Fraser River Estuary | Raincoast Conservation Foundation

Federal Minister presses pause on Terminal 2

Published on 2020 09 16 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director | in Conservation update

In a six page letter (PDF) to the CEO of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, Canada’s minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, requested more information from the Port to assess the effectiveness of mitigation efforts in the proposed expansion of Terminal 2 on Roberts Bank. Wikinson’s letter conveyed the panel’s conclusion about likely adverse effects to fish, fish habitat and other at-risk species if Terminal 2 proceeds…

Terminal 2 expansion threatens the Fraser estuary

Published on 2020 05 27 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director & Dave Scott, Research and Restoration Coordinator for the Lower Fraser Salmon Program | in Conservation update

Terminal 2 at the end of a long causeway, with Vancouver Island in the distance.

The Port of Vancouver is proposing to double the size of its shipping terminal beside the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, putting further stress on an estuary that has already lost more than 70% of its natural habitat…

Toward a Vision for Salmon Habitat in the Lower Fraser River

Published on 2020 03 04 | by Raincoast | in Reports & Books

Salmon art with a forest on the side of the salmon and orange polka dots around it.

Our new report, Toward a Vision for Salmon Habitat in the Lower Fraser River sets bold recommendations to address the loss of salmon habitat that has been identified as a key factor in the crisis many recognize for Fraser River salmon…

Tracking Raincoast, past, present, and future

Published on 2019 12 12 | by Chris Genovali, Executive Director | in Tracking Raincoast

Chris Genovali looks out over the water and land with binoculors.

As this decade closes, it’s timely to celebrate what we have collectively achieved for BC’s coast. Raincoast’s past in the Kitlope takes us back three decades to 1990, when Brian Falconer first visited at the invitation of the Haisla and Xenaksiala. The Nations were working to save the Kitlope from clearcut logging, which they ultimately […]

How new research on habitats within the Fraser River estuary implicates conservation strategy

Published on 2019 09 17 | by Raincoast | in Interviews

Dave Scott, Misty MacDuffee, Lia Chalifour, and Charlie Clark work in the Fraser River Estuary.

Raincoast biologist Misty MacDuffee joined Mark Brennae on CFAX 1070 to talk about the Fraser River and the fish that rely on its distinct and interconnected habitat. The Fraser Estuary supports more than 100 species that are recognized as “at-risk” (threatened, endangered or of concern) either provincially or federally.1 Misty MacDuffee is part of a […]

Terminal 2 expansion at Roberts Bank jeopardizes salmon recovery efforts

Published on 2019 08 23 | by Chris Genovali, Executive Director | in For the coast

A container ship get loaded at a terminal near Vancouver.

Given the ecological challenges that Fraser River salmon, including juvenile salmon, face at this point in history, now is not the time to increase pressure on their rearing grounds in the Fraser estuary by increasing the footprint of the Terminal 2 project on Roberts Bank….

In search of the Lower Fraser’s lost streams

Published on 2019 07 23 | by Riley Finn, Research Associate | in Conservation update

Close up of a map of streams and lost stream in the Fraser river watershed.

There is currently renewed interest in locating historical streams that have long been paved over and lost in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Mapping these historical landscape features offers a connection to the land that has been lost through urbanization and highlights opportunities for restoration…

The Fraser River estuary is fragmented by structures that alter the flow of water

Published on 2019 06 21 | by Alex Harris, Communications Associate | in Inform

Salmon fry pool in the estuaries of the Fraser River.

The first phase in Raincoast’s five-year restoration project in the Fraser estuary was making breaches in the Steveston jetty to allow young salmon access to Sturgeon Bank, a safe, marshy habitat that gives them an easier transition from river to ocean…

Great news: juvenile salmon moving through habitats reconnected after 100 years

Published on 2019 06 19 | by David Scott, Raincoast Lower Fraser Salmon Program Coordinator | in Conservation update

Raincoast Fraser River crew sampling juvenile salmon in the east breach.

Since the removal of sections of the Steveston jetty in February, we have been sampling our new jetty ‘breaches’ and have consistently caught juvenile salmon moving through them! This is a huge success and was realized just weeks after…

A jetty runs through it: restoring lost connectivity in the Fraser River estuary

Published on 2018 03 30 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director & Dave Scott, Research and Restoration Coordinator for the Lower Fraser Salmon Program | in Notes from the Field

Dave Scott holds up a tiny salmon in the Fraser rive while he takes measurements

An amazing spring research season has begun. There was snow, and then suddenly we were in our boats with nets and buckets catching the year’s first juvenile salmon. This year brings renewed enthusiasm as we embark on a big plan to restore connectivity and natural processes on the delta of the Fraser River estuary…

A gift of abundance for Southern Resident killer whales

Published on 2017 12 21 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director | in Conservation update

An illustration of Southern Resident killer whales bunching in a beautiful green ambient light.

As 2017 draws to a close, all of us at Raincoast are buoyed by the news that grizzly hunting across the entirety of British Columbia will finally end. Thank you for supporting our 20+ years…

A fyke net, Steve, killer whales and the Bella Rose

Published on 2017 03 02 | by Misty MacDuffee, Wild Salmon Program Director | in Raincoast updates

Dave & Misty measuring fry on the on Bella Rose

It takes this and more as we begin our second season of juvenile salmon research on the Fraser Estuary…