Strategic Initiatives

Hecate Strait Streamkeepers

Use Court Directed Fines to Benefit Salmon

In the spring of 2006, Pacific Salmon Foundation in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada invited proposals from local stewardship groups to undertake projects for the conservation, protection or rehabilitation of salmon or salmon habitat that included marine, estuarine, freshwater and riparian habitats within Haida Gwaii. The $24,750 in funding was made available through court-directed fines and in June, the Hecate Strait Streamkeepers Society was awarded the funds. The group prioritized three East Coast Graham Island streams (Leandre Creek, Howard Creek, and Wood Culvert Creek) and four Skidegate Inlet streams (Sachs Creek, Cameron Creek, MacMillan Creek, Tarundl Creek), and conducted extensive habitat assessment and rehabilitation work focused on preventing further loss of salmonid spawning and rearing habitat. The work included defining and restoring stream channels, stabilizing existing gravel spawning areas and adding complexity to the stream channel through the creation of structures that modify water flow. The group also created in-stream structures to provide protection and a nutrient source for rearing juvenile Coho salmon and provided access for ongoing habitat monitoring.