Sixty local salmon conservation projects to advance thanks to $370k in grants

The Pacific Salmon Foundation proudly announces $372,378 in grants to 60 grassroots Pacific salmon conservation projects. Across B.C. and the Yukon, 32 communities received funding as part of the Community Salmon Program’s fall grants, which support local salmon conservation and restoration efforts.

Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) funding empowers stewardship groups, volunteers, and Indigenous communities to conserve and rehabilitate Pacific salmon and their habitat while increasing awareness and public engagement on issues related to salmon.

Since 1989 when the program first launched, PSF has provided $24.3 million in grants to more than 2900 projects through the Community Salmon Program (CSP). Successful projects have included salmon habitat restoration efforts, aquatic monitoring and research, conservation hatcheries operations, educational programming and outreach, and citizen science initiatives. See below for two success stories.

“This past year proved especially challenging for salmon. Despite record-breaking heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, and floods, we continue to see people rallying together for salmon during these times. The Pacific Foundation is proud to support communities with consistent and reliable funding through the Community Salmon Program,” says Michael Meneer, CEO & President, Pacific Salmon Foundation. “More than ever, salmon need our help. We are incredibly thankful to local stewards, volunteers, and communities for their hard work, and we will continue to provide support for their grassroots salmon conservation efforts.”

PSF’s Community Salmon Program accepts new applications each spring and fall. It is primarily supported by the federal Salmon Conservation Stamp, a decal which anglers purchase with their fishing licence. All generated proceeds support PSF’s salmon restoration, stewardship, education, and enhancement efforts.

“Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, PSF predicts a decrease in available funds for this year’s CSP grants. We know there is a strong demand for more salmon conservation support from local communities, so we encourage you to purchase a Salmon Stamp this year even if you can’t go fishing or donate directly to the Pacific Salmon Foundation,” says Meneer.

Donate to the Pacific Salmon Foundation to support the Community Salmon Program.

 

Community Salmon Program Success Stories

 

On the Sunshine Coast, the B.C. Conservation Foundation (BCCF)’s Vital Kelp Project, which is creating a suspended kelp canopy refuge for salmon on a migratory pathway, received CSP funding in the fall 2021 callout.

Kelp forests provide important nearshore marine habitat when salmonids leave their native streams and rivers. Given that marine habitat for out-migrating salmonids has been identified as an “urgent priority” in advancing salmon recovery, kelp cultivation is a promising restoration and recovery tool for salmon and their prey.

“We want to bring back some of the iconic kelp we remember from decades ago along the Sunshine Coast,” says project lead Lee-Ann Ennis.

BCCF’s Vital Kelp Project has successfully seeded and planted several thousand metres of bull kelp and sugar kelp. Ennis has established a kelp nursery and is looking to scale up ongoing restoration capacity with “green gravel trials,” thanks in part to PSF funding.

Kus-kus-sum, another CSP-supported initiative, is a collaborative project between the K’ómoks First Nation, City of Courtenay, and the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society. The partners will restore a former industrial sawmill site in the heart of the salmon migratory corridor of the K’ómoks Estuary. Prior to its development, the site was a tidally-influenced, forested wetland and riparian area that continues to be an important site for the K’ómoks First Nation. The area provides shelter, foraging, and rearing habitat for fish and other wildlife. This project aims to restore natural tidal marsh and forest communities to the site, remove current infrastructure separating the site from the flood plain, create a climate mitigation asset for the community, and recover an important piece of land to its traditional stewards.

Applications for the Community Salmon Program’s spring intake are open now through February 15, 2022. Apply here.

Media inquiries: Photos are available upon request and interviews with Community Salmon Program recipients can be arranged. For more information, contact Braela at bkwan@psf.ca.

 

A full list of recipients for the fall 2021 Community Salmon Program funding round includes:

