Since the release of its report in September 2012 the Management Committee has committed a total of $4.5 million towards environmental enhancement in the Nechako watershed through three projects.
The NEEF MC approved an application from the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative in partnership with Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC for $400,000.00 per year over ten years towards planning and operation of a sturgeon conservation centre now being built in Vanderhoof. Construction is well on its way, the facility will be operational in the next several months, and the first sturgeon will be rearing in the spring of 2014.
The NEEF MC also approved a project proposal submitted by the Nechako White Sturgeon Recovery Initiative (NWSRI) to conduct a biochronology study on Nechako sturgeon. This study seeks to understand the physical and biological conditions of the river over the past 40 years that have supported occasional recruitment and survival of wild juvenile Nechako white sturgeon. The results will allow the NWSRI to calibrate future releases of young sturgeon reared in the conservation facility.
The NEEF MC has committed $500,000.00 to a team of researchers from the University of Northern British Columbia to conduct integrated watershed research covering the topics of sediment sources and transport, variability and trends in snowpack and stream flow, climate change and future projections, salmon impacts on aquatic health and habitats, and ecosystem/community health and well-being.
