Elk: With direction from Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Wildlife Working Group, we coordinate our Nation’s elk hunt and support hunters to bring wild meat to community freezers. After more than a century, the first community hunt in the Indian River Watershed took place in 2016. In spring 2025, we negotiated a hunting access agreement with Metro Vancouver for the Seymour Watershed, which had been closed to səlilwətaɬ access since the 1930s. The first limited community elk hunt in the Seymour was held in November 2025.

Salmon: Building on relationships with other Nations, we ensure salmon harvest and food fish for our community. Our Field Crew monitors salmon returns to help understand their health over the years. Salmon harvested in the territory is processed through canning, freezing, smoking, and more. This fish is regularly distributed to the community for food, culture, and ceremonial purposes. Collaboration with the TWN siʔáḿθət School and TWN Daycare allows for this knowledge to be shared and passed down.

Precontact TWN Diet – A Fish-Focused Menu

We reconstructed the ancestral Tsleil-Waututh diet from approximately 1000 CE up to early European contact in 1792 CE. Approximately 90-95% of protein in an ancestral səl̓ilwətaɬ diet came from marine and tidal sources, which demonstrates how extensively wild foods and resources have been lost in səlilwət. This study was carried out in collaboration with UBC researchers. Read article

Artist credit: Olivia George

Salmonid Collapse in səlilwət

Since the 1860s CE, salmonid stocks in surrounding rivers, creeks, and streams have decreased by 85-99%. Logging, dams, and estuary and channel modification have significantly contributed to collapsed salmon populations in the Seymour, Capilano and Indian Rivers, the largest rivers draining into səlilwət. Read article

Forage Fish Collapse in səlilwət

Examination of early fishery records and historical documents revealed peaks in landings of herring, smelt and eulachon, with sharp decreases in the early 20th century, leading to at least a 99% reduction in stocks. Due to the importance of forage fish in supporting higher trophic levels, the successive collapses of herring (1885 CE), eulachon (1899 CE) and smelt (1930s CE) may have been the most significant impacts to the entire marine ecosystem. Read article

Water Quality Policy: səlilwətaɬ and the Province of BC have co-signed an updated policy called Water Quality Objectives that defines how clean səlilwət water, sediment and seafood species must be to protect Water Values. Those Water Values are grounded on səlilwətaɬ values and adapted by a multi-sector Roundtable convened by səlilwətaɬ.

Interactive Tools and Educational Materials: Explore our interactive map on colonial impacts affecting water quality in səlilwət, and our stormwater storymap showing the impacts of polluted runoff on səlilwətaɬ’s way of life. Check out our data dashboard and contaminant heat maps for displays of selected contaminants in different parts of səlilwət. Our guides for researchers/educators/NGOs, industry, and governments, and one-page outreach guide explain how to apply the Water Quality Objectives.

Artist credit: Olivia George

Pollution Reports: səlilwətaɬ and the Province of BC have co-produced several detailed reports about contaminants in səlilwət. səlilwətaɬ has published a report describing the impacts of contamination on our safe harvesting practices.

Before You Monitor Water Quality in səlilwət: Please consult səlilwətaɬ’s reports on the needs for coordinated monitoring and research in səlilwət, and our monitoring guidance report produced with the Province of BC.

Artist credit: Jordan Gallie, Olivia George and Candace Thomas

Erosion and Sediment Transport Study

A model was developed to analyze sediment transport pathways in səlilwət. When this model was run with the precontact shoreline, before colonial modifications, sediment that was eroded from shore was likely to be redeposited back on nearby shorelines; however, in 2019, the model indicated that sediment eroded from shore was likely to be deposited in deep eddies and lost to the seafloor. This shift over time has disrupted a stable balance of sediment erosion and deposition. Read Report

Vessel Wake Study

The findings of this study demonstrate that vessels in səlilwət are increasing the overall wave energy beyond natural wind-generated waves, with the increase in probability ranging from 1.2 to 4.6 times depending on the location. On a per wake basis, tankers on their own are the most likely type of vessels to produce the most powerful waves in front of the TWN reserve. Read Report

Stormwater Inputs to səlilwət

There are more than 1,200 outfalls of various kinds (e.g., stormwater outfalls, provincially authorized discharges, and combined-sewer overflow discharges) in səlilwət. They fall under various jurisdictions (e.g., municipal, provincial, Port). Stable isotope and fatty acid analyses indicate that wastewater inputs constitute a greater proportion of zooplankton diets than freshwater inputs in səlilwət, despite being in a rainforest biome with numerous rivers and inputs from the Fraser River. Read Report

Indian River Watershed Restoration Projects: Since 2022, TWN has completed restoration of three spawning and rearing channels: Brandt Channel, 5k Channel, Elk slough; an engineered log jam structure at ‘Old River’; and an emergency drought response on the mainstem. 

