$1.8 million to ramp up salmon stewardship efforts

June 10, 2025

Record funding awarded to salmon groups in B.C., driving $15M in conservation impact

The Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) has awarded an unprecedented $1.8 million to 119 community-led salmon stewardship projects across British Columbia. This funding will yield an estimated $15 million in total value for Pacific salmon conservation.

This is the largest investment ever made through PSF’s Community Salmon Program and reflects growing momentum to restore wild salmon and their habitats.

“The state of salmon calls on our collective support. We’re seeing record demand and increasingly ambitious, large-scale, and collaborative projects through the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Community Salmon Program,” says Michael Meneer, President and CEO.

“We’re especially honoured to support more initiatives led by First Nations communities, whose deep relationships with salmon are central to recovery efforts. This spring, more than a third of our grant allocation will advance Indigenous-led projects.”

Every year, PSF’s Community Salmon Program directs approximately $1.5 million in revenue from the Salmon Conservation Stamp — a decal purchased by anglers with their saltwater fishing licence — into hands-on salmon conservation projects. Since 1994, the program has stewarded these funds on behalf of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), investing more than $31 million into more than 3,500 projects across B.C. and the Yukon. Additional support from the Province of B.C. and PSF’s generous donors further amplifies this impact.

The program leverages every dollar to maximize benefits for salmon, but as demand grows, future funding must keep pace. To match the leadership of First Nations groups, streamkeepers, and volunteers, PSF continues to seek opportunities to grow funding and invest in this vital work.

Projects funded through this grant cycle include critical habitat restoration, stock monitoring and assessment, and educational programs that bring awareness to the state of salmon.

The Community Salmon Program accepts applications twice a year. The next application intake will open in September 2025. Learn how to apply.

Explore featured projects from the Community Salmon Program’s Spring 2025 funding round.

Bringing endangered Chinook back to Maria Slough

Last year saw one of the highest Chinook returns in a decade for the Sq’éwqel (Seabird Island Band) near Agassiz. To ensure every family could access this vital, nutrient-rich food through the winter while conserving dwindling stocks, the Council organized a landing station where local fishers brought in their harvest for distribution.

That moment was partly made possible by restoration efforts at Maria Slough. Seabird knowledge holders like Councillor Rodney Peters remember this now-swamp as a once-vibrant side channel of the Fraser River, which historically supported abundant Chinook, coho, chum, and sockeye. But decades of development – railways, highways, culverts – severed natural flows and degraded critical habitat. Today, the Chinook that rely on Maria Slough are endangered.

Seabird Island Band has created and maintained spawning channels nearby that offer salmon a lifeline. In 2024, they partnered with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and others to protect one of these channels from drought. With funding from PSF in 2025, their crew will deepen the stream bed and add boulders and woody debris – techniques that help keep water cooler, oxygen-rich, and flowing longer through summer heat. This work is an important step toward reconnecting Maria Slough to freshwater.

“Our connection to the land, the water, and all living beings is evident in our guiding principles. We have an inherent responsibility to listen to what the salmon are telling us, steward them, and ensure they are there for years to come,” says Sally Hope, Councillor of Seabird Island.

“This project will allow a safe place for salmon to spawn – and hopefully, an opportunity for our grandchildren to harvest.”

 

Gardens to filter ‘hot, fast, and toxic’ rain

With support from PSF, Peninsula Streams Society is expanding its Rain Gardens for Headwaters program with two demonstration sites in the urban watersheds of Greater Victoria. These installations will filter road runoff and serve as community learning hubs, engaging more than 150 participants and training new salmon stewards.

“Stormwater in urban areas typically goes untreated and is channelled into nearby streams and shorelines,” says Kyle Armstrong, Executive Director at Peninsula Streams Society.

“Rain gardens are designed to intercept that hot, fast, toxic water and filter it before it reaches our creeks and waterways.”

Stormwater can pick up heat from paved surfaces, warming by a few degrees – enough to stress salmon. It often flushes into creeks rapidly, like a firehose, which can erode banks, wash away spawning gravel, or push juvenile salmon out to sea early. Road runoff can also carry a cocktail of heavy metals and chemicals, including 6PPD-Q, a tire additive that’s especially lethal to coho and steelhead.

While broader action is needed to address pollution at its source, green infrastructure offers a tangible local solution. Rain gardens can cool runoff and remove up to 90 per cent of harmful chemicals before they reach streams. They also reduce flood risks, create habitat for other species, and bring greenery into urban spaces.

