More salmon habitat restoration efforts and expanded educational opportunities are coming to Greater Victoria through new funding ahead of Wild Salmon Day on June 1.
The Pacific Salmon Foundation has provided Greater Victoria with $152,000 for several community-led salmon stewardship projects.
One of the projects benefiting from the funding is the Peninsula Streams Society’s ongoing salmon habitat restoration of the Colquitz River.
The funds will also help the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary expand its salmon display at the Nature House and grow the site’s educational programs. The latter will bring together community members of all ages to learn about the salmon anatomy, diet, life cycles and more.
Grants provided through the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s funding will also engage local students with salmon through art and hands-on experiences.
The foundation has been dolling out money through its Community Salmon Program for over three decades as that initiative aims to empower volunteers, stream keepers, Indigenous communities and schools to help conserve and recover Pacific salmon and their habitats.
More than 100 conservation projects applied for the Community Salmon Program this year, marking the highest number of funding request ever received in the initiative’s history.
“We are humbled by the dedication of the many grassroots stewardship organizations and volunteers who envision and mobilize these projects, and we are particularly humbled by the projects advanced by Indigenous communities, given their deep history and commitment to salmon,” Pacific Salmon Foundation CEO Michael Meneer said in a news release.
The program’s primary funding source comes from the proceeds of a conservation stamp anglers must buy with their saltwater fishing licence. The province and donors also provide support, but Meneer noted that due to the high demand from local stewardship projects, the foundation saw a funding gap of about $500,000 this year.
He urged the public to support the program as the CEO said salmon need help now more than ever.
B.C. established Wild Salmon Day in 2019 and eight cities, including Victoria, have recognized the June 1 distinction through proclamations this year.
Nathan Cullen, B.C.’s minister responsible for water, mines and resource stewardship, called the Community Salmon Program an exciting model of grassroots action for bringing back wild salmon to streams across the province.
“B.C. is proud to support Indigenous communities and stream keepers in their growing efforts to restore salmon populations and conserve vital habitats through this program,” he said in a release.
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