Living Economies

We’re using science, economics, and policy to advance nature-positive economies in British Columbia. 

Raincoast’s Living Economies Program explores how healthy ecosystems can support thriving local economies. We quantify the economic value of ecosystem services, habitat restoration, and conservation initiatives, while developing innovative approaches to finance and the delivery of conservation in salmon-bearing watersheds. By integrating economics, western science, conservation finance, and policy, we work to create solutions that generate employment, strengthen local economies, and support resilient communities across British Columbia. 

Building on a decade years of habitat restoration and job creation

The Living Economies Program builds on the success of Raincoast’s decade-long habitat restoration and conservation work in the Lower Fraser River. Over the past 10 years, our projects have removed barriers to fish passage, controlled invasive species, and restored critical habitat for wild Pacific salmon.

This work created employment for 50 people, with more than $885,576.48 in grant funding directly supporting local jobs. The projects brought together a diverse range of expertise, including biologists, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, First Nations youth, environmental monitors, engineers,  heavy machinery operators, construction consultants, archaeologists, and graduate students. 

By investing in habitat restoration, this initiative has contributed to the recovery of endangered Pacific salmon while demonstrating that conservation can create meaningful employment opportunities – even within one of the most urbanized and highly modified landscapes in British Columbia.

Aerial photo of tiny, distant workers with hard hats walking around the Fraser River Estuary, surrounded by grasses and water.
Misty MacDuffee, Noah Kussin-Bordo, David Scott, and Peter Kidd in the Fraser River estuary.
Photo by Alex Harris.

Conservation Economy Pilot  

In 2026, we are launching a Conservation Economy Pilot that pairs innovative conservation finance mechanisms with habitat restoration to create a scalable model for nature-positive economic development in rural communities. The pilot will demonstrate how investments in ecosystem recovery can generate long-term employment, attract private and public capital, strengthen local economies, and improve outcomes for fish, wildlife, and people.

By bringing together diverse skill sets – from restoration practitioners and foresters to economists, Indigenous partners, engineers, and community organizations – the pilot aims to test a new model for delivering shared environmental and economic benefits that can be replicated across British Columbia.

Recent, from Raincoast

Fish viewfinder with many juvenile fish in it.

One with the fish: a day conducting salmon research with our Summer Stewardship Program

“Who’s ready to rumble?” yells Captain Sean, his jolly head poking out the port-side window of the BellaRose. I extend my hand to each of my six youth participants as they climb aboard the vessel. A warm salty breeze washes over me as we embark together on today’s project. This will be a good day….
Southern Resident

A bond through salmon, language, and grandmothers

Spirits of the Coast brings together the work of marine biologists, Indigenous knowledge keepers, poets, artists and storytellers, united by their enchantment with the orca.
Man in a blue Raincoast hat holding a salmon viewfinder with juvenile salmon

Connectivity restoration in the Fraser River Estuary continues to show results

This work is part of our Fraser River Connectivity Project, our five-year restoration project to create openings in several of the man-made barriers in the Fraser Estuary that prevent the natural migration of juvenile salmon. 
A large number of fishing boats squeeze into a small area off the coast of Alaska.

The Gauntlet, a salmon story foretold

World Fish Migration Day celebrates the wonders of migratory fish and raises awareness of the many obstacles that can prevent them from reaching destinations in the rivers and the spawning grounds they seek.
Many salmon swim by as seen from below in the green blue light of the sun.

Fisheries management and Canada’s Wild Salmon Policy

There is no question that fisheries management presents complex biological, economic, and political challenges. 
Two Southern Resident killer whales surfacing.

Salmon and orcas don’t know borders – and neither should our conservation efforts

We urge you to consider supporting efforts to span the international border to recover our beloved salmon and Southern Resident killer whales.
Chinook salmon swimming in a river.

You cannot ‘offset’ extinction

Globally, only 15.5% of the world’s coastal regions remain ecologically intact. In British Columbia, the Fraser River Estuary has already lost 85% of its floodplain habitat and over 100 species that live there are at risk of extinction. Now, they face another threat. 
Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

Take action for the Fraser River Estuary by March 15th

The Government of Canada is currently requesting public comments to decide on whether the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project should go forward. Until March 15th, supporters like you can take action to protect the Fraser River Estuary. Please consider taking five minutes to submit a public comment. We have made it very easy for…