Envisioning a watershed that is healthy for generations to come
The Nechako Watershed Roundtable is a collaborative initiative to protect and improve the health of the Nechako watershed for future generations. The NWR includes representation from BC First Nations, the Province of BC, local governments and other agencies and organizations having responsibilities and interests in the watershed.
In February 2023 the Nechako Watershed Roundtable launched its own website at www.nechakowatershed.ca!
Check out the site for news and events, information on the core committee and membership, a watershed map and details of NWR projects. Plus, there's opportunity to share about your own project directly through the site. Visit & connect!
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.
Different organizations have worked, and to continue to work, to improve the health of the Nechako. Most agree that 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.
A dialogue began back in 2012 among different bodies within the watershed, which informally became known as the Nechako Watershed Alliance. Their intent was to share information, explore common interests and brainstorm on the actions needed to advance watershed health.
In 2015 the Fraser Basin Council (FBC) collaborated with the 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 includes representatives of government (Provincial, Local and First Nations), community groups, academic and research communities, and the general public.
Guided by a core leadership committee and with secretariat support from FBC, the Nechako Watershed Roundtable has since drafted and updated a Nechako watershed strategy and plans to undertake and advise on water stewardship activities in the Nechako River Basin.
The 2022 Annual Meeting of the Nechako Watershed Roundtable (themed “Reconnecting: Collaboration Across the Watershed”) in October was an opportunity for members to connect in-person at the House of Ancestors “Uda Dune Baiyoh” Conference Centre in Prince George.
The event included updates from the NWR Co-Chairs, Youth Engagement and Lakes Monitoring Working Groups, a Nechako/Takla Portal demonstration, a Reconnecting Roundtable and updates on initiatives from around the watershed.