By involving local stewards throughout the process, Peninsula Streams aims to demonstrate how rain gardens can benefit salmon while enriching communities.

 

A new chapter for a 25-year monitoring legacy

 

Since 1999, the Tlell Watershed Society has operated one of B.C.’s longest-running fish fences on the Tlell River, a unique salmon-bearing watershed in Haida Gwaii that remains relatively undisturbed thanks to decades of conservation leadership by Haida stewards and local volunteers.

“Our original intention with the fish fence was to show why the watershed matters for salmon and why it needs protection,” says marine biologist and Tlell Watershed Society Director Leandre Vigneault.

“We now have one of the longest-running contemporary fish fence datasets in northern B.C., especially for wild stocks. Longer data records are more valuable. Two data points don’t tell you much. But 25? That tells you quite a bit more.”

Every year, the Society provides data on wild coho and pink returns to inform stock assessments for DFO and the Council of the Haida Nation, guiding sustainable fisheries management on the North Coast. Now, this streamkeeper group is undertaking a much-needed upgrade. With support from PSF, the current hard-frame fence will be replaced with an adaptable floating panel design. This new system will reduce stream impacts, improve field crew safety, lower maintenance demands, and meet the needs of adjacent landowners.

The upgrade could help extend the monitoring season in low-flow years, allowing the team to capture a more complete picture of salmon returns. With climate change driving greater variability in river flows, water temperatures, and ocean conditions, long-term datasets like this are increasingly valuable to guide conservation.

 

The Community Salmon Program benefits from the generous donations of individuals, corporations and foundations, with thanks to: Alta Gas, Enbridge, Methanex, Mosaic Forest Management, Seaspan, Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee, TransMountain and The Wolrige Foundation. Special thanks to the many individuals who support the program. To learn more about PSF’s grant program and opportunities to support on-the-ground action to save and restore salmon, contact salmon@psf.ca.

 

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Please contact Chloë Fraser, Communications Coordinator, Pacific Salmon Foundation, cfraser@psf.ca, (604) 664-7664 ext. 1014.

 

A full list of recipients for the spring 2025 Community Salmon Program funding cohort includes:

