New StoryMap for Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary Wildlife Management Area

The Squamish Estuary – A Vital Ecosystem in Recovery

As important and distinct ecosystems in the Átl'ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region go, the Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary is one of the best known, best loved, most altered and most important. Find out why in our newly published Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary WMA StoryMap.

Earlier this year, we launched our first StoryMap on the McNab Watershed as part of our Terrestrial Atlas program. We have now launched our second, focusing on the Squamish River estuary lying next to Squamish at the head of Átl'ḵa7tsem / Howe Sound.

The Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary. Credit: Bob Turner

They say BC’s Fraser River is “mighty”, but the Squamish River is also a force to be reckoned with. The region’s largest river, it has carried glacial silt and other sediments from the Pemberton Icefield and other peaks for around ten thousand years. With each passing year, the river deposited fertile silt on the Squamish Valley floor. The large estuary at the river’s mouth slowly crept south as new land was created from the incoming sediment. This highly dynamic system flowed with the seasons and the centuries through until colonial times. And like estuaries elsewhere, the conditions supported an incredibly productive ecosystem, creating an important biodiversity hotspot in the region.

This deltaic estuary has been home to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Stélmexw (Squamish People) since time immemorial. It was the site of ancient villages and a crucial canoe access point to their sea “highway”. The tidal mudflats were rich in traditional foods, medicines and other resources, with seasonal cycles bringing delicacies such as slhawt' (herring) and ch'em'esh (herring roe).

Today, the Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary is squeezed between the town of Squamish and the Squamish River. To its east lies urban and industrial development. To its west, and bordering the river, lies a “training berm” built in 1972. Industrial facilities were also built right in the estuary.

The impact from colonial activities changed this estuary permanently. The training berm in particular has been most damaging, cutting off the centre of the estuary from the river and stagnating its cycling of nutrients and fresh water. Even more damaging, the berm cut off the access for young salmon to the central estuary “nursery grounds”, which was previously their “safe space” before adulthood and the open water. Without these nursery grounds, the mortality rate for salmon—a critical species on the food web we rely on—is much, much higher.

Thankfully, the restoration and recovery of the estuary has been ongoing for around two decades, a result of a management plan that in itself was almost twenty years in the making. The Squamish River Watershed Society, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Uxwumixw and other non-profit organizations have diligently and determinedly been working to restore former industrial lands and re-establish the critical connection between the river and the central estuary (among other actions).

While the work is still ongoing, a significant difference has been made to restore some of the balance in this critical ecosystem.

To learn about the history of the estuary, its colonial impacts and collaborations to bring about a restored ecosystem, visit our Skwelwil'em Squamish Estuary WMA StoryMap.