When Salmon Need a Better Path: Restoring T’am Gandlaay (Mission Creek)
T’am Gandlaay (Mission Creek) is a culturally significant coho salmon-bearing stream in the community of Skidegate on Haida Gwaii. The stream flows from Spirit Lake through Skidegate before emptying into the ocean. In recent years, climate change, degraded habitat conditions and ongoing infrastructure pressures have increasingly affected stream health and fish passage within the creek.
During a severe drought in 2023, many sections of the creek, particularly the lower reaches, dried out completely. Salmon fry stranding has also been observed, requiring manual relocation efforts to prevent fish loss.
Location of T’am Gandlaay near Skidegate on Haida Gwaii. (Photo Credit: Skidegate Band Council)
With support from the ISF Salmon Resiliency Grant Program, Skidegate Band Council led a habitat assessment and planning project in T’am Gandlaay. Through site visits and stream assessments, the project examined habitat conditions and infrastructure challenges within lower sections of the creek. Information gathered through the assessment was used to develop a habitat improvement plan to help guide future restoration work and improve conditions for salmon.
What the Assessment Shows
The assessment highlighted several areas of concern, including:
- Aging infrastructure, including concrete structures and culverts, restricts natural water flow and salmon movement.
- Limited variety of physical habitat features, such as deep pools, tree cover, instream structure and riparian vegetation, which reduces habitat complexity, negatively impacting fish habitat quality and biodiversity.
- Low summer flows and seasonal drying reduce available fish habitat and contribute to fish passage challenges.
Highway 16 culvert that can restrict fish passage during low flow conditions. (Photo Credit: Skidegate Band Council)
Potential Habitat Improvement Options
Based on the assessment findings, several potential restoration approaches were identified to help support salmon habitat and fish passage, including:
- Install wooden baffles on concrete structures to improve fish passage and help retain deeper water during low flow conditions.
- Deepen pools, add natural logs and plant vegetation along the creek to improve physical habitat features variety and streamside cover.
- Explore the potential use of a weir at Spirit Lake to help supplement low summer flows, retain water within the creek and improve habitat conditions for salmon during drought periods.
Together, the proposed restoration options aim to help T’am Gandlaay retain water longer during dry summer periods while creating deeper pools, increasing shade and shelter, and improving passage conditions for salmon. Over time, these improvements can help reduce seasonal drying impacts, increase fry survival and support the continued return of coho salmon to the creek.
The Indigenous Stewardship Fund (ISF) works in close partnership with the First Nations Fisheries Council (FNFC), which serves as a frontline organization for collaboration with First Nations across British Columbia. FNFC leads relationship-building and engagement with more than 200 First Nations across the province, listening to and identifying Nations’ interests, priorities and perspectives. ISF complements this work by serving as the funding mechanism that helps turn those relationships and priorities into action. Together, FNFC and ISF ensure that the leadership, needs and priorities of BC First Nations are met with flexible and accessible resources that support Indigenous-led stewardship, habitat protection and long-term environmental resilience.
