Thompson-Shuswap Salmon Collaborative

The Thompson-Shuswap Salmon Collaborative, for which FBC provides secretariat support, is a technical planning process involving three orders of government working together to prioritize, guide, plan and implement salmon conservation and restoration in the Thompson-Shuswap watershed.

Salmon in the Thompson-Shuswap – A Need for Action

Wild Pacific salmon and Interior Fraser Steelhead in the Thompson-Shuswap region are in serious jeopardy.  Many populations have declined sharply in recent years and are now assessed as endangered or threatened.

Conserving these precious fish is of critical importance for many reasons. For the Secwepemc Nation, salmon and steelhead have been relied upon for cultural, spiritual and livelihood purposes since time immemorial. While numerous restoration initiatives have been undertaken in Thompson-Shuswap watersheds, these have not necessarily been coordinated or reviewed for effectiveness.  As well, several restoration or planning processes have operated at a broader scale but without linkage to local actions and plans. 

About the TSSC

The Thompson-Shuswap Salmon Collaborative (TSSC) is a non-political, technical planning process that brings together staff of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and the Secwepemc Fisheries Commission. The TSSC is not a consultative table, nor a formal G2G co-management initiative, but is an ongoing and evolving process focused on identifying and prioritizing practical, realistic actions to benefit salmon and steelhead in the Thompson-Shuswap region.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

The group has agreed to work cooperatively to integrate policy, planning, programming and field actions undertaken by each of the parties in the initiative.  As well, the TSSC will be seeking to coordinate with other groups undertaking conservation and restoration actions to benefit Wild Pacific salmon and Interior Fraser Steelhead. 

The TSSC has been focused on two main goals:

• Be responsive to the immediate needs of salmon and steelhead, and
• Be strategic about the longer-term needs of salmon and steelhead.

Background Documents

Terms of Reference and Strategic Planning Framework

The TSSC parties have signed a Terms of Reference (updated May 2024) to clarify their purpose and structure.

They have also prepared an initial Strategic Planning Framework tool to help identify priority watersheds and key issues to be addressed for Pacific salmon and Interior Fraser Steelhead in their freshwater environment.

Map

Here is a map of the Thompson-Shuswap watershed, the geographic focus of TSSC's work.

Open larger map image: PNG | PDF

Learn More

The Fraser Basin Council provides secretariat support to the TSSC. For more information, please contact the TSSC’s facilitator:

Thompson-Shuswap Salmon Collaborative
c/o Alex de Chantal
Fraser Basin Council
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