Rapid Climate Emergency Response

Rapid Climate
Emergency Response

Funding opportunities that enable
rapid action to support salmon migration
and survival during extreme climate emergencies

Contact us about applying for an emergency climate response grant.

Climate Emergency Fund

Extreme climate events, including droughts, floods, and fires, are on the rise in British Columbia. These events can pose life-threatening challenges to Pacific salmon, compromising their survival and migration.

PSF launched its Climate Emergency Fund in 2023 to help salmon adapt to climate emergencies and natural hazards, such as landslides. A broader ‘Salmon Emergency Action Support’ working group comprised of the First Nations Fisheries Council of B.C., Province of B.C., Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and PSF, helps identify emergency issues to fund urgent efforts to help salmon overcome climate-related migration barriers and other initiatives to repair damaged habitats. The working group provides technical expertise, regulatory assistance, in-kind, and funding support to project proponents.

Since the Climate Emergency Fund was launched, PSF has approved $783,000 in funding.

Grants from PSF’s Climate Emergency have helped deploy excavators to restore river flows disconnected by drought, facilitate post-wildfire restoration for long-term habitat benefits, and enable real-time monitoring of stream temperature and oxygen levels to inform management actions.

If you work with salmon and have an urgent need for funding due to a climate emergency, please contact emergencyresponse@psf.ca.

Climate Emergency Funding

31 Projects

$783,000 Granted

41 Partners

Climate Response in Action

PSF gratefully acknowledges the British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund — a joint initiative of the Government of Canada and the Province of B.C. — for their generous support of many of these projects. Additional support for PSF’s Climate Emergency Fund comes from both the Province of B.C. and the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society. The First Nations Fisheries Council of B.C. also provides emergency grants.

BeforeAfter

Drought response at xʔəl̓ilwətaʔɬ

When a 100-metre-plus stretch of xʔəl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Indian River) dried up in 2023 and hundreds of thousands of returning pink salmon got stuck on their migration route, səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) planned to dig a trench to restore the river’s flow. With funding from PSF’s rapid drought response team, the crews used an excavator to get water flowing and help salmon swim past the barrier. More than 18,000 stranded pink salmon adults successfully migrated upstream as a result of the restoration effort. Learn more.

Thermal refugia on the Tsolum River

In response to extreme drought in the Comox Valley, the Tsolum River Restoration Society, with support from K’omok’s First Nation and DFO, installed solar- and generator-powered aerators in the Tsolum River in 2023 to maximize salmon survival by restoring depleted dissolved oxygen levels. They also rescued 42 juvenile coho that were subject to dangerously warm water temperatures by transporting them to a cooler pool.

Salmon Creek Flood Response

Near Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island, an atmospheric river in 2024 and subsequent heavy rainfall blocked a culvert on Salmon Creek, causing flooding on the adjacent forest service road and blocking salmon passage to their spawning grounds amidst the chum run. With funding from PSF, Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ Government (Ucluelet First Nation) and DFO used an excavator to clear the blockage, successfully de-flooding the road and restoring water flow and fish passage. As a result, no salmon were reported stranded. Learn more.