Habitat restoration occurring in the Woods Island Marsh in the Fraser River Estuary
We are restoring marsh habitats to improve conditions for juvenile salmon and other wildlife.
Raincoast Conservation Foundation is working with Ducks Unlimited, the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, and Asarum Ecological Consulting to conduct research and restoration on failed habitat compensation sites in the Fraser River Estuary.
The Lower Fraser River is a highly modified ecosystem that faces intensive levels of development pressures which has resulted in the loss of historical salmon habitat. This lack of productive habitat makes the downriver migration of juvenile salmon more challenging, and requires them to continue searching for suitable rearing and feeding areas as they migrate to the Salish Sea. Our goal is to restore habitats along the Lower Fraser River and estuary to create a connected network of high-quality habitat for juvenile salmon to increase their likelihood of survival during this critical life stage.
Habitat degradation and opportunity for restoration
The Woods Island Marsh is located in the North Arm of the Lower Fraser River and is part of the Sea Island Conservation Area, which is managed by Environment and Climate Change Canada. It is a habitat compensation marsh created to offset the impacts from the construction and operation of a barge-offloading facility associated with the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
This project site was planted with native Lyngbye’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei), however they have become completely dominated by hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca), which has reduced the site productivity for juvenile salmon. Design features that were intended to protect the sedge marsh, in the form of a wooden debris screen, appear to have facilitated the hybrid cattail invasion, as it resulted in poor site drainage, elevated nutrients, and higher sediment deposition rates. Further, the debris barrier was constructed of treated lumber and is showing a high level of degradation.
Did you know?
Currently, the large rock that was originally placed in the outlet channel to allow fish access into the marsh has been moved by park users to create a makeshift bridge, which has significantly reduced tidal water flow within the marsh.
Our goal is to improve the function of these marshes by restoring desired native vegetation and improving habitat quality and access for juvenile salmon. This will be done through repeated cutting of hybrid cattail, restoring the outlet channel, and improving the conditions that support native sedges. During our restoration work, the wooden screen will be removed and replaced with larger flat stones to block wood debris without impeding the flow of water and the movement of fish.
A second channel will also be constructed at the west side of the marsh to further improve fish access and marsh inundation. The channel under the wooden bridge which connects the marsh to the east will be deepened, and public access along the wood bridge to the east part of the beach will continue as before.
Thank you to our partners

Funding is provided by The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund. Thank you to Ducks Unlimited Canada, Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance, and Asarum Ecological Consulting, with support from the City of Richmond.
You can help
Raincoast’s in-house scientists, collaborating graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors make us unique among conservation groups. We work with First Nations, academic institutions, government, and other NGOs to build support and inform decisions that protect aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, and the wildlife that depend on them. We conduct ethically applied, process-oriented, and hypothesis-driven research that has immediate and relevant utility for conservation deliberations and the collective body of scientific knowledge.
We investigate to understand coastal species and processes. We inform by bringing science to decision-makers and communities. We inspire action to protect wildlife and wildlife habitats.
