Climate change

We use a comprehensive approach to inform actions that benefit salmon ecosystems in a changing climate.

Photo by Fernando Tessa.

Climate change is causing severe hydrological shifts in salmon streams through long-term reductions in snowpack, earlier spring melts, increased frequency of heat waves, atmospheric rivers and flood events, and increased drought frequency. These impacts create conditions unsuitable for wild salmon to recover and thrive.

Juvenile salmon in a fish viewfinder. — Photo by Alex Harris / Raincoast Conservation Foundation.

School of coho in a river. — Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Unsustainable land use is compounding the impacts of climate change

Unsustainable land use occurring throughout the province is making these conditions even worse. Clear-cut logging, mining, and water withdrawal for industry and agriculture alter salmon habitat, reduce streamflow, and increase water temperatures. Stream-type Chinook and coho salmon that spend a year in freshwater before migrating to the ocean are particularly vulnerable to degraded freshwater habitat caused by logged forests, fires, droughts, and floods.

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Forestry degrades salmon habitat

Logging can alter the delivery and storage of water, nutrients, wood, and sediment in streams. This results in changes to the habitat, growth, and survival of juvenile salmon. Clear-cut logging can increase turbidity in salmon-bearing streams affecting survival of eggs and fry, while the conversion of old growth forest into plantation monocultures can lower summer stream flow and increase temperatures. The legacies of antiquated forest management that prioritizes harvestable timber above all other values confounds the effects of climate change on freshwater habitat quality and quantity for salmon.

A rivers running through the forest right next to a large clearcut area.

Four small salmon swimming near the bottom of the water. — Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Wildfires impact salmon

Recent wildfires in BC have brought climate-change related effects into focus: wildfires are getting larger, more intense, and more frequent. The suppression of wildfires can increase fuel load and the corresponding severity of wildfires, particularly in the drier and hotter regions of the province.

The loss of vegetation and alteration of soil properties from hot wildfires can dramatically change the way rainfall permeates soil, and can cause increased runoff, sedimentation, and landslides that can smother incubating salmon eggs. Additionally, fire retardants used to suppress fires contain compounds that are toxic to aquatic life and can increase fish mortality, particularly for young Chinook salmon.

Floods impacting salmon

The forest management paradigm of British Columbia has increased the magnitude of and frequency of the biggest floods. In snow-dominant watersheds, such as those of the BC interior, reduced forest cover from logging leads to faster snowmelt and larger floods. Increased flood risk can degrade water quality through increased sedimentation and contaminants, and can kill incubating salmon eggs from riverbed scouring.

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Underwater image of salmon swimming. — Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Coho salmon swimming in a river. — Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Engaging with decision-makers

Now is the time to improve federal and provincial land-use policies for the health and climate resiliency of ecosystems and to advance the recovery of at-risk salmon populations. These policies must support freshwater security at the community level and uplift the rights and priorities of Indigenous peoples.

Raincoast is engaging with decision-makers at all levels of government to advocate for science-based policy solutions that ensure wild salmon are resilient in a changing climate.

Recent reports

Forests, fire, and fish: Policy pathways to manage forests for wildfire resilience, salmon recovery, and watershed security

Environmental flow needs assessment for salmonids in the Coldwater River

Nature-based Solutions for addressing climate risks and fostering biodiversity in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia

Floodwater contaminants report

Rights of Nature: Pathways to legal personhood for the Fraser River Estuary

Toward a vision for salmon habitat in the Lower Fraser River

Recent articles

Two grizzly bears looking into the distance while standing in an estuary.

2021: Our impact so far

We are already halfway through the year, and I wanted to share with you some of Raincoast’s achievements thus far. This progress relies on donors like you and the entire team at Raincoast sincerely appreciates your support. Here’s a snapshot of Raincoast’s efforts over the past six months.

Drone image of the floodplain in the Fraser River Estuary at sunset.

Cycles, seasons and sediment of the Fraser Estuary

The Soul of the Fraser by Ken Ashley, Director of the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), tells the story of the important intertidal habitat in the Fraser River Estuary.

A wolf prances across the ice with all four feet frozen in time floating above the ice, a chart floating in the distance.

Recommendations towards greater transparency in the science, science communication, and values-driven processes of natural resource management

A new paper, published by a team of researchers including Raincoast scientists, dives into the tangle of cognitive bias, institutional agendas, human interests, and pays special attention to the role of undisclosed value judgments.

Drone image taken above Fairy Creek - an unlogged watershed.

Big trees, big stumps and broken promises

For the last two years, I’ve been documenting clearcut logging on Salt Spring Island, and with Raincoasts’s Gulf Islands Forest Project, on Pender Island too. On a small island such as Pender, these relatively small clearcut patches can have a disproportionate impact on the landscape. I wanted to go to the Fairy Creek Blockade to see this intact watershed and support the Indigenous people and land defenders who’ve been protecting this place.

Underwater view of a school of Chinook salmon swimming.

Funding habitat restoration and conservation in the Lower Fraser Region

The AFER Network features working groups to provide space for focused discussion of key topics related to conservation initiatives in the Lower Fraser. On June 17th from 1-3 pm, we are launching our Funding and Fiscal tools Working Group, which will discuss what a post-covid funding world could look like, shifts in funders’ strategic focus, and the role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in shaping funding priorities.

A barn owl flows low over the grass in the estuary with wings spread.

Rooting people to place through the Connected Estuary webinar series

Over the course of the Connected Estuary webinar series, we explored the connectivity and ecological importance of the Fraser River Estuary to a myriad of species, including Pacific salmon, Southern Resident killer whales and migratory birds.

A cutblock covered in cut trees and muddy roads with a large digger on the Gulf Islands.

Cumulative impacts a serious problem for Gulf Islands forests

The Gulf Islands represent 33.2% of the provincial extent of Coastal Douglas-fir forests and associated habitats which are among the most biodiverse in the province. Yet, this region is also the most degraded.

Landscape drone photo of the Kamloops landscape.

The painful truth of colonization

In light of recent evidence of the unmarked graves of 215 children that have been found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in Canada, we express our deep condolences to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, Residential School Survivors and all Indigenous people who continue to be affected.