Those who cherish the presence of salmon in local waterways have a chance to help the species through an online fundraiser.
The Campbell River Salmon Foundation (CRSF) is holding a 50/50 raffle to raise funds for local salmon conservation, rehabilitation and enhancement work. This charity funds projects by groups operating from the Oyster River to the Salmon River estuary and the adjacent mainland coast to the north.
“We support a lot of the smaller organizations that are doing the work directly on the rivers,” explained Laurel Sliskovic, CRSF president. “We try to get money to those organizations as quickly as possible, so they can do the work when it needs to be done.”
The charity has supported an array of projects helping salmon throughout their lifecycle, including spawning habitat restoration, incubation box installation, habitat mapping, cleanup events, plankton monitoring and nutrient enhancement.
RELATED: Pacific salmon recovery report gives 32 recommendations to reverse salmon declines
CRSF also works to connect stewardship groups with other partners. Last year, the foundation funded around $100,000 on local community projects, but that support translated to over $385,000 in matched funding from other groups, explained Sliskovic.
There are 12,000 tickets available for the raffle, through which the organization is hoping to collect $200,000 — meaning it would raise $100,000, with one lucky winter taking home the other $100,000.
“This is the second year we have not held our fundraisers, so we wanted to do something that was accessible to as many people in the community and beyond — because we can sell tickets right across the province,” said Sliskovic. “We wanted to make sure we had a good pot of fundraising — because if volunteers are on the ground doing work, they’re not necessarily also fundraising.”
RELATED: Ottawa to close about 60 per cent of commercial salmon fisheries to conserve stocks
sean.feagan@campbellrivermirror.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
