Central Estuary Restoration Project Update

With great support from Squamish Nation, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada our Central Estuary Restoration Project (CERP) partners; all the community stakeholders and representatives from all levels of government who have contributed as members of the CERP Working Group; and our contractors, design team, students, monitoring team and more - 2019 was a very productive year for the Central Estuary Restoration Project! 

Since starting CERP in 2017 we have now completed phase 1 works, successfully upgrading a fish passage culvert across the training berm last spring. It was very exciting to see more freshwater flowing into the estuary when the construction was complete then had been in nearly 30 years. We continue to monitor the culvert and estuary to measure how works are improving fish access and habitat.

We met with our stakeholder working group in spring 2019, who have provided valuable input to the planning process for phases 2 & 3 of CERP. Throughout the summer and fall of 2019 the CERP project team continued stakeholder discussions, and we are looking forward to our next working group meeting in 2020. CERP is being led by the SRWS in partnership with Squamish Nation and DFO, and it is through the collaboration and support of community stakeholders and groups that we are able to realize our project outcomes.  We greatly value the time, support and feedback of our working group members!

At present we are undertaking coastal modeling examining how changes to the alignment of the training berm (the Spit road) may impact water or sediment distribution in the lower flood plain. This information will be used to inform realignment discussions with stakeholders, and the eventual design process. In the current alignment the training berm is effectively flushing hundreds of thousands of juvenile salmon, particularly Chinook salmon to the Howe Sound before they are ready, limiting their likelihood of survival. As we work through the coastal modeling process, and discussions with stakeholders in 2020 we will be have more details on spit realignment and will also provide regular updates.

Chinook salmon are an at risk species on the South Coast, and our efforts to support their survival is part of a larger habitat restoration initiative under the Federal Ocean Protection Plan. Chinook salmon are the king of the salmon (or reindeer....see above picture). They are integral to our coastal ecosystem, and need our help to survive. Over the years we have worked together in the spirit of collaboration and cooperation to undertake major restoration projects throughout the Squamish River Watershed. As we build on our past work, fish access to the estuary for emerging juvenile salmon is a big piece of the watershed restoration puzzle that is being developed in the same spirit of past projects. Questions are always welcome and can be sent to projects@squamishwatershed.com 

Love, peace and holiday fishes to you!