Conservancy buys island in B.C.'s Fraser River to protect salmon

An ideal natural salmon habitat of gravel beds and side channels on British Columbia's lower Fraser River will be protected by the purchase of a private island by an environmental organization, with the help of the federal government and private donors.

The deal to buy 248-hectare Carey Island near Chilliwack is a "big win for conservation" in the important ecological area between Mission and Hope known to environmental groups as "the heart of the Fraser," according to Steven Godfrey, the Nature Conservancy of Canada's West Coast program director.

The conservancy announced Monday it had bought the island from Carey Island Farms Ltd., which was using it to grow corn.

Godfrey said Monday that up to 90 per cent of the gravel shoreline of the lower Fraser River from Hope to Mission had been subject to some form of development.

"The shorelines have been impacted to things like shoreline armouring from the construction of dikes, and so much of that land base has been changed to farmland or other human uses," he said in an interview from Ladysmith, B.C.

"There's not a lot of decent useable or privately available land that still offers good habitat value for salmon and for sturgeon and other aquatic species," he said.

Carey Island is one of the last salmon habitat strongholds because during spring runoff season it provides gravel beds and pools for natural spawning and rearing areas for salmon and other species, including endangered sturgeon, he said.

"It's something we've had our eye on for a while and have been seeking to build relationships in the area to understand what are the big pieces that would be a big win for conservation, and Carey Island is one of them," said Godfrey.

The purchase for about $8 million was made possible by contributions from individuals, foundations and other donors, with $4 million from Environment and Climate Change Canada, he said.

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the Carey Island purchase protects crucial lower Fraser River riverbed habitat for salmon.

"These investments through the Canada Nature Fund, working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, are part of our national conservation campaign to protect 30 per cent of land and water in Canada by 2030," he said in a statement.

Sto:lo Nation elder Eddie Garner said area First Nations are working jointly with conservation groups, including the Lower Fraser Fisheries Alliance and Watershed Watch Salmon Society, to restore, conserve and preserve the lower Fraser River's salmon habitat.

"In the spirit of reconciliation, we have a golden opportunity to collaborate with others to undertake this work for the benefit of current and future generations in honour of our ancestors," he said in a statement.

Canadian river conservationist Mark Angelo said in a statement the Carey Island area provides increasingly rare habitat for young salmon seeking refuge from high river flows every spring.

"The acquisition of Carey Island by the Nature Conservancy of Canada is a major step forward in efforts to better protect the heart of the Fraser, one of the most productive stretches of river on the planet," said Angelo, an Order of Canada recipient in recognition of his river conservation efforts.