First Nations and environmental groups are getting nearly 10 million dollars to restore salmon habitat around Vancouver Island.
The funding comes through Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Aquatic Ecosystems Restoration Fund. The largest chunk, 5 million, is going to the Nature Trust of BC to restore estuaries and fish habitat in the Salish Sea and around the North Island.
The Tha’amin Nation in Powell River is getting nearly $1.7 million to restore salmon populations around Unwin Lake . They will also work with the BC Conservation Foundation on a million-dollar kelp forests project along the Sunshine Coast, in the hopes of restoring 67,000 square metres at 25 sites.
The Comox Valley’s Project Watershed Society is getting one point five million to restore crucial salmon habitat along the coastline, including tidal marshes, eelgrass beds and kelp forests.
