada
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1182504
Comox Valley," says Jeff Zweig, president and CEO of Mosaic Forest Management, which has contributed more than $1 million over the past two decades for salmon habitat conservation projects on Vancouver Island. RISING FROM THE ASHES The Pacific Salmon Foundation gave more than $200,000 to alleviate wildfire impacts to critical salmon habitat in the B.C. Interior. Funding was provided to the Baker Creek Enhancement Society, which is co-managing the initiative with the Nazko First Nation. The three-year program could serve as a model for wildfire mitigation efforts across the province. In the summer of 2017, the Plateau Fire in the Cariboo Chilcotin burned more than 521,000 hectares of land, much of it in an area impacted by the mountain pine beetle. Important Chinook and Coho runs lost plant and tree habitat that shades water, provides shelter, supports salmon food (insects), and prevents fast run-off and erosion. The geographic focus of the three- year initiative is the Nazko/Quesnel area, specifically eight sites over an estimated 203 hectares. Efforts include planting mature plants along rivers and streams, upslope planting of trees and building a nursery to support ongoing restoration efforts. "The Pacific Salmon Foundation has provided the initial funding to get this project off the ground and to help us attract the many partners we will need to complete this work," says Tracy Bond, executive director of the Baker Creek Enhancement Society. CHANGING CLIMES "The volunteers and First Nations groups we support in Duncan have worked tirelessly to restore and protect the Cowichan and Koksilah – two important salmon rivers," says Michael Meneer, president and CEO of the Pacific Salmon Foundation. "Both watersheds support Chinook, Coho, Chum, Steelhead and Cutthroat trout, along with numerous species of wildlife. But like many other salmon watersheds, climate change is posing an increasing challenge to salmon there." The Cowichan and Koksilah Watersheds, and the estuary where they meet, are experiencing more and more frequent droughts intensified by our changing climate. "Droughts can now stretch from the spring into fall, resulting in longer periods of reduced water flows, higher water temperatures and more frequent stranding of salmon fry in pools cut off from their rivers," says Jane Kilthei, a volunteer with the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre. Kilthei led efforts on a project this summer to restore riverside plant habitat with support from PSF and Mosaic. "We brought teams of young people together, supported by restoration biologists and local volunteers, to restore plant habitat in both watersheds." n L-R: Bernice Cremo, Nazko First Nation; Robert (Bo) Mills, Quesnel River Environmental; and Tracy Bond, Baker Creek Enhancement Society, in front of habitat decimated by B.C.'s largest-ever Plateau forest fire. Youth pitch in to restore plant habitat in the Cowichan and Koksilah Watersheds. (TOP) BAKER CREEK ENHANCEMENT SOCIETY, COWICHAN ESTUARY NATURE CENTRE 12 FALL/WINTER 2019 PSF.CA MORE THAN 90 CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR DONATED TO PSF GOES DIRECTLY INTO WILD SALMON PROJECTS! ENSURE A FUTURE FOR WILD SALMON. PSF.CA