Recapping our environmental flow needs project in the Coldwater River
Salmon need water, but in the Nicola Valley water isn’t always easy to come by. Climate change is hitting the Nicola watershed hard.
Last summer our Wild Salmon team co-led a project in the Coldwater River, situated in Nlaka’pamux and Syilx territory, to determine optimum flow requirements for salmon. The project marked the first collaboration between Raincoast, Scw’exmx Tribal Council (STC), and Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly (CNA).
Together, our team measured the relationship between stream flow and salmon habitat throughout the dry season to determine how salmon habitat changes at lower flow regimes and inform decision-making around water conservation, land use planning, and climate adaptation.
In addition to our report expected to be published this spring, we plan on sharing our findings at a collaborative workshop in the Nicola Valley, bringing together watershed decision-makers, community members, agricultural water users, First Nations, and various levels of government. The relationships we built last year with STC and CNA will form the foundation for more applied, collaborative research in the future.
