Welcome!
Try our SPECIES ID field guides for:
Freshwater Fish
Amphibians
Aquatic invertebrates
of the Fraser Valley
Watch our calendar listing below for project days and workshops, and our Facebook feed for invitations to work with us and to see what we’ve been up to! Email us for more information.
Calendar
- March 18, 2019
R Coquitlam Amphibians
March 18, 2019
- March 19, 2019
R Chester/Silverdale Amphibians
March 19, 2019
- April 1, 2019
1 Sts'ailes Fish
April 1, 2019R Sts'ailes amphibians
April 1, 2019
- April 2, 2019
2 Sts'ailes Fish
April 2, 2019 - April 3, 2019
- April 3, 2019
2 Sts'ailes Fish
April 2, 2019 - April 3, 2019
- April 4, 2019
R Browne Creek amphibians
April 4, 20192 Browne Creek Fish
April 4, 2019
Facebook Feed
A good article on the provincial governments misguided wild salmon secretariat report. Hatcheries and ocean ranching seem attractive, but the evidence that they actually cause harm to wild fish is pretty compelling. If we want wild fish, habitat protection and restoration is where we should focus. The narrative that only ocean conditions matter is also false. Most mortality is in the streams, a small increase in survival rates in there, has a huge effect on population viability.
Island Voices: Wild Salmon Secretariat needs a rethink
timescolonist.com
Last year, Raincoast Conservation Foundation participated in a meeting that B.C. Green MLA Adam Olsen hosted proposing the concept of a provincial Wild Salmon Secretariat. W...An amazing find in Katzie Territory!
We have been working with Katzie to incorporate wapato beds into one of their habitat restoration site in the Alouette River floodplain.
Can't wait to see what comes up next summer!
Ancient Underwater Potato Garden found in Canada
histecho.com
Dating back to 3800 years before the present, the garden was once under water, in an ecologically rich wetland. And it shows sign of sophisticated engineering techniques used to con...Decent article on the shabby system we call Professional Reliance in this province.
Professional biologists, foresters and other natural resource professionals do impact assessments to uphold the public interest.
That is the purpose.
They are hired and paid, however, by the corporations that are proposing to develop, mine, log, or farm fish that affect public resources
and unceded Indigenous lands and waters.
Natural resource professionals generally start their careers full of good intentions and idealism, but many soon find themselves conflicted and disillusioned in the consulting world.
The proposed BC legislation needs to address this fundamental problem.
Industry-hired experts downplay impacts of major projects: UBC study | The Narwhal
thenarwhal.ca
A review of 10 recent environmental impact assessments in B.C. found professionals hired by companies generally find ways to diminish the significance of health and environmental impactsThe professional reliance team isn't being played as intended. Who's to say professionals hired by the province or other groups won't be biased against a project (i.e. in favour of the people signing the cheques)? How does hiring more professionals solve the problem caused by hiring (potentially biased) professionals? In my view, it is the job of the QEP to assess and describe impacts and potential avoidance/mitigation measures; and the job of the regulator to confirm the science is appropriate and the mitigation/avoidance measures effective. The regulator then has to have an enforcement method to ensure the measures are appropriately implemented. It is the regulator's job to approve or deny a project based on information provided. There is nothing stopping them from asking for all data required and/or to require additional mitigation/avoidance to make their decision. In essence, the regulator is the peer-review. If the regulator can't do at least these things, why are they even there? I don't work on large projects, but know that for smaller projects the province has no effective follow-up process (e.g. securities held against mitigation/rehabilitation) to ensure all actions are taken as required. Enforcement is also all but non-existent. No surprise that measures aren't implemented as intended.
I have stories lol
More photos from recent work in Emory Creek, Yale
My new favourite place...
Fish habitat surveys with Yale First Nation and Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance.
It's sure nice in there!
