More than $318,000 in salmon and fish habitat restoration for the Chilliwack area was unveiled by Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon MP Mark Strahl on Thursday.
The money is part of partnerships with Ducks Unlimited and the Pacific Salmon Foundation to fund three local fish and habitat conservation projects.
The federal government is partnering with Ducks Unlimited to provide up to $144,000 to rebuild the Cheam Lake water control to restore access to Cheam Lake and upstream habitat for spawning coho and cutthroat trout.
Another $103,000, through a partnership with the salmon foundation, will help enhance and restore salmon spawning channels from the lower reaches of the Vedder River. This world class recreational fishing area will benefit from gravel augmentation and controlled flow structures to ensure sustained water in spawning channels, Strahl said.
The federal government will also partner with the foundation to provide up to $71,500 to remove two old fish-stream crossing culverts that impeded fish passage on the Elbow Creek and to remediate riparian habitat and existing sedimentation issues.
“Working with our local partners the Conservative Government is taking action to restore and maintain an important natural resource that is both a source of family recreation and an important contributor to our local economy,” said Strahl.
In this first round, a total of 28 projects were approved in British Columbia to restore, rebuild and rehabilitate recreational fisheries habitat. The government of Canada will provide as much as $1.9 million to support these projects.
The Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships Program will make up to $10 million available over the next two years to support recreational fisheries habitat conservation activities. The funding for projects submitted in the first round of applications provides up to $6.5 million for 104 projects to restore, rebuild and rehabilitate recreational fisheries habitat across the country.