Location	Applicant	Project Title	Funding Confirmed $	Project Value $
Vancouver	¿UUQINAK’UUH ELEMENTARY	Salmonids in the Classroom	540	1,000
Surrey	A Rocha Canada	Riparian habitat enhancement in the TATALU (Little Campbell River)	2,500	23,532
Port Alberni	Alberni Aquarium Association	Storm Drain Marking Program	200	1,050
Maple Ridge	Alouette River Management Society	Alouette River Urban Stormwater Workshops 2022-2023	800	4,511
Maple Ridge	Alouette River Management Society	Alouette River Watershed Community Workshop Series 2022-2023	3,536	49,468
Surrey	BC Wildlife Federation	Fish Habitat Stewardship Workshops	13,162	66,840
Vancouver	Be the Change Earth Alliance Society	Youth for Community Rain Gardens	2,500	14,840
Surrey	Bonaccord Elementary	Stream of Dreams at Bonaccord Elementary	6,023	19,591
Sechelt	BC Conservation Foundation	Vital Kelp Project	5,000	80,030
Vancouver	Carnarvon School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	3,410
Vancouver	Carnarvon School	Stream of Dreams	3,686	11,893
Tofino	Cedar Coast Field Station Society	RPAS enumerations of chum salmon in Clayoquot Sound Rivers	2,400	53,900
Chilliwack	Central Elementary Community School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,730
Brackendale	Cheakamus Foundation for Environmental Learning	Cheakamus Teaching Hatchery Modernization	5,000	10,000
Hazelton	Chicago Creek Community Environmental Enhancement Society	Mission Creek Salmon Counting Fence	9,900	29,150
Courtney	Comox Valley Project Watershed Society	Glen Urquhart Creek Salmonid Spawning and Rearing Restoration	15,000	49,155
Courtney	Comox Valley Project Watershed Society	Kus-kus-sum: Field Sawmill Restoration in the K’ómoks Estuary	18,850	5,603,376
Cowichan Bay	Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre Society	Youth Riparian Habitat Restoration Program – Cowichan & Koksilah Watersheds	2,500	11,400
Cowichan Lake	Cowichan Lake Salmonid Enhancement Society	Hatchery Equipment Purchase	4,500	17,322
Duncan	Cowichan Station Area Association	Koksilah Stream Signage	2,475	4,975
Cumberland	Cumberland Community Forest Society	Perseverance Creek Stewardship Engagement Project	8,000	37,800
Deroche	Deroche Elementary School	Student Supply Kits for Watershed and Salmon Habitat Studies	1,400	3,000
Campbell River	Discovery Passage Aquarium Society	Beach seining equipment to support community projects	2,460	9,095
Vancouver	École Anne-Hébert	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,775
Vancouver	General Gordon Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,875
Vancouver	General Wolfe Elementary	Stream of Dreams at General Wolfe Elementary	4,248	13,807
Courtney	Guardians of Mid Island Estuaries Society	Eco-Cultural Restoration in the K’omoks Estuary	18,460	366,300
Hazelton	Hazelton Secondary School	Chicago Creek	1,500	5,600
Quesnel	Horsefly River Roundtable	Horsefly Streamkeepers Survey Equipment	2,500	15,280
Maple Ridge	Kanaka Environmental & Educational Partnership Society	Bell Irving Pump Shack Replacement	27,018	76,768
Ladysmith	Ladysmith Sportsmen’s Club	Brood stock equipment	2,500	7,200
Prince Rupert	Lax Kw’alaams Band	Skeena River Salmon Enhancement Program	18,400	278,289
Vancouver	L’Ecole Bilingue Elementary School	Salmonids in the Classroom	500	1,985
Madeira Park	Loon Foundation	Anderson Creek Watershed Salmonid Monitoring	2,441	15,121
Vancouver	Lord Selkirk Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,785
Chilliwack	McCammon Elementary School	Stream of Dreams at McCammon Traditional Elementary School	3,429	10,970
Vancouver	Moberly Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,950
Surrey	Mountainview Montessori Elementary School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,650
Nanaimo	Nanaimo River Stewardship Society	Nanaimo River Hatchery Upgrades	45,500	480,878
Burnaby	Nelson Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,800
North Vancouver	North Shore Streamkeepers	Lynn Creek Off-Channel Habitat Rehabilitation	6,750	122,400
Vancouver	Pear Tree Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,785
North Saanich	Peninsula Streams Society	Rain Gardens for Headwaters: Demonstration Projects	14,038	56,150
North Saanich	Peninsula Streams Society	Roberts Bay Beach Nourishment Pilot	26,063	125,000
Port Moody	Pleasantside Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,845
Powell River	Powell River Salmon Society	Education Incubators Expansion	1,934	19,934
Powell River	Powell River Salmon Society	Lang Creek Hatchery Revitalization	18,005	55,420
Langley	Rivershed Society of BC	Foodlands Corridor Restoration Program on the sc̓e:ɬxʷəy̓əm1/Salmon River	16,250	548,600
Echo Bay	Salmon Coast Field Station Society	Boat Safety for Monitoring and Education	2,500	5,428
Surrey	Serpentine Enhancement Society	Oxygen Monitor and Pump	1,043	2,085
North Vancouver	Seymour Heights Elementary School	Stream of Dreams	3,275	10,452
North Vancouver	Seymour Salmonid Society	Ongoing Community Outreach and Hatchery Infrastructure Project	10,000	66,125
Smithers	SkeenaWild Conservation Trust	SkeenaWild Youth Conservation Leadership Program	2,500	12,500
North Vancouver	St. Pius X School	Stream of Dreams at St.Pius	2,731	8,922
Gibsons	Sunshine Coast Conservation Association	Friends of Gibsons and Charman Creeks	2,500	10,665
Sunshine Coast	Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers Society	Salmonid Spawning Survey Equipment	2,486	4,972
Smithers	Toboggan Creek Steelhead and Salmon Enhancement Society	Toboggan Creek Riparian Fencing	1,800	3,960
Dawson City	Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation	Stream of Dreams at Robert Service School	3,920	8,506
Vancouver	Tyee Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,300	2,825
Chilliwack	Unsworth Elementary School	Stream of Dreams at Unsworth Elementary	5,355	17,189
			372,378	8,483,864