Applicant	Project Title	Funding confirmed $	Project Value $	Project Type
Stream of Dreams Mural Society	Stream of Dreams Larry Stefanyk Tribute Project	23,049	23,049	Education & Awareness, Training
A Rocha Canada	Buck Creek Junior Streamkeepers Summer Camp	6,725	29,525	Education & Awareness, Training
A Rocha Canada	2025 Chinook Assessment in the Upper Bulkley Watershed	5,560	15,860	Stock Assessment
Adams River Salmon Society	Earth Week 2025	2,000	6,950	Education & Awareness, Training
Adams River Salmon Society	Spring / Summer Education & Interpretive Programs	12,250	39,150	Stewardship/Community Planning
Alberni Valley Enhancement Association	Kitsuksis Creek Stream Survey	2,000	4,000	Habitat Assessment
Alberni Valley Enhancement Association	Gently Down the Stream Program	5,000	10,600	Education & Awareness, Training
Alberni Valley Enhancement Association	Transport Trailer	2,500	7,396	Stock Enhancement
Alexander Elementary School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,650	3,510	Education & Awareness, Training
Alouette River Management Society	Renewing Salmon Rearing and Spawning Habitat	6,880	88,403	Habitat Rehabilitation
Alouette River Management Society	Improving Pacific Salmonoid Monitoring with Underwater Video Technology	720	5,440	Habitat Assessment
Baker Creek Enhancement Society	Pink Salmon Patrol and Celebration	5,850	15,850	Education & Awareness, Training
Baker Creek Enhancement Society	Field Equipment	2,500	5,450	Education & Awareness, Training
BC Wildlife Federation	Lower Fraser Collaborative Table	16,000	41,740	Stewardship/Community Planning
Black Creek Watershed Society	Black Creek Restoration and Enhancement Project 2025	48,144	120,430	Habitat Rehabilitation
BlueAct Marine Society	Gibsons Harbour Eelgrass Habitat Clean-up and Restoration	6,000	35,890	Habitat Rehabilitation
BlueAct Marine Society	Eelgrass Meadow / Salmon Habitat Tank Exhibit	1,458	5,002	Education & Awareness, Training
Brooklyn Creek Watershed Society	Coho Spawning and Rearing Habitat Restoration at Birkdale Farm – year 4	37,265	74,975	Habitat Rehabilitation
Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society	Emergency Mossom Creek Hatchery Cyclone Tank Replacement	2,300	7,600	Stock Enhancement
Cedar Coast Field Station Society	Juvenile Salmon Sea Lice Monitoring in Clayoquot Sound	6,890	53,779	Stock Assessment
Coghlan Fundamental Elementary School	Stream of Dreams	4,420	11,034	Education & Awareness, Training
Coho Society of the North Shore	Coho Festival 2025	10,000	195,600	Education & Awareness, Training
Coquitlam School District 43	Salmonids in the Classroom	2,500	5,500	Education & Awareness, Training
Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association	Comox Lake Lagoon Upwelling Spawning Platform and Refuge Channel	36,860	292,960	Habitat Rehabilitation
Cowichan Lake Salmonid Enhancement Society	Swift Water Training	2,115	9,690	Education & Awareness, Training
Discovery Passage Aquarium Society	Tank #3 Exhibit Upgrade	2,500	6,400	Education & Awareness, Training
Environmental School SD42	Stream of Dreams	1,581	4,544	Education & Awareness, Training
Fanny Bay Salmon Enhancement Society	River Never Sleeps 2025	6,000	16,257	Education & Awareness, Training
Frances Kelsey Secondary School	Salmonids in the Classroom	2,500	6,025	Education & Awareness, Training
Frances Kelsey Secondary School	Streamkeeper Kits	1,960	4,080	Education & Awareness, Training
Fraser Basin Council Society	Horsefly Watershed Salmon Habitat Restoration	52,496	116,693	Habitat Rehabilitation
Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition	Vedder River Floodplain-Restoring Salmon Habitat	32,000	72,400	Habitat Rehabilitation
Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC	British Columbia’s Family Fishing Weekend	5,000	156,210	Stewardship/Community Planning
Galiano Conservancy Association	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,800	7,024	Stock Assessment
Georgia Strait Alliance	Enhancing salmon habitat through best practices in the boating industry	2,500	18,197	Education & Awareness, Training
Gillard Pass Fisheries Association	Southgate Chinook Hatchery Program 2025 Brood Year	18,250	120,750	Stock Assessment
Gorge Waterway Action Society	Craigflower Creek Cutthroat Trout and Coho Salmon Habitat Assessment and Rehabilitation	17,744	184,896	Habitat Assessment
Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve Society	Salwein Interpretive Channel Spawning and Rearing Habitat Restoration	18,596	65,575	Habitat Rehabilitation
