Canada Launches Salmon Stronghold Pilot ProgramNews & Program Updates

Wild Salmon Center partner Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council to apply the "salmon stronghold" approach to the Harrison River

June 24, 2009 -- The Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council (PFRCC) announced in a press conference in Vancouver, BC that it will launch the first "salmon stronghold" pilot program in Canada.

The salmon stronghold strategy complements conventional salmon recovery activities by supporting proactive, collaborative conservation projects, and focusing resources on the most abundant and productive wild salmon river ecosystems that still remain--salmon strongholds.

In attendance at the press conference were representatives from PFRCC, Wild Salmon Center, and the Chehalis First Nation. The Wild Salmon Center will partner with PFRCC to implement this new conservation strategy through the exchange of technical information, expertise and other resources.

"Historically, salmon conservation has been driven by crisis management after watersheds are degraded and salmon populations are depleted," said Guido Rahr, President & Chief Executive of the Wild Salmon Center. "We now know this approach must be complemented with a pro-active, preventative strategy to conserve healthy wild salmon ecosystems. Any long-term conservation strategy must include efforts that keep strongholds intact, and prevent them from declining."

"We applaud the leadership of the PFRCC for their energetic efforts to accelerate the protection of Canada's most productive wild salmon rivers and for sharing their successes with the salmon bearing nations of the Pacific Rim."

The Wild Salmon Center currently coordinates the North American Salmon Stronghold Partnership (Stronghold Partnership), a public-private partnership that provides resources and expertise to facilitate high-value conservation action at the basin level. The Stronghold Partnership is coordinating multiple agencies and land managers to accelerate conservation actions across federal, state, tribal and private lands and is working to leverage public and private funding.

PFRCC intends to follow a similar approach by implementing proactive conservation projects which involve voluntary and locally-based initiatives, along with government agency participation. An important part of their strategy for protecting salmon strongholds is purchasing land or arranging conservation easements at the basin level and designing conservation plans for the long-term management of salmon strongholds.

"We believe that implementing the Salmon Stronghold concept in Canada would have significant benefits to the long-term viability of wild salmon and steelhead populations," said Mark Angelo, Chair of the PFRCC.

The six-month pilot project will begin this summer in the Harrison River watershed in British Columbia, with the PFRCC providing leadership and resources. The Harrison River and tributaries are one of Canada's watersheds that supports all six species of salmon, including sockeye, pink, Chinook, chum, Coho and steelhead. The Harrison also represents one of many rivers in British Columbia that currently supports strong wild salmon populations that number in the millions. The health of these rivers and their watersheds however, is under increasing threat from encroaching major industrial, agricultural and urban development and pressures. The PFRCC will also work closely with partners, such as the Rivers Institute at British Columbia Institute of Technology, the Chehalis First Nation and the Nature Trust.

"The Salmon Stronghold project and its recognition of the 'need to protect the best first', is an innovative concept that we fully support," said Kelsey Charlie, Councilor with the Chehalis First Nation. "(The Salmon Stronghold pilot project) gives us hope that the Harrison will remain strong, avoiding the pitfalls of incremental damage from poorly planned development and ensure that the Harrison will receive the attention it deserves."