2019 ANNUAL REPORT The Fraser River near Tete Jaune Cache.

Photo by Justine Nelson

Report from the Chair2019: The Big Slide2019 will go down in history books as the year Fraser River salmon were blocked. Like the 1913 Hell’s Gate slide, this massive rock slide at Big Bar devastated salmon. Making matters worse, DFO projected 4.8M Fraser River sockeye salmon would return home to their natal streams, then adjusted the number to about 600,000. In the end, fewer than 400,000 returned – the worst return since record-keeping began 129 years ago.

While RSBC’s programs went well in 2019, the question is, are we being heard?

What will it take to prompt decision-makers to act before West Coast salmon go the way of the East Coast Cod? It’s a bleak, sobering thought, to be sure. However, RSBC will soldier on for the sake of the salmon, their habitat and the riversheds they frequent.

The Big Bar landslide, June 2019.Photo by Fin Donnelly

4,795,000 the number of sockeye DFO predicted

would return to the Fraser River in 2019.

<400,000 how many sockeye actually returned.

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A Look AheadIt is half-way through 2020 and we are still reeling from the impacts of Covid-19. Like so many organizations, our world has been upended. Forced to cancel our summer programming, our busiest season, we shifted gears to develop new programs to extend our reach to audiences on-line.

We are currently taking part in two exciting initiatives: the work of the BC Watershed Security Coalition and the creation of a Lower Fraser Adapting to Ecological

Resilience network with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance and SFU’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team.

2021 is going to be an exciting year—our 25th anniversary—we have a number of special events lined up including a 30-day Fraser River Swim Relay/FraserFEST and a 27-day Sustainable Living Leadership Program that will run separately. We also aim to expand River Clinics into the Fraser Canyon and the Thompson Shuswap regions.

FraserFEST canoes paddling through the Heart of the Fraser.Photo by Jan Vozenilek

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We have adopted an ambitious 3 Year Strategic Plan, with three overarching decade-long goals:

Sign up 100,000 Watershed Defenders to help conserve the Fraser’s watersheds,

Protect 30% (7M hectares) of the Fraser Watershed, and

Restore 5% (1M hectares) of damaged Fraser Watershed habitat.

Lofty goals but with our amazing team we are sure to hit those targets – and in doing so, improve watershed health, giving salmon a fighting chance.

Orden Mack holds a water sample taken from the Goat River in the Fraser Headwaters region.

Photo by Doug Radies 4

A special thank you to Siobhan Ashe who, after 16 years on the Board (including a year as Chair) is stepping down. Wow, what an amazing contribution to RSBC and our movement! Her passion, knowledge, wisdom and energy will be missed around the Board table.

Thank you also to our donors, members, volunteers and supporters! You enable us to conserve, protect and restore the Fraser Watershed.

Finally, I would like to dedicate our work in 2019 to two Watershed Heroes: Al Martin and Susan Croll. Both were important figures in our work who loved the Fraser River and left us far too soon. You are both an inspiration and will be missed.

Sincerely,

Fin Donnelly, Iyim Yewyews Founder and Chair Rivershed Society of BC

Thank you to our Board members for your past year of service: attending Board meetings; taking part in our AGM, the Fraser River Sunset Dinner Cruise fundraiser on the paddlewheeler, our Beta Star Fraser River Family and Friends Cruise and our Winter Social at Pasta Polo in Coquitlam.

Thank you to our hard-working 2019 staff and contractors: Justine, Richelle, Carol, Jane, Melissa, Robbin, Mari-Lou, Doug, Oliver, Candice, Shane, Mike, Justin, Megan, Petra, Ella, Riley, Kevin, Byron, Jim, Leon, Jeff, Andrew, Brendan and Christopher. Including Fraser River Raft Expeditions, Voyageur Adventures, Trails BC, Adventure Charters, QRWA, Lillooet Naturalists and NERV Productions. Without you, we couldn’t have delivered such an effective 2019 program.

