Prioritizing conservation actions for Pacific salmon in Canada

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dc.contributor.authorWalsh, Jessica C.
dc.contributor.authorConnors, Katrina
dc.contributor.authorHertz, Eric
dc.contributor.authorKehoe, Laura
dc.contributor.authorMartin, Tara G.
dc.contributor.authorConnors, Brendan
dc.contributor.authorBradford, Michael J.
dc.contributor.authorFreshwater, Cameron
dc.contributor.authorFrid, Alejandro
dc.contributor.authorHalverson, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorMoore, Jonathan W.
dc.contributor.authorPrice, Michael H. H.
dc.contributor.authorReynolds, John D.
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-15T21:36:17Z
dc.date.available2020-06-15T21:36:17Z
dc.date.copyright2020en_US
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractCurrent investment in conservation is insufficient to adequately protect and recover all ecosystems and species. The challenge of allocating limited funds is acute for Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. in Canada, which lack a strategic approach to ensure that resources are spent on actions most likely to cost‐effectively recover diminished populations. We applied the Priority Threat Management framework to prioritize strategies most likely to maximize the number of thriving Pacific salmon populations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. These included 79 genetically, ecologically and spatially distinct population groups called conservation units (CUs) for five salmon species. This region has high salmon biodiversity and spans the territories of four First Nations: the Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Wuikinuxv. Using structured expert elicitation of Indigenous and other experts, we quantified the estimated benefits, costs and feasibility of implementing 10 strategies. Under a business‐as‐usual scenario (i.e. no additional investments in salmon conservation or management), experts predicted that only one in four CUs would have >50% chance of achieving a thriving status within 20 years. Limiting future industrial development in salmon habitats, which was predicted to safeguard CUs from future declines, was identified as the most cost‐effective strategy. Investment in three strategies: (a) removal of artificial barriers to fish migration, (b) watershed protection and (c) stream restoration—at 11.3M CAD per year—was predicted to result in nearly half (34 of 79) of the CUs having a >60% chance of meeting the conservation objective. If all conservation strategies were implemented, experts estimated a >50% probability of achieving a thriving status for 78 of 79 CUs, at an annual cost of 17.3M CAD. However, even with the implementation of all strategies, most sockeye salmon CUs were unlikely to achieve higher probability targets of reaching the objective. Policy implications . We illustrate how Priority Threat Management can incorporate the perspectives and expertise of Indigenous peoples and other experts to prioritize conservation strategies based on their cost, benefit and feasibility. Implementation of this framework can help safeguard and recover Pacific salmon in Canada, and could also be used to prioritize actions for other conservation issues globally.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipWe thank CCIRA and Stewardship Offices' staff from the Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Wuikinuxv Nations for their support. We thank the following individuals for providing valuable advice and feedback: P. Siwallace, M. Reid, D. Chan, D. Rolston, B. Edgar, D. Neasloss, D. Dobson, D. Stewart and all experts. Thank you to the Salmon Watersheds Program staff at Pacific Salmon Foundation for use of the Pacific Salmon Explorer, K. Kellock for producing maps and E. Jones, J. Belzile, C. Stevenson and L. Chalifour for facilitating workshop discussions. We thank D. Braun, W. Atlas & J. Walkus for comments on the manuscript. Mitacs, the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance, Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Tom Buell Endowment Fund funded this project. This work was supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada and a NSERC Discovery Grant to T.G.M. Icon credits: Dan Hetteix from the Noun Project (creek), Freepik from Flaticon.com (seal) and Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019. Infographic was designed by Kate at Fuse Consulting.en_US
dc.identifier.citationWalsh, J. C., Connors, K., Hertz, E., Kehoe, L., Martin, T. G., Connors, B., Bradford, M. J., Freshwater, C., Frid, A., Halverson, J., Moore, J. W., Price, M. H. H., & Reynolds, J. D. (2020). Prioritizing conservation actions for Pacific salmon in Canada. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2020, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13646.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13646
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11835
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Applied Ecologyen_US
dc.subjectconservation planning
dc.subjectdecision-support tool
dc.subjectIndigenous knowledge
dc.subjectPacific salmon
dc.subjectPriority Threat Management
dc.subjectrecovery planning
dc.subjectstream restoration
dc.subjectWild Salmon Policy
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Biology
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Environmental Studies
dc.titlePrioritizing conservation actions for Pacific salmon in Canadaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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