Government of Canada and Ditidaht First Nation restore three sockeye salmon streams in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve

NITINAHT REGION, BC, Dec. 16, 2020 /CNW/ - The pandemic reminded Canadians of the benefits nature has on our health and well-being, and the importance of protecting the forests, lakes and wildlife that we cherish.

Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, and Elected Chief Brian Tate of Ditidaht First Nation, announced the successful restoration of three important sockeye salmon streams in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.

During the summer 2020, workers from the Ditidaht community joined Parks Canada and contractors to remove more than 3,000 cubic metres of debris from three salmon streams in the Cheewaht Lake watershed within Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. The project was funded by a $1.1 million federal investment through Parks Canada's Conservation and Restoration Program.

Approximately 30 years ago, Ditidaht First Nation began noticing the decline of an important food source that had been harvested for generations from the Cheewaht River. While sockeye spawning and rearing habitat weaves through old growth forest, past upslope logging practices outside of the national park reserve were causing stream banks to erode and habitat to fill in with sediment.

Ditidaht First Nation has been dedicated to bringing attention to this landscape management and food security issue, collaborating with private, public, and non-profit sectors, on solutions. From the work achieved over the summer months, this fall, Parks Canada and Ditidaht First Nation were heartened by the discovery of adult sockeye spawning in restored streams – with as many as 1,300 spotted in one day. These sockeye salmon are completing their life cycle in the Cheewaht Lake Watershed, leaving behind eggs that now have a much improved likelihood of survival.

Parks Canada collaborates with Indigenous communities and organizations in various conservation activities, including species recovery and habitat restoration across the country.

Quotes

"Wild Pacific salmon are vital to the culture and livelihoods of many on the West Coast, particularly Indigenous peoples. This important partnership between Parks Canada and Ditidaht First Nation supports on-the-ground conservation work that will help local sockeye salmon populations recover, and in turn, support the health of the Ditidaht community and surrounding ecosystem for generations to come."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,
Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

"The Cheewaht Lake Watershed was a vital Sockeye salmon food source for the Ditidaht people, as there was an abundance in this system. Logging practices very nearly wiped out the Sockeye in the Cheewaht tributaries and river systems with fewer and fewer spawning beds for Sockeye to spawn in. The Cheewaht Lake Watershed has been a very important system to the Ditidaht people, as they gathered their salmon needs – more importantly Sockeye – as this was a favorite salmon. Families owned rights to certain spots on the Cheewaht River and built fish weirs to harvest their Sockeye needs. Young men would camp out on the Cheewaht River during the Sockeye run and harvest for families at Wyah, Clo-oose, and Cheewaht villages. These salmon harvest practices built family bonding and unity through helping and sharing with each other."

Brian Tate, 
Elected Chief, Ditidaht First Nation  

Quick Facts

• The total length of stream habitat restored this summer through debris removal and stream bank reconstruction is 1 km. Due to the removal of a large debris jam during restoration, salmon are now able to access an additional 100 m of habitat inaccessible for over two decades.
• The sediment removed from the streams and placement of large woody debris has increased the quantity and quality of spawning and rearing habitat and increased stream bank stability in selected areas.
• Sockeye salmon have a four-year life cycle. In 2024, Parks Canada and Ditidaht First Nation will be eagerly awaiting the return of the sockeye whose lives began in these restored streams.
• Parks Canada is among the few national parks systems in the world that have a system-wide ecological integrity monitoring and reporting program, consisting of more than 700 scientific measures that inform park-specific priorities and guide restoration action.
• The Government of Canada invests $15 million annually in Parks Canada's Conservation and Restoration (CoRe) program to support high priority projects that make a difference on the ground in maintaining or restoring ecological integrity. This work is often done in partnership with Indigenous communities.

Related Documents

Backgrounder: Ditidaht First Nation and Parks Canada -Restoration of Cheewaht Lake salmon streams

Related Links

• Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
• Ditidaht First Nation
• Parks Canada's Conservation and Restoration Program
• Parks Canada
• Parks Canada mobile application

SOURCE Parks Canada