Meghan Rooney measuring fish

Meghan Rooney

A couple weeks ago, I was out at a site along the Fraser River collecting data in a waterway blocked by flood control structures. The blocked waterway, once a vital habitat for juvenile Chinook and chum salmon, is now warm and stagnant, harbouring goldfish and other introduced species.

All along the lower Fraser, flood control structures, installed without consideration for salmon, block over 1500 km of former habitat. These structures are now old and many need replacing. Many have been in place for decades and are putting our communities at risk.

As we replace them, we have a unique opportunity. By choosing salmon-friendly flood control solutions that consider fish passage, we can support wild salmon populations while we protect communities and create jobs. Talk about a WIN WIN WIN!

So what is the hold up? 

Most of these flood structures are owned by municipalities, all fighting for a piece of federal and provincial funding needed to update their flood control infrastructure. We need the province and the federal government to step up and not only provide the funding to replace this infrastructure but also require municipalities to transition to salmon-friendly flood infrastructure that supports wild salmon as well as communities.

Will you help your municipality become more salmon-friendly by asking our federal and provincial leaders to make salmon-friendly flood control a requirement for funding?

We’ve set up a letter writing tool and provided a draft text that you can personalize to make it easier for you.

This is a pivotal movement to address one of the many issues facing Fraser River salmon and we need to act now. Let’s invest in infrastructure that supports our wild salmon, not goldfish. Please send your letter today.