Photo: Contributed

A Shuswap watershed project is among 13 in B.C. to share $10.9 million in federal funding to protect and rebuild populations of aquatic species at risk.

The Shuswap Indian Band will receive up to $1.7 million over four years to protect and restore habitat for provincially and federally listed aquatic species at risk in the Upper Columbia watershed, build capacity, and conduct outreach, training and education.

The projects, focused on either marine mammals, salmonids, or invasive species, were selected as part of an ecosystem-based strategy that targets priority threats to both the animal and its habitat, as well as considers other species in the area. Funding recipients include environmental NGOs, First Nations groups and the provincial government.

“Because when nature thrives, our communities thrive,” said Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Bernadette Jordan. “By making targeted investments through [this fund], we are able to collaborate with Indigenous peoples and environmental organizations on projects that have the greatest potential to make a lasting impact on our natural environments.”

Several of the selected projects in B.C. already underway address to two marine priorities of fishing interactions, including entanglement and bycatch of species at risk, and physical and acoustic disturbance, which includes vessel collisions and marine noise.

DFO also identified seven freshwater priority areas in the country, including in B.C. the Fraser and Columbia Watersheds.

Other projects in the Fraser and Columbia watersheds include:

• The Fraser Valley Watershed Coalition will receive up to $452,180 over four years to address threats to aquatic species at risk and their associated habitats through conservation, watershed planning and restoration activities within the municipal boundaries of Chilliwack.
• The Canadian Wildlife Federation will receive up to $1,165,900 over four years to increase access to upstream spawning and rearing habitat for targeted fish species at risk by remediating multiple barriers in the Fraser and Columbia watersheds.
• The Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance will receive up to $476,000 over four years to improve fish habitat through a series of targeted restoration projects on three systems in the Nechako River watershed that have been subject to a variety of habitat-related threats.
• The Invasive Species Council of BC will receive up to $525,000 over four years to engage the public, industry and communities to adopt practices that prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and protect species at risk and their key habitats in the Fraser and Columbia River systems.