Thank You to our Board, Staff, Volunteers, Members, Donors and Supporters

Attendees at our Winter Social.Photo by Justine Nelson

Fraser River Sunset Dinner Cruise.Photo by Fin Donnelly

2019 Annual General Meeting.Photo by Fin Donnelly

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Poem for Susan Croll by Vicki Van Wagner

Cold snap, snowfall Sitting by your love Watching ice on the river

Flowing Down with the current Up with the tide Shimmering blue with first light orange as day ends

Port lights, ferry lights fairy lights Music of angels Wishes of friends Her boy’s strong arms His girl’s sweet smile The skills of strangers turned family Surround your love

Joy in your window Stars in the orchid Hummingbirds in snow Ravens in trees Neighbours at the door Angels of all kinds Watch over your love

Kisses to wake Kisses to sleep Kisses good-bye Sitting with your love As she slowly leaves you Leaves you much too quickly Sitting with your love By the colours of the river

Susan Croll beside the Fraser River in New Westminster.Photo by Jim Sinclair

Dedication in Memory of Fraser Watershed Hero, Susan Croll

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The Fraser Canyon between Hell’s Gate and Yale.Photo by Michael Bednar

Dedication in Memory of Fraser Watershed Hero, Al Martin

Al Martin was a giant in the conservation community. His clear thinking, vision and integrity commanded the respect of his colleagues, all conservationists and politicians and bureaucrats at all levels of government. His greatest strength, besides his sense of humour, was his ability to think strategically with insights into the future few of us could contemplate.

Al directed the strategic work of the BC Wildlife Federation after retiring from a 30-year career in the BC public service in 2010. Al is the former Assistant Deputy Minister in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the former Director of the Fish and Wildlife Branch. Organizations such as the BCWF and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, along with many leading conservation and research partners, are deeply grateful for his leadership. The conservation community is heartbroken by the immense loss of this wonderful man.

(c/o the BC Wildlife Federation) 7

A Year in Review2019 was a year full of passionate people, exciting collaborations, and growth. We expanded our team, travelled across the Fraser Watershed, and implemented a new program. We also had to problem solve around the landslide at Big Bar which meant we could not raft that stretch of river – although the salmon trying to come up faced an even bigger issue! We pushed through and had a great year, with the background of worry and caution about what the slide means for the future of the Fraser River.

I am excited to share all the wonderful experiences we had as an organization.

The following is our 2019 in review:

Sustainable Living Leadership Program The Sustainable Living Leadership Program (SLLP) brought together seven incredible community leaders from around the province. Travelling from the Fraser Headwaters at Mount Robson all the way to the Salish Sea by canoe, raft, shuttle van and on foot, these leaders developed a bond with each other and the Fraser River. During the one-month intensive program they learned about Watershed CPR (Conserve, Protect, Restore) and each developed their own Watershed Solutions project:

Justin Sidon, Matsqui First Nation: Watershed CPR youth program in Matsqui First Nation. Paul Ehni, Lillooet: Horseshoe Bend Salmon Enhancement Channel on Bridge River. Leah Goldie, Lillooet: Nature and place-based education curriculum. Corrie Allen, Delta (Kelowna): Conservation and Management of White Sturgeon. Bhavna Pooni, Williams Lake: Watershed Yoga. Otis Guichon Jr., Tŝideldel First Nation: Language and Culture Program in Tŝideldel. Jeff Gibbs, Vancouver: Photography Contest and Photo Database of the Fraser Watershed.

We are proud to have these 7 amazing graduates be a continued part of the RSBC team.

The SLLP has run 15 times since 2002, producing a network of

110 graduatesOur goal is to have SLLP grads active in every Fraser Watershed community.

Report from the Executive Director

SUSTAINABLE LIVING LEADERSHIP PROGRAMSUSTAINABLE LIVING LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

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River Clinics We have been working to expand our Leadership Development programs. In 2019, we ran the second River Clinic for Environmental Leaders (RCEL) in the Lower Fraser, as well as the inaugural River Clinic for Empowered Youth (RCEY) in the Nechako Watershed.

My favorite thing about our River Clinics programs is that they are developed, implemented, and led by SLLP graduates. Megan Rempel and Petra Markova, both SLLP 2016 grads, co-developed the RCEL. They were joined by SLLP 2018 graduates, Riley Brennan and Ella Parker, to implement the RCEY. The creation of these programs are a great example of wonderful projects that can come out of the SLLP.

The RCEL is a 3-day journey on the Lower Fraser. In 2019, it brought 18 university students together to create a cross-campus network of Watershed Champions.