Goose Exclosure: We are monitoring Canada goose populations in the Inlet and documenting the negative effects of overgrazing on the Indian River estuary. We have installed eco-cultural goose exclosure fencing to reduce grazing pressures on estuarine restoration.

Wolf Habitat Monitoring: We are working with Raincoast Conservation to develop a Relationship Plan for the returning wolf population in the Indian River Watershed. Our plan includes increased camera monitoring and collection of wolf scat to better understand their diets and genetic makeup. Mapping of wolf habitat is ongoing.

Whey-ah-Wichen Shoreline Restoration: We have nearly completed a major restoration project at Whey-ah-Wichen. Through beach nourishment and upland improvements, this project aims to reduce the growing threat of rising sea levels, shoreline erosion, invasive species, and high foot traffic to sensitive archeological and ecological sites. New rain gardens have been created to intercept runoff and improve the quality of the water flowing into the inlet. 

q̓am̓ (Bull Kelp) and cə́ləm (Eelgrass) Mapping: To understand the present-day extent of bull kelp and eelgrass within səlilwət and identify potential areas for restoration, we mapped eelgrass in partnership with SeaChange Marine Conservation Society from 2015 to 2021 and mapped bull kelp from 2017 to 2020. Future work aims to remap priority areas to inform restoration planning.

q̓am̓ (Bull Kelp) Restoration: In partnership with the Kelp Rescue Initiative, we successfully grew bull kelp at Whey-ah-Wichen and New Brighton Park in 2024 providing important habitat for marine life. This work is summarized in the Kelp Restoration Guidance Document released in 2026. Future work aims to increase community involvement by developing less diver- and lab-reliant methods.

Precontact Ecosystem Model – Unsettling the Record 

Using ecosystem models, we recreated the səl̓ilwət ecosystem before European contact, which depicted the Inlet as a rich, diverse, abundant and stable ecosystem that supported up to 10,000 Tsleil-Waututh ancestors. We then modeled select environmental stressors and the devastating loss of səl̓ilwətaɬ life caused by colonization from 1750–1980 CE. Our results show an estimated loss of 88% of harvestable biomass from səlilwət. This study was carried out in collaboration with UBC researchers. 

Pre-Contact Shoreline of səlilwət

This study demonstrates that across səlilwət a total of 1,214 ha of intertidal and subtidal areas have been lost to development and change, including 55% (945 ha) of the inlet’s intertidal areas. The most severe shoreline alteration occurred in False Creek and the Inner Harbour: False Creek Flats (>99% intertidal area lost), the Capilano River Estuary (80% intertidal area lost), and the Seymour-Lynn Estuary (56% intertidal area lost).

TWN Harvesting Survey: More than 200 TWN Community Members participated in our harvesting survey in Spring 2025. Over 80% of respondents want to harvest more, process more, and eat more wild and traditional foods. Top barriers preventing TWN Community Members from harvesting and eating more wild foods are related to knowledge and transportation. The information gathered through this survey helps us understand TWN’s current and future harvesting and use of wild foods. This is important for shaping and guiding the work of TLR to support community harvesting opportunities.

Artist credit: Olivia George

Community Trips to Ancestral Village Sites: We organize community trips to important ancestral village sites to strengthen Tsleil-Waututh members’ connection to the land and water. For the last two years, with funding from Metro Vancouver, we organized boat trips from Whey-ah-Wichen to təmtəmíxʷtən for the community and TWN School to reconnect and learn about one of TWN’s largest ancestral villages. With support from the Vancouver Park Board and City of Burnaby, we organize annual events at other village sites like Xway Xway (Stanley Park) and saltaɬ (Barnet Marine Park).