When Water Runs Low: First Nations Creek Monitoring Protects Salmon in the Okanagan
Wild salmon stocks in the Okanagan have experienced significant declines due to habitat loss, overfishing and dam construction. Climate change is adding further pressure, with drought conditions leading to low water flow and rising water temperatures that threaten salmon survival.
Recognizing these growing risks, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) is strengthening drought monitoring and linking it directly to management actions on the ground. With support from the Indigenous Stewardship Fund (ISF) for two years, the project strengthens Indigenous-led monitoring and supports rapid responses to drought impacts on local streams.
Isolated pools in snʕax̌əlqaxʷiyaʔ-Vaseux Creek, September 2025. (Photo Credit: Okanagan Nation Alliance)
From Creek Walks to Timely Response
The project focuses on regular creek walks in four streams within Syilx territory – snʕax̌əlqaxʷiyaʔ-Vaseux Creek, nsәsḱitkw-Shuttleworth Creek, akskʷəkʷant-Inkaneep Creek and Bessette Creek. During the low flow season, crews survey these creeks to identify drought conditions, fish passage barriers and the risk of fish becoming stranded in isolated pools. Fish stranding has been a recurring issue for many years in these streams that provide important salmon rearing and spawning habitat (where fish lay their eggs and develop).
Field observations can trigger immediate action. On September 12, 2025, an Okanagan Nation Alliance crew conducting a creek walk at nsәsḱitkw-Shuttleworth Creek identified isolated pools where fish were trapped. The team responded quickly by safely moving about 300 fish, including both small and larger species, to nearby t̕uʔcin-Skaha Lake.
Rescuing stranded fish from nsәsḱitkw-Shuttleworth Creek during drought. (Photo Credit: Okanagan Nation Alliance)
This work demonstrates how Indigenous-led drought monitoring enables rapid, real-time responses that help prevent fish mortality. By combining on-the-ground observations with immediate action, the project helps safeguard salmon and other fish species while strengthening Indigenous stewardship and supporting food sovereignty for future generations.
Protecting a Sacred Connection: Salmon as Relatives, Stewardship as Responsibility
For the Syilx people, salmon are far more than a food source. As one of the Four Food Chiefs and central to many captikʷɬ-oral histories, salmon are relatives and an essential part of the health and resilience of tmixʷ-all living things. The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) continues the work of its ancestors by caring for the lands, waters and living things of the territory. Through salmon restoration, stewardship and Nation-led conservation, the Syilx Okanagan Nation remains strong in protecting its rights, title and responsibilities to future generations.
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.
