Going with the flow

Over 85 years ago there were no salmon swimming in the upper Columbia River.

Fast forward to the present day and — thanks to collaborative efforts in the Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative — some salmon are swimming again in its historical waters.

Led by the Syilx Okanagan, Secwe?pemc and Ktunaxa Nations — with federal and provincial governments at the table — the initiative was established by a letter of agreement in 2019 and the slow journey of the species back to its prominence began.

In the three-year extension agreement made in July 2022, the governments made a signed commitment to provide sustained core funding, something that was needed to build on the early efforts of the program, but something which has yet to happen.

Bringing the Salmon Home executive working group chair Mark Thomas said the governments of British Columbia and Canada have yet to take action to provide the long-term core funding the work requires, before the current agreement runs out March 31, 2025.

As a result, a letter of support was passed by the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) board of directors lobbying for the member First Nations in order to build some momentum for the initiative and secure the funding.

The upper levels of government need to be accountable for the project, said the City of Nelson representative on the board, Keith Page.

“The work to sustain this program hasn’t happened,” he began. “We need to be really sensitive to when First Nations actually lead a request like this, (so) I want to add our weight behind asking the Province to fulfill its commitment that it made at that time to ensure they do follow through with what they had.”

There was some debate at the board level on expanding the scope of the letter to include the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

“I just want to make sure that we include all of the First Nations groups that are working at bringing the salmon home initiative,” said Area I director Andy Davidoff. “(Are) the Colville Confederated Tribes represented with that group?”

Sangita Sudan, RDCK general manager of Development and Community Sustainability Services, said the Colville Confederated Tribes had its own program in the U.S.

“The letter should say that we support all First Nations that are working on bringing the salmon home, not on behalf of just some groups, but all First Nations groups that are working on bringing the salmon home because there is a huge effort in the states,” Davidoff pointed out.

Area H director Walter Popoff said the letter and the initiative stated only three First Nations groups.

“So, to include those who are not named, they may not want to be a part of it,” he said. “Any other groups that aren’t named can approach the board for their own letter.”

The motion to support the letter — and only the Syilx Okanagan, Ktunaxa and Secwépemc nations named — was passed.

And the salmon came back

Bringing the Salmon Home: The Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative is an Indigenous-led collaboration of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, Ktunaxa Nation, Secwépemc Nation, Canada and British Columbia.

The initiative arose out of the fact salmon have been blocked from returning to the Canadian portion of the upper Columbia River since Grand Coulee Dam foundations were put in place in 1939.

“The long-term vision is to return salmon stocks for Indigenous food, social and ceremonial needs, and to benefit the region’s residents and ecosystems as a whole,” said Thomas.

Working together

The initiative brings together five governments — Ktunaxa Nation, Syilx Okanagan Nation, Secwépemc Nation, federal and provincial governments — who’ve made an agreement to explore salmon reintroduction into the upper Columbia River region.

The letter of agreement — signed at an official ceremony on July 29, 2019 in Castlegar — confirmed the commitment by the five governments to work together to look at the feasibility and options for reintroducing salmon into the Canadian side of the Columbia River.

The five governments are working now on next steps to ensure the initiative is sustained for decades to come, said Thomas.

“The long-term vision is to return fish stocks for Indigenous food, social and ceremonial needs, and to benefit the region’s residents and ecosystems as a whole,” he said.