Funded Projects

Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFFCA), in collaboration with First Nation partners developed and manage a network of 28 flow gauging and water quality stations in small streams and lakes in the Upper Fraser to address the significant information gap that put Fisheries Managers, Natural Resource, and First Nations knowledge holders in the difficult position of trying to make salmon, aquatic habitat and landscape management decisions without the watershed data required. The impacts of climate change and landscape alterations are most immediate and severe on small streams. These streams also provide the critical spawning, incubating and rearing habitat for salmon.

The first stations built in the fall of 2015 and the program has expanded into the current 28 stations. The UFFCA also supports other Indigenous groups that are collecting this data directly by providing training and data management. The majority of these stations are part of the Upper Fraser Chinook Salmon and Sockeye Salmon Stock Recovery planning that the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance facilitates with its member Nations and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The data is collected by a crew of Indigenous technicians led by two Indigenous women, the Aunties of the Streams, who live in the territory and provide mentorship for young people. The data collected, including the real time water temperature and streamflow data is shared directly with Fisheries Managers and Natural Resource Managers at 11 Nations via an online portal with dashboards set up for each stream. The dashboards show both current conditions and long-term trends. This data is also shared with government and academic partners for project-specific purposes and trends are discussed with all of the Upper Fraser First Nations during regular UFFCA technical meetings. The data from these stations is used in numerous watershed management and salmon recovery planning processes.