Click through these photos to see the stream banks transform 👇 📸 Last year saw one of the highest Chinook returns in a decade for the Sq'éwqel "Seabird Island Band" near Agassiz. That moment was partly made possible by years of restoration work at Maria Slough, where highways, railways, and culverts have disrupted flows and damaged habitat. Today, the Chinook that rely on this area are endangered. To offer salmon a lifeline, Seabird Island Band has created and maintained spawning channels nearby. In partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), they’re now restoring these channels to keep water cooler, oxygen-rich, and flowing longer through drought. “This project will allow a safe place for salmon to spawn – and hopefully, an opportunity for our grandchildren to harvest,” says Councillor Sally Hope. PSF’s Community Salmon Program was able to support this project with a $112,400 grant thanks to Salmon Conservation Stamp funds and generous donations. Learn more about Sq’éwqel-led efforts to restore Chinook in the Fraser Valley - link in the comments! (fb)

“This project will make a huge difference in our Chinook recovery efforts and continue to support kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ (cause to come back).” For decades, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) has been leading efforts to restore the Okanagan River, which was channelized in the 1950s. They recently reshaped the floodplain area near akspaqmix (Vaseux Lake), critical habitat for ntytyix (Chief Salmon). “The scale and extent of development within the Okanagan River valley since European colonization continues to impede restoration. What makes this project special is that [in this location] floodplain reconnection doesn’t require the removal of [major infrastructure],” says Kasey Moran, Ecosystems Project Manager at the ONA. To provide more than 10,000 square metres of off-channel rearing habitat for juvenile salmon, the ONA is creating a new pond and adjoining floodplain reconnected to the river through a culvert. PSF supported ONA’s Vaseux floodplain restoration efforts with a $45,000 grant from the Community Salmon Program in 2024. 📅 June is National Indigenous History Month, and June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples’ Day. PSF is proud to support Indigenous-led efforts to save and restore salmon. (fb)