Defending the Xwulqw’selu for future generations

Sacred & Sustaining

Originating on Waterloo Mountain and flowing east to the Salish Sea, the Koksilah River is a sacred part of Quw’utsun territory, and a central part of life in Cowichan Station.

What’s in a watershed?

The Koksilah is a small but crucial watershed. It’s a salmon-bearing stream, providing habitat for Chum, Coho and Chinook, as well as steelhead and trout. It’s home to elk, cougars, bears and countless other birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.

As the climate changes, this small river system is being disproportionately impacted by ever lengthening drought seasons. Because there are no large lakes within the system to help moderate and balance the flow, the Koksilah relies entirely on small wetlands and groundwater to maintain water levels high enough to support its abundant life. Without rain, there is no river.

Koksilah Watershed Working Group

Koksilah Watershed Working Group

In 2015, Cowichan Station Area Association volunteers concerned about the impacts of land use and climate change on our local water and environment came together to form the Koksilah Watershed Group.

OUR VALUES

We’re building a growing network of people who care deeply for the land and water. We meet regularly a the Hub, and work create opportunities for community members to contribute to research, participate in planning and monitoring, and connect to others who care deeply for the land and water.

WWe advocate for responsