On January 15, 2020, staff of Tula Foundation/Hakai Institute (Hakai) and Ecofish Research Ltd. (Ecofish) had a conference call to discuss ways in which the respective organizations could potentially work together on applied conservation projects in British Columbia. Aspects discussed included environmental monitoring and monitoring program design, spatial analysis and technological innovation, applications of environmental DNA (eDNA) to biodiversity monitoring, eulachon population assessment, human resources and training, and salmon, forestry and coastal watershed assessments. During the discussion it was realized that the respective organizations have many overlapping interests and skill sets and have complimentary organizational objectives that may allow collaboration on delivery of large applied conservation projects. The scope of the meeting at the Quadra Centre for Coastal Dialogue on February 21st is to follow up this successful conference call with an in-person meeting to facilitate continued discussions as well as to propose a specific project that the organizations could work on together.
Prior to the Hakai and Ecofish discussion, each organization had been independently working with (or in discussions with) the Nanwakolas Council and the Coast Area Research Section of the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) on implementation of aspects of a Priority (or Experimental) Watersheds Monitoring Program. A key objective of this proposed watersheds program is to better understand potential effects of forestry, climate change and other stressors on salmon populations and watershed functioning in coastal B.C., which would then be used to inform watershed management. Therefore, one of the key purposes of this meeting is to discuss how Ecofish and Hakai could support Nanwakolas and FLNRORD in achieving this objective. Jordan Benner of Nanwakolas Council will also be in attendance and will speak to this specific application. Note that a follow up meeting is already scheduled for February 24th in Nanaimo with members of FLNRORD who cannot attend the Quadra Island meeting.
