Indigenous Stewardship of Salmon Watersheds:
Sharing Stories on Climate Change and Cumulative Effects
June 30, 2021
The Indigenous Stewardship of Salmon Watersheds webinar series seeks to provide a platform for sharing experiences and charting a course forward for salmon watersheds.
As a Tier 1 event, the first webinar in the series: Sharing Stories on Climate Change and Cumulative Effects, is intended as an opportunity for the sharing of information among Indigenous technical staff from nations across BC, who have first-hand experience of the changes linked to climate change and cumulative effects in their own watersheds and whose perspective is informed by those who have lived in place for countless generations.
DÚQVA̓ÍSḶA WILLIAM HOUSTY
Board of Directors (Chair)—Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department (HIRMD)
NICOLE (COLE) MORVEN
Harvest Monitoring Coordinator—Nisga’a Fisheries & Wildlife Department
MICHELLE WALSH
Tribal Fisheries Biologist — Secwepemc Fisheries Commission
Climate Change and Cumulative Effects in Heiltsuk Territory
DÚQVA̓ÍSḶA WILLIAM HOUSTY
Board of Directors (Chair)—Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department (HIRMD)
William comes from the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) First Nation and was born and raised in Bella Bella, where he now lives with his wife and 4 children. Following the completion of his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resource Management in 2007, William returned home and has been working for the HIRMD since. William also works closely with the Heiltsuk
Hereditary Chiefs table and serves as a liaison between them and the elected tribal council. William is a strong advocate for Heiltsuk culture and values and has dedicated his life to working with Heiltsuk families in the areas of Potlatches, language and culture.
Nisga'a Fishers—Eyes and Ears of the Nass River—Witnesses to Change
COLE MORVEN
Harvest Monitoring Coordinator—Nisga’a Fisheries & Wildlife Department
Nicole (Cole) comes from the Nisga’a First Nation and grew up in Gitwinksihlkw in the Nass River valley where she lives with her husband and daughter. She has been a Monitoring Coordinator on Nisga’a land and water for the past 13 years. On the water, Nicole she coordinates harvest monitoring along the Nass River, interviewing fishers across four communities about their catches, which often include Chinook and sockeye salmon and oolichan. Nicole is a strong believer in the importance of using traditional knowledge and first-hand experiences of change to inform sustainable management of natural resources. She has been troubled by the recent changes she’s witness on the water; with warming temperatures indicating a sign of things to come and a call to action for the Nisga’a and other Nations. Cole has a YouTube channel where she shares videos of her work.
Tipping Point in the ‘Heart of the Fraser’?
MICHELLE WALSH
Tribal Fisheries Biologist—Secwepemc Fisheries Commission
Michelle comes from the Nadleh Whut'en First Nation, Lhtseh yoo (Frog) Clan, of the Dakelh Nation. Michelle is passionate about working with First Nations towards achieving self governance of their natural resources, which the culture is so intimately tied to. She has worked as a Fisheries Biologist for the Secwepemc Fisheries Commission, a department of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council, in Kamloops for the past 15 years, supporting the Secwepemc communities in their fisheries endeavors such as: conducting salmon stock assessments and habitat use studies, habitat restoration and mapping, and developing fisheries management plans in collaboration with communities. She is currently undertaking a Masters of Environmental Science at Thompson Rivers University. In her thesis, Michelle is investigating how stream-type Chinook salmon of conservation concern in the Thompson River watershed use groundwater upwellings, potential thermal refuges amid warming stream temperatures.
