Watershed Futures Initiative Research
The Watershed Futures Initiative aims to fill key knowledge gaps in our understanding of cumulative effects in BC’s salmon-bearing watersheds by undertaking several interconnected projects. Each research area uses syntheses or novel analyses to fill knowledge gaps within critical linkages of the pathways by which cumulative effects impact salmon (Fig. 1, below).
Fig. 1: Cumulative effects and their management can be visualized as a pathway of effects from activities, to habitat, to salmon (grey arrows), and the feedback (white arrows) that potentially connects the state of the system to the governance of activities.
Publications
Cannon, S., Duncan, A.T., Sainsbury, N. (2024). Indigenous data sovereignty can help save British Columbia’s wild salmon. The Conversation, June 23, 2024.
Sainsbury, N.C., Angel, E., Moore, J.W., Blackstone, K., Ha'wilth n'yasim (Samantha Christiansen), Tyee Ha'wilth wee-wim-ta-eek (Christina Cox), Tyee Ha'wilth Hyuuštulth (Francis Gillette), ʔaniicsačist (Larry Johnson), Ḥii-saa-maa-nuł (Archie Little), Ross, D. Sr., Tootooch (Tom Tatoosh), Tataup (Tom Watts), Hutchinson, J. (2024). Risks to salmon in the ha-ha-houlthee of the Nuu-chah-nulth Ha'wiih and connected harm to other life. Uu-a-thluk: Taking Care of and Watershed Futures Initiative.
Cannon, S.E., J.W. Moore, M.S. Adams, T. Degai, E. Griggs, T. Marsden, A.J. Reid, N. Sainsbury, K.M. Stirling, Axdii A. Yee S. Barnes, R. Benson, D. Burrows, Gala'game R. Chamberlin, B. Charley, D. Dick, A.T. Duncan, Jung Kayangas M. Liddle, M. Paul Prince, C. Scotnicki, K. Speck, J. Squakin, C. Van Der Minne, J. Walkus, K. West, Kii'iljuus B. Wilson, and the Indigenous Data Sovereignty Workshop Collective. Taking care of knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects. FACETS 9: 1-21.
https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2023-0135
Naman, S.M., Pitman, K.J., Cunningham, D.S., Potapova, A., Chartrand, S.M., Sloat, M.R., Moore, J.W. (2024). Forestry impacts on stream flows and temperatures: A quantitative synthesis of paired catchment studies across the Pacific salmon range. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 5, e12328. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12328
Watershed Futures Initiative Comments on Draft BC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework Consultation. (2024). 11pp.
Warkentin, L., Parken, C.K., Bailey, R., & Moore, J.W. (2022). Low summer river flows associated with low productivity of chinook salmon in a watershed with shifting hydrology. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3, e12124.
https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12124
Carlson, D. and Baylis, V. (2022). How Crown laws and policy normalize cumulative harm to salmon watersheds in British Columbia: A Case Study. West Coast Environmental Law and the Watershed Futures Initiative. 51pp.
Watershed Futures Initiative Problematique: Cumulative Effects in Salmon Watersheds (2020). 4pp.
Current Research
Address Knowledge Gaps
COMPILE STRESSOR-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS FOR SALMON
Lead: Jonathan Moore (Simon Fraser University; Principal Investigator and WFI Coordination Team)
There is a need and opportunity to synthesize the enormous body of scientific research on salmon and their sensitivity to stressors to guide science-based management.
Habitat
REMOTE SENSING TO ASSESS HABITAT CHANGE IN SALMON RIVERS
Lead: Diane Whited (University of Montana)
This analysis will shed insight into how human activities and climate change are transforming river habitats for salmon.
Human Dimensions of BC Salmon Watersheds
PREFERENCES FOR SALMON MANAGEMENT IN BC
Lead: Nigel Sainsbury (Simon Fraser University; WFI Coordination Team)
This research will illuminate diverse people’s preferences and priorities for the management of salmon systems in British Columbia, in the context of cumulative effects, climate change, and Indigenous rights.
Prioritizing Threat Management
ROADMAPS TOWARDS CLIMATE RESILIENCE FOR BC'S SALMON WATERSHEDS
Lead: Tara Martin (University of British Columbia; Co-Principal Investigator and WFI Coordination Team)
This research will connect policy solutions with stressors to identify roadmaps towards climate resilient watersheds.