Upper Fraser Watersheds:
Education & Stewardship

FBC encourages people to understand and take steps to support healthy watersheds. Here’s a look at what's currently underway in the Upper Fraser.

Nechako Watershed Indicators

A sunny winter’s day on the bank of the Nechako River. FBC recently developed an indicators framework to help assess watershed health, to be adapted for the Nechako Basin this year. Photo: City of Prince George via Flickr.*

The Fraser Basin Council recently developed a framework of watershed indicators to help assess the health of watersheds at a local or regional scale. The framework is intended to benefit local, regional and First Nations governments, community organizations and provincial and federal agencies in carrying out their responsibilities in BC’s watersheds.

The watershed indicators framework identifies key indicators in five theme areas:

1. Water quality and quantity
2. Fish and wildlife
3. Ecosystems
4. Resource use
5. Resource conservation

The indicators framework was developed by FBC in 2013/2014 with funding from BC Wildlife Federation and Moore Foundation. It is one component of a three-year watershed project. The framework will be piloted this year for the Nechako Basin to identify indicators and analyze available data and information specific to this region, through additional funding support from Environment Canada.

The project is being implemented in collaboration with the members of the Nechako Watershed Alliance. This is a new group, which has emerged over the past two years and includes local, provincial and federal government representatives as well as non-government organizations, UNBC’s Integrated Watershed Research Group and interested citizens.

Learn more about the watershed indicators framework and other watershed work in Watersheds and Water Resources. [Link to main page or a specific program page on the BCWF group of projects within that section.]

The Fraser Basin Council has assisted on earlier initiatives in the Nechako Basin: see Other Regional Work.

* Photo by Flickr Creative Commons