Category: Stream Restoration

Kicking Off 2025 with Hands on Restoration and Training in the South Okanagan

The South Okanagan is one of the driest regions in British Columbia, yet it’s full of life. Alongside vibrant vineyards, sparkling lakes, and rolling grasslands, the region is home to an incredible diversity of fish and wildlife that flourish where water flows. From the smallest stream to the quietest wetland to the broadest lake, these…
Understanding Beaver Dam Analogues — Q&A with Jennifer Rogers

Restoring streams, floodplains, and wetlands doesn’t always require heavy machinery. Sometimes, simple, nature-based solutions are the most effective. That’s the idea behind low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR)—an approach that uses natural materials and processes to support ecosystem recovery. Two widely used techniques involve building simple, hand-crafted structures inspired by nature: Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) and Post-Assisted…
Bringing Back the Chum — Mosquito Creek Restoration

Mosquito Creek in North Vancouver was once a thriving salmon-bearing stream, but decades of urbanization, channelization, and flood control measures dramatically changed its course—both literally and ecologically. Since the 1960s, human impacts have degraded the creek’s natural habitat, making the return of salmon a rare sight. Recognizing the urgent need for restoration, the North Shore…
Building Like Beavers — BCWF’s 10,000 Wetlands Project Update

BCWF’s 10,000 Wetlands Project Aims to Restore British Columbia’s Watersheds After centuries of beaver exploitation and loss of productive beaver habitat, the B.C. Wildlife Federation is transforming ecosystem restoration in British Columbia through its innovative 10,000 Wetlands project. This initiative leverages low-tech process-based restoration (LTPBR) techniques, inspired by beavers’ tenacious dam-building tendencies, to address pressing…
Revitalizing Juliet Creek — Enhancing Fish Habitat and Stream Connectivity

The restoration of the Juliet Creek Side Channel included restoring access to the Coldwater River for fish passage following the flooding of the Coldwater River and restoring and enhancing rearing and refuge habitat, especially coho salmon. The B.C. Wildlife Federation, the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Scw’exmx Tribal Council, and Rock Solid…
Bonaparte channel restoration is a win for coho and the people who love them

The Bonaparte River coho channel is a unique and potentially productive coho salmon rearing habitat again, thanks to the efforts of the Bonaparte First Nation and the B.C. Wildlife Federation (BCWF). The original 500-metre channel has been restored, renewed and doubled in length, according to Bonaparte CEO Sean Bennett. “The fencing was basically rotten, the…
Planting Seeds for Long-term Change

What comes to mind when you think of salmonberries? Do you think about how their flowers nurture pollinators, and their berries feed creatures of every size? Perhaps you pondered how fallen fruit attracts insects to nestle into the soil and among the fallen leaves. Indeed, salmonberry is a potent force for diversity and abundance. A…