Haida Fisheries Program	Copper River Coho Camera System on Haida Gwaii	50,000	270,000	Stock Assessment
Halalt First Nation	Tire Wear Toxin Monitoring	7,920	18,216	Habitat Assessment
Ha’oom Fisheries Society	ƛaʔuukʷiʔatḥ Rock Weir Revitalization: monitoring salmon in Haʔukmin	25,000	50,181	Stock Assessment
Harold Bishop Elementary School	Salmonids in the Classroom	464	2,665	Education & Awareness, Training
Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department	Weir Repairs for Video Enumeration of Sockeye and Coho in Heiltsuk Waters	35,000	281,850	Stock Assessment
Holy Cross Elementary School	Gently Down the Seymour	1,000	2,140	Education & Awareness, Training
Horsefly River Roundtable	Horsefly River Roundtable Streamkeepers	3,348	6,968	Habitat Assessment
Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society	Knowing our Fish Creeks on Chá7elkwnech/Gambier Island	1,200	21,300	Education & Awareness, Training
Huu-ay-aht First Nations	Live Staking on the South Sarita River	37,000	172,435	Habitat Rehabilitation
Inman Elementary School	Fieldtrip to Seymour Hatchery	377	1,394	Education & Awareness, Training
Island Waters Fly Fishers	Millstone River Pond Leveller Repair	1,500	3,500	Habitat Rehabilitation
Kanaka Education & Environmental Partnership Society (KEEPS)	Kanaka Creek AFrame replacement	32,000	148,800	Stock Enhancement
Kerrisdale School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,650	3,550	Education & Awareness, Training
Kingfisher Interpretive Centre Society	Conservation Through Education	10,000	159,740	Education & Awareness, Training
Lakelse Watershed Stewards Society	Hatchery Creek Gravels	17,050	64,724	Habitat Rehabilitation
Lakelse Watershed Stewards Society	Lakelse Watershed Water Quality Monitoring	2,500	28,075	Stewardship/Community Planning
Little River Enhancement Society	Little River Mainstem Salmonid Spawning and Rearing Habitat Restoration	17,000	83,794	Habitat Rehabilitation
Loon Foundation	Sunshine Coast Salmon and Habitat Monitoring for Conservation Action	7,972	47,965	Habitat Assessment
Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance	LFFA Holistic Habitat Stewardship Assessment	50,000	210,750	Habitat Assessment
Lyndhurst Elementary	Stream of Dreams	900	2,470	Education & Awareness, Training
Lynnmour Xá7elcha Elementary	Stream of Dreams	3,834	11,344	Education & Awareness, Training
Marine Life Sanctuaries Society of British Columbia	Citizen Science Ecosystem monitoring in Atl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound	7,800	48,392	Education & Awareness, Training
Morrison Creek Streamkeepers	Morrison Creek Weir Removal, Spawning & Rearing Habitat Enhancement Project	25,500	51,045	Habitat Rehabilitation
‘Namgis First Nation	Nimpkish Watershed Salmon Stock Assessment	40,480	153,010	Stock Assessment
Nanaimo & Area Land Trust	Joseph Creek Riparian Restoration Project	2,500	5,080	Habitat Rehabilitation
North Shore Streamkeepers	Mosquito Creek Phase 3	40,000	342,251	Habitat Rehabilitation
Ocean Cliff Elementary	Stream of Dreams	5,860	32,195	Education & Awareness, Training
Okanagan Nation Alliance	Fish in Schools (FinS)	2,500	100,000	Education & Awareness, Training
Okanagan Nation Alliance	Fish in Schools (FinS) – Eastern Territory	2,500	9,340	Stewardship/Community Planning
Peninsula Streams Society	Rain Gardens for Headwaters	22,500	102,500	Education & Awareness, Training
Peninsula Streams Society	Colquitz River Watershed Restoration and Monitoring	24,000	242,000	Habitat Rehabilitation
Peninsula Streams Society	ḰEL¸SET (Reay) Creek Habitat Restoration	8,000	34,500	Habitat Rehabilitation
Peninsula Streams Society	Tetayut Creek Habitat Restoration	10,000	37,300	Habitat Rehabilitation
Peninsula Streams Society	Millstream Watershed Stewardship and Restoration	5,200	21,500	Habitat Assessment
Peninsula Streams Society	Portage Inlet Tidal Marsh Restoration	14,050	89,550	Stewardship/Community Planning
Port Moody Ecological Society	Streamkeepers Course	750	1,500	Habitat Assessment
Powell River Salmon Society	Education and Outreach Program	9,800	81,200	Education & Awareness, Training
Powell River Salmon Society	PRSS Volunteer Marking Project	2,500	129,000	Stock Assessment
Quamichan School	Salmonids in the Classroom	500	1,027	Education & Awareness, Training
Raincoast Conservation Foundation	Coldwater River Thermal Refuge Monitoring	9,255	233,755	Habitat Assessment
Redd Fish Restoration Society	hiłsyaqƛis (Tranquil River) Restoration Project	64,000	488,200	Habitat Rehabilitation
