Our Work in the Regions > Northern Interior Region > Nechako Watershed Roundtable

Nechako Watershed Roundtable

The Nechako Watershed Roundtable is a collaborative initiative to protect and improve the health of the Nechako watershed for future generations

About the Roundtable

The Nechako Watershed — a magnificent river system in north-central BC — is facing significant challenges such as wildfire and drought, impacts of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and salvage logging, climate change, and the diversion of water out of the Nechako watershed. Effective stewardship of the Nechako Watershed is now critical to all future generations.

The Nechako Watershed Roundtable is working on these issues and advising on water stewardship activities to further its Strategic Plan 2022-2026. The Roundtable includes representation from BC First Nations, the Province of BC, local governments and other agencies and organizations having responsibilities and interests in the watershed. It is guided by core leadership committee and has secretariat support from FBC.

For some years it was agreed that the watershed activities could be better coordinated, limited resources be pooled more effectively, and decision-makers and the public be given more opportunities to learn about and engage for the health of the watershed. In 2015 the Fraser Basin Council collaborated with the then Nechako Watershed Alliance and the Community Mapping Network to prepare an overview map and a Nechako Watershed Health Report. Participants that year formed a watershed roundtable that included representatives of government (Provincial, Local and First Nations), community groups, academic and research communities, and the general public.

Annual Meetings

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The Nechako Watershed Council holds its next meeting online on September 25 (9:00 am - 12:30 pm) on the theme "British Columbia Watershed Governance: Celebrations, Considerations and the Path Forward." Learn more and register to join in!

Visit the NWR site for summaries and materials on:

Lakes Monitoring Working Group

A NWR Lakes Monitoring Working Group oversaw a 2023 Large Lakes Monitoring Strategy report. A key issue is that cumulative effects of watershed development, water use and climate change (including climate-driven wildfires) have the potential to significantly affect the ecosystem structure and productive capacity of large salmon-bearing headwater lakes and outlet rivers in the Nechako River Basin. The effects of watershed stressors have been quantified for some medium-sized lakes; however, little is known about effects on the large headwater lakes and rivers.

The Large Lakes Monitoring Strategy, framed as a living document, is focused on developing a comprehensive, long-term technical monitoring program. The intention is to identify environmental and ecosystems changes and to help prevent further water quality degradation in these lakes. Follow the work on the NWR website.