The RCEY is a 5-day program that takes place in the Nechako Rivershed. In 2019, the RCEY engaged 8 secondary school-age students from School District 91 and Nadleh Whut’en First Nation.

RCEL 2019 participants. Photo by Megan Rempel

2019 RCEY participants. Photo by Riley Brennan

RCEY 2019 participants doing canoe training.

Photo by Junho 9

FraserFEST 2019 Two new highlights of this year’s events were our giant map of the Fraser Watershed and the Boler Salmon Trailer!

The 8 x 11 meter interactive map was a hit at every stop and led to many interesting conversations and stories about the watershed. We drove around in the Pacific Salmon Foundations Boler trailer, turning heads on our entire journey and spreading the joy of Salmon along the way.

800+ people experienced the Fraser River and learned

about Watershed CPR with FraserFEST 2019.

FraserFEST 2019 consisted of

35 events from headwaters to sea.

We held events in the following communities:

Dunster

Prince George

Quesnel

Xatśūll (Soda Creek)

Williams Lake

Lillooet

Tuckkwiowhum (Boston Bar)

Yale

Kanaka Bar

Cheam

Dewdney

Kwantlen (Abbotsford)

Kwikwetlem (Coquitlam)

Musqueam (Vancouver)A FraserFEST 2019 Voyageur canoe

arriving at Musqueam.Photo by Fernando Lessa

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All our events are amazing in their own way but it is always a treat to bring the SLLP participants to Dunster for our first FraserFEST event, where they get to share their developing project ideas with the 50+ community members that join us. We rolled out our Giant Map in their Community Hall and heard fascinating stories about the surrounding riversheds.

We also made a new stop at Kanaka Bar Indian Band where Chief Patrick Michell shared the amazing work the community is doing to mitigate climate change impacts, including a huge community garden which we were welcomed to explore.

It’s during FraserFEST that my inspiration to continue our work to Conserve, Protect, and Restore the Watershed is renewed – connecting with passionate community members and wonderful people through-out the Fraser Watershed gives me hope for the future.

8 Voyageur

Canoe Trips

3 Hikes/Eco-Tours

14 Community Dinners

5 Group

Bike Rides

5 Fraser Canyon

Raft Trips

FraserFEST 2019 Dunster Community Dinner.

Photo by Justine Nelson

2019 was:

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Fraser River Sunset Dinner Cruise As always, our Fraser River Sunset Dinner Cruise was a great evening with amazing food and awe-inspiring views of the Lower Fraser, aboard the MV Native Paddlewheeler.

Gary Pooni provided a captivating speech and we were excited to debut our new Rivershed Story, a short film created by NERV Productions featuring Gary’s connection to the Fraser River. He was joined by SLLP graduate, and co-creator of River Clinics, Megan Rempel.

It was a succesful fundraiser with a full ship and lots of laughs. A view of the Fraser from

the MV Native paddlewheeler.Photo by Mari-Lou NidleWe raised just over $13,000

Guest speaker Gary Pooni.Photo by Mari-Lou Nidle

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The Fraser Watershed Initiative (FWI) team has been working to build and strengthen our relationships around the Fraser Watershed while developing an extensive database of information and setting the groundwork for our Heal and Protect campaign.

In 2019 we finished our tour of the watershed. We met with communities and leaders throughout the Headwaters and the Nechako. A highlight of our trip to Vanderhoof was touring the impressive Sturgeon Hatchery!

We finished the tour with a gathering in the Fraser Valley and in Vancouver. We were able to use all the information we gathered for the first layer of our Vision Map, which will help us as we move forward with our Heal and Protect campaign.

On July 4, 2019 we hosted a workshop: Habitat Restoration and Innovations in the New Restoration Economy. It focused on opportunities for engaging the restoration economy and featured then Department of Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson,and BC Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham.

We revealed the giant map in the morning with both Ministers and were joined by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) who created the map for us and the Pacific Salmon Foundation who funded its creation.

The rest of the day featured a welcome by Syexwaliya Ann Whonnock from the Squamish Nation and speeches by Kevin Scott, co-founder of FWI; Fin Donnelly, chair of RSBC; Byron Spinks, former chief of Lytton Nation; Stephen D’esposito, RESOLVE; Kariann Aarup, Aqua Hacking; Jason Hwang, Pacific Salmon Foundation; Tim Joyce, RCGS: Dr Tara Martin, UBC; Dan Buffet, Ducks Unlimited; Sunny Lebourdais, Qwelminet Secwepemc; and Al Martin, BC Wildlife Federation.

