Project Watershed, a non-profit society, was incorporated in 1993 with a focus on mapping the sensitive habitats in Comox Valley.

In 1992, The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Coho Steering Committee released their final report called, “COHO – Planning Process and Recommendations”. This report attempted to address the challenge of declining coho stocks in the Strait of Georgia. Their recommendations included new strategies for harvest management, increased stream escapement assessment, and extensive work in habitat monitoring, mapping and protection. They also recommended a focus on stream stewardship reaching out to schools and the general public. Key among their recommendations was that pilot projects should be started in both the Comox and Cowichan watershed areas.  

Later that year, DFO sponsored a symposium that discussed the health of local watersheds and other water-related issues in the Comox Valley. Chris Hilliar, a DFO employee from the Puntledge River Hatchery, presented a proposal for a pilot project in community stewardship of local watersheds. Chris encouraged a number of concerned participants from the forum to create a non-profit society for this purpose. These individuals became the founding directors of the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society. The society was incorporated in February, 1993, with the founding board members Norm Sieffert, Maye Davis, Bunny Shannon, Len Morrow, Wendy Kotilla, and Les Cartwright. The first two staff people were Don Chamberlain, a fisheries technician, and Michele Jones, a local ecologist. All these people are owed a debt of gratitude for their tireless efforts to keep the society moving forward in the early years.

A vacant DFO hatchery building on the Tsolum River, located at Headquarters Creek, was the organization’s first physical space. The society ran the hatchery, raising and releasing about 110,000 pink salmon fry in March 1994 and again in March 1995.  Our prime focus, however, was to utilize the building as an educational centre – the Tsolum River Ecology Centre. The centre was made available to school groups, and the general public. It was also frequented by Tsolum River residents that would eventually form our first unofficial streamkeepers group. We proactively created the “The Morrison – Millard Creek Dippers” group to monitor stream health and this was the beginnings of what would eventually become Project Watershed’s Streamkeepers Program.  Our staff helped develop and test several modules of the “The Streamkeepers Handbook” produced by DFO.

In 1994, Project Watershed also initiated a mapping, assessment and water quality monitoring program, and identified forty-two different valley salmon streams that needed attention. Over the next few years it became apparent that there was inadequate or non-existent geographical data on streams. In response to this, we built out our mapping initiative on those 42 streams and began the Watershed Inventory project which collected data until 1996.

Streamkeepers at Brooklyn Creek 1996

Stream Mapping

In 2005, Project Watershed developed a second strategic plan covering 2005 to 2010 with a goal to support the efforts of other stream stewardship groups work to improve watershed health by:​

1. 1. Providing equipment, mapping and library resources, meeting space and training to existing groups. ​
   2. Continuing to assist in the formation of new stewardship groups. ​
   3. Providing Streamkeeper and Wetlandkeeper courses. ​
   4. Hosting workshops that may result in an opportunity to create new stewardship groups.

In 2006-07, Project Watershed moved out of the Manor in Comox and into offices on 5th street in Courtenay above the Golden Carriage sharing offices with the Comox Valley Land Trust and Tsolum River Restoration Society. The Stewards of the Puntledge Watershed Workshop Series was launched during this time to protect the drinking water source in the Comox Valley. Project Watershed, with funding from what was then called the Bridge Coastal Restoration Program (now the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program), employed local biologists and environmental technicians and embarked on what would be come a long term concerted effort to enhance the Puntledge River for salmon. Over 20 projects were undertaken in the river over an 8-year period, including modifying Fisheries and Oceans hatchery operations to improve the success of endangered Chinook stocks. For more information on these projects check out our Puntledge River Reports. Interpretive signs for the Puntledge River were also created and installed as part of this effort.

In 2007, Project Watershed was running almost solely on Bridge Coastal Restoration Program projects and looking for ways to diversify our funding base and project scope. There was considerable discussion of issues related to the Courtenay Estuary in the local newspapers. Three issues stood out. The pending sale of the Field Sawmill site (now know as Kus-kus-sum), the development of an service station on the Comox Road that ran through the estuary, and the predation of salmon by seals that gathered in the river to feed, especially during spawning runs. In 2008, we hosted the Heart of our Watershed Symposium to discuss these issues as a community.  As a follow up to the symposium, Project Watershed and 14 other individuals and organizations formed the Estuary Working Group. The group decided to use the name K’ómoks Estuary in lieu of the Courtenay River Estuary due to the significance of the estuary to the K’ómoks First Nation.

