Community Watershed Monitoring Stewardship Group Profiles

The Mid-Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (MVIHES) understands that in order to recover our wild Pacific salmon, the conservation and restoration of their habitat is key. Through partnerships with local government and other organizations, they are doing just that - in watersheds, estuaries and shorelines all the way from Deep Bay to Lantzville! Creating public awareness of watershed health is another focus of this savvy group. MVIHES offers Streamkeepers Training, attends and displays a booth at community events in the region, shares equipment resources with the Oceanside community and schools and so much more! Recently, their focus has been on Shelly Creek in Parksville, a tributary to the Englishman River. They have counted over 8000 Coho smolt overwintering in Shelly Creek before migrating into the Englishman River, showing that small creeks are indeed valuable salmon rearing habitat and in this case refuge from higher flows in the Englishman in winter. If you want to learn more and find out how you can get involved, visit mvihes.bc.ca