The Fraser Watershed Initiative

Prince George FWI Gathering.Photo by Fin Donnelly

Unveiling the Fraser Watershed Map. Photo by Justine Nelson

Habitat Restoration and Innovations in the New Restoration Economy Workshop.Photo by Justine Nelson

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Winter Social We closed 2019 with another heartwarming Winter Social at Pasta Polo in Coquitlam. It was one of our biggest Winter Socials yet, with 35 people filling the room! Thank you to all those who attended, and to owner Fred Soofi for hosting.

In summary, 2019 was an amazing year and I am so proud to be a part of the RSBC team!

Justine Nelson Executive Director Rivershed Society of BC

Creek ($100 - $999)Carrie Leggatt Craig Orr Donna Patrick Gwen Chute Jeanette Leigh John Reynolds Jurgen Hornburg Linda Asgeirsson Peter Ladner Simon Watkins Susan & David Jones

Valerie Donnelly George Hyman Erin Brandt Helen O’Brian Margaret Mason Sarah Otto Siobhan Ashe Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours© Kim North Olga Schwarzkopf

Don and Kathy Ruddy Elizabeth Walters Erica Stahl Ernie & Gail Radies Gideon Mordecai Jenna Dur Lisa Baile Marylke Nieuwenhuis Maureen Schofield Pamela Zevitt

Rob VanWynsberghe Sanne Van Der Ross Simon Zukowski Stephen Muir Glenda Thompson Ken Holowanky Laura Buker Yvonne Harris Terra Cycle Canada

Karen James Driscoll Family Fund Jayanel Properties Lynda Donnelly Westwood Total Health Douglas College Ross McCoubrey Richard & Winnifred Bocking Family Kwantlen Students’ Association

Friends ($1 - $99)Kevin Kirkland Sonya Oetterich Anne Ladouceur Eleanor Wright Emmanuel Regalado Ted Melanson Inger Olsen Ann Doyle Anne Dubois Daphne Douglas

Thank you to our 2019 Donors:

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Fraser Watershed Donors ($10,000+)

Wetland Sponsors $5,000+

Rivershed Sponsors $3,000+

Creekshed Sponsors $1,500+

River Sponsors $2,000+

Creek Sponsors $1,000+

Thank you to our 2019 Donors and Sponsors:

We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia.

In memory of David Edward Campbell

University Sustainability Initiative

School District 91

Fisheries and Oceans Pêches et Océans Canada Canada

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Organization $50New Earth Marketing Lillooett Naturalist Society

Family $30Siobhan Ashe & Ray Havelock Fin & Lynda Donnelly Cy & Val Donnelly Richelle Giberson Susan Jarema Kim North Eliza & Karla Olson Dustin Snyder Coree Tull

Individual $20Lisa Bland Brock Endean Audrey Faber Jan Hammer Myka Kollman Anne Ladouceur Sandra Le Monnier Jeanette Leitch Fernando Lessa Ted Lightfoot

Emily McGill Neal Nicholson Karla Olson Ella Parker Olga Schwartzkopf Vanessa Scott Mari-Lou Shoulak Lara Volgyesi Pam Zevit

2019 Members:

2019 Revenue

2019 Expenditures

Financial Summary

Donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $97,423 Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $18,342 Sponsorships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50,310 Government Grants. . . . . . . . . $49,100 Foundation Grants. . . . . . . . . $218,760 Earned Revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,408

Total Revenue . . . . . . . . . $439,343

Foundation Grants

50%

Fraser Watershed Initiative

41%

Earned Revenue

1%

Rivershed Stories 2%

Donations 22%

Watershed Solutions

4%

Fees 4%

Special Events 2%

Sponsorships 12%

FraserFEST 19%

Government Grants

11%

SLLP & RCEL 32%

FraserFEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $79,705 SLLP & RCEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $134,509 Fraser Watershed Initiative . $173,680 Rivershed Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . .$9,292 Watershed Solutions . . . . . . . . $15,347 Special Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,215

Total Expenses . . . . . . . . $420,748

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