Project Watershed also launched the Mapping Centre as a social enterprise during this period. The Watershed Directory, a printed pamphlet of contacts and groups associated with water issues, was updated and rereleased. Project Watershed also joined the Comox Valley Conservation Partnership. In 2008, The Mapping Centre staff, led by Don Chamberlain worked with Jack Minard and Lynda Fyfe from Comox Valley Land Trust to create maps and text for the first edition of Nature Without Borders report. This document is a regional biodiversity conservation plan aimed at helping guide development and conservation in the Comox Valley. It was updated and rereleased in 2013.

Nancy Greene presenting Andy Everson with his Stick in the Mud certificate

In 2011, the K’omoks First Nation met with Project Watershed to formally sign a Memorandum of Agreement regarding information and activity in the K’òmoks Estuary. This agreement established a relationship regarding collaboration on future activity in the estuary. In the same year, the first eelgrass transplant pilot project was undertaken in Royston and an the Estuary Residents Survey, which explored the knowledge and interest of people living around the K’ómoks Estuary in estuary issues, was completed. Project Watershed organized a popular event that highlighted groups working to improve the health of the estuary called The Day of the Estuary.

A National Historic Site Status Committee was formed and prepared a submission in 2011-12 that they hoped would solidify protection of the estuary. This submission was based on the research on historic fish traps by Nancy Greene and David McGee. It included the production of the video The K’ómoks Estuary- A cultural & archaeological treasure. The K’ómoks First Nation wanted to wait until their treaty with the Crown was finalized before formally supporting a submission. The Treaty is still pending and the initiative on hold. 

Lora Tryon, working with Project Watershed on her Master’s Thesis, produced The Restoration and Protection Options for Juvenile Salmonids in 2011. This document which listed and prioritized projects in the estuary to benefit salmon and other species, laid the foundation for our future projects in and around the estuary.  Maps highlighting traditional First Nation land use and European settlement in the Comox Valley were created for the Comox Museum by the Mapping Center in 2011-12.

In 2016, Project Watershed focused on several projects such as the Salish Sea Marine Survival project, Field Sawmill scoping study, Hilton Slough enhancement and the Simms Millennium Park Project. The Simms Park Project included installing culverts and excavating the waterway to reconnect fish habitat between the Courtenay River and Courtenay Slough. The project continued into 2017. Project Watershed changed the name of our conservation library to the Norma Morton Archives in recognition of the lifetime contribution of Norma Mortn to research, restoration and protection of habitat in the K’ómoks Estuary and nearby wetlands. Also in 2016, we hosted a presentation and panel session on Blue Carbon work at the Salish Sea Conference and initiated the Estuary “Signs of Abundance” project. We worked with Emily Carr students who produced a suite of videos focused on the estuary, held an open house at the Conservation Centre and participated in the EcoAssests Symposium.

In 2017, we decided to take on restoring the abandoned Field Sawmill site in partnership with the K’ómoks First Nation and City of Courtenay. The K’ómoks First Nation gave the site the name Kus-kus-sum and we launched the fundraising campaign to acquire the property (for more info visit Kus-kus-sum Project History). In the same year, we secured a 5-year grant for the restoration of saltmarsh, eelgrass and kelp from the Coastal Restoration Fund. We also created our Glacier to Estuary education materials and began providing field trips for School District 71. In addition, to all this The Mapping Centre worked with streamkeepers groups to produce Watershed Brochures for Millard-Piercy Creek, Brooklyn Creek, and Morrison Creek.

The Nomadic Tempest Show at Kus-kus-sum by Darran Chaisson

In 2020, Project Watershed completed saltmarsh restoration at Fanny Bay and started the Comox Bay Farm wetland restoration project with Ducks Unlimited. We continued our work on saltmarsh, eelgrass, and kelp restoration. Sampling beaches for forage fish continued as we expanded into the Campbell River area. Protocols were developed and implemented for sampling beaches via environmental DNA. Fundraising for the purchase of the Kus-kus-sum property wrapped up with the Province of BC and a few major donors stepping in to contribute the final funds required. The property acquisition component of the project was completed in November. 

In 2021, we initiated Phase I of the Kus-kus-sum Project; removing the building, concrete, rebar and asphalt from the site. We continued work on our coastal restoration projects focused on eelgrass, saltmarsh, and kelp restoration, research and monitoring. Our forage fish initiative carried into year two. We worked with a variety of partners including an Ocean Bridge Ambassador on this initiative and surveyed a variety of beaches in the winter and summer for forage fish eggs. Our Comox Bay Farm wetland restoration and Mallard Creek reed canary grass control continued to progress. Glacier View Lodge lands development presented opportunities for Mallard Creek headwaters. For the second time in our history, we hired an Executive Director. In addition, our Board of Directors started the transition from a working board to a governance board.