Redd Fish Restoration Society	Tla-o-qui-aht Nation Kelp Restoration	40,000	120,590	Habitat Rehabilitation
Rivershed Society of British Columbia	Foodlands Corridor Restoration Program: Nechako-Stoney Creek	31,760	94,700	Habitat Rehabilitation
Royal Oak Middle School	Salmonids in the Classroom	1,690	3,640	Education & Awareness, Training
S.A.Y. Lands	Little Chilliwack Creek Restoration	2,500	6,084	Habitat Rehabilitation
Salmon Coast Society	Replacement Canvas Cover for Boat	2,500	5,960	Education & Awareness, Training
Seabird Island Band	Adaptive Management of Fishtrap Channel to Provide Increased Spawning and Migration Habitat for Endangered Chinook Salmon	112,384	227,584	Habitat Rehabilitation
Semiahmoo Fish and Game Club	Fish Fence Replacement	2,300	4,850	Stock Assessment
Seymour Salmonid Society	Seymour Hatchery Adult Storage Tank Installation	31,600	87,600	Stock Enhancement
Shawnigan Lake School	Shawnigan Creek Coho Juvenile PIT Tagging and Tracking	9,834	21,834	Stewardship/Community Planning
Silver Creek Holdings Ltd	Collum Creek Channel Rehabilitation	3,500	8,280	Habitat Rehabilitation
Simpcw First Nation	SEP Community Workshop 2025	20,000	102,383	Stewardship/Community Planning
Simpcw Resources LLP	Dixon Creek Culvert Remediation	95,000	702,228	Habitat Rehabilitation
Skeena Fisheries Commission	Skeena and North Coast Freshwater Monitoring Program Support	11,600	160,000	Habitat Assessment
SkeenaWild Conservation Trust	Spring Creek Restoration Initiative	10,000	41,500	Education & Awareness, Training
Somenos Marsh Wildlife  Society	Somenos Lake and Creek Habitat Assessment Following Fish Mortality Events	9,325	40,046	Habitat Assessment
South End Eco Development	Cat Stream Salmon Enhancement	7,500	25,375	Habitat Rehabilitation
Sport Fishing Institute of BC	Fishing BC App	124,000	5,000,000	Education & Awareness, Training
Spruce City Wildlife Association	SCWA Brood Holding Expansion	13,585	56,035	Stock Enhancement
Spruce City Wildlife Association	UFSSE Technical Equipment	2,462	21,462	Stock Assessment
Squamish River Watershed Society	Elaho River E-DNA Monitoring	10,000	29,830	Habitat Assessment
Squamish River Watershed Society	Squamish Estuary Fish-Passage Culvert Upgrade (C2)	26,500	1,045,353	Habitat Rehabilitation
Squamish Streamkeepers Society	Gear and Education	2,310	7,740	Education & Awareness, Training
Stqeeye’ Learning Society	Xwaaqw’um Stream Revitalization on Lee Creek	5,000	62,000	Habitat Rehabilitation
Stream of Dreams Murals Society	Stream of Dreams	18,290	36,612	Education & Awareness, Training
Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers Society	xwesam Stelk’aya (Roberts Creek) Salmon Habitat Assessment	8,876	17,752	Habitat Assessment
Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary	Friends of Freshwater: Integrated Urban Lake Monitoring	2,500	8,483	Habitat Assessment
Tlell Watershed Society	Tlell River Fish Counting Fence upgrade	47,500	145,202	Stock Assessment
Ucluelet Aquarium	Expanding Marine Conservation & Education at the Ucluelet Aquarium	8,150	24,700	Education & Awareness, Training
Walley Creek Streamkeepers	Walley Creek Frank J. Ney Elementary Restoration Project Phase 1	2,400	6,580	Habitat Rehabilitation
Watson Elementary	Stream of Dreams	6,532	19,517	Education & Awareness, Training
Watson Elementary	Watson Library Salmon Starter	250	500	Education & Awareness, Training
Wei Wai Kum First Nation	Fish Habitat Assessment of Heydon Lake & Heydon Creek Tributaries	50,000	486,351	Habitat Assessment
Westridge Elementary	Salmonids in the Classroom	683	2,583	Education & Awareness, Training
Wildcoast Ecological Society	Freshwater Surveys	2,250	7,080	Habitat Assessment
Williams Lake Field Naturalists/Scout Island Nature Centre	New Life for Intertidal Tank	1,900	5,200	Education & Awareness, Training
Woss Community Hatchery	Transport Trailer for Woss Community Hatchery	8,000	18,540	Stock Enhancement
Wuikinuxv Nation	Wuikinuxv Community Vessel: Revitalizing Traditional Stewardship for Salmon Restoration	15,658	82,226	Stewardship/Community Planning
Xwemalhkwu First Nation (Homalco)	Bute Inlet Salmon Viability Strategy Valve Replacement	7,156	14,653	Stock Enhancement
Yucwmenlucwu (Caretakers of the Land) LLP	Empowering Splatsin-Informed Restoration Through Capacity Development	15,600	416,866	Education & Awareness, Training
Yucwmenlucwu (Caretakers of the Land) LLP.	Visual Surveys for Endangered Bessette Creek Chinook	14,680	61,350	Stock Assessment
TOTAL		1,802,748	14,912,909