NEEF Funding: $170,000
Total Project Budget: $351,000
Start Date: September 2024
End Date: July 2025
Description:
The goal of this project is habitat restoration of the core white sturgeon spawning reach at Vanderhoof and community outreach to increase the public’s awareness and knowledge about the recovery process.
Habitat Restoration - Substrate changes in white sturgeon spawning and early rearing habitat in the Nechako River are the underlying cause of recruitment failure. Substrate remediation is therefore required to increase egg and larval survival which in turn will lead to improved juvenile recruitment. Pilot studies of a novel substrate cleaning method in 2022 successfully created clean, size sorted gravel suitable for rearing the egg and yolk sac larval life history stages (Lauzon 2022). This project will focus on scaling up that technique for application in the main channel spawning locations. The area for cleaning would be the lower patch restoration site created in 2011. Tests will be conducted in 2024 to prepare for possible deployment during the spring 2025 spawning period. There will be a strong focus on local involvement in project implementation, which will provide continuity for future implementation of substrate cleaning.
Community Outreach - Summaries of project progress and outcomes will be prepared and disseminated through communication channels by the Community Working Group. As well, the boat kit program that directly mitigates sturgeon mortalities in First Nation Fisheries nets will be supported, along with production of videos and resources for use in school curricula, local stewardship activities such as storm drain painting, and installing signage at tourism points of interest along the Nechako River to inform the public of sturgeon biology and conservation.
3. Project Goals:
1. Habitat restoration – substrate cleaning
• Identify measures to restore substrate conditions capable of supporting juvenile recruitment sufficient to achieve recovery
2. Community outreach to increase public knowledge of sturgeon biology and conservation.
Proponent: Ministery Of Water, Land And Resource Stewardship
