Aquatic Habitat and Watersheds
Territory-wide aquatic habitat monitoring
A key Nation-wide goal is the protection and recovery of thriving ecosystems and aquatic habitat. A key initiative to advance this goal is our Territory-wide aquatic habitat monitoring program.
Identified as a priority by Tŝilhqot’in Leadership in 2018 and established in 2021, our Territory-wide aquatic habitat monitoring program allows us to monitor small streams in the Territory for key watershed health indicators, including climate change impacts.
Map of aquatic habitat monitoring stations in Tŝilhqot’in Territory.
Tŝilhqot’in Territory is a salmon stronghold. The 13 stations installed to date are focused on critical salmon nursery areas, and already provide data used to inform emergency enhancement and other priority activities.
Federal and provincial governments only collect information on major systems. We’re now collecting information on the smaller systems that Tŝilhqot’in salmon depend on through our own sophisticated TNG-led hydrology program – including data collection in the field, quality assurance and control, and data management and analysis. Information from this program directly informs our recovery planning for vulnerable Tŝilhqot’in salmon populations, understanding changes to aquatic habitat over time, cumulative effects, and climate change impacts. We’re building the on-the-ground analytical tools needed to make informed decisions within Tŝilhqot’in Territory.
Highlights:
- The program provides real-time information on flow and water temperature to support planning for brood stock collection for emergency conservation enhancement and rearing juvenile fish in hatcheries.
- TNG partnered with post-doc Sara Cannon from the UBC Centre of Indigenous Fisheries to develop a watershed risk assessment tool to inform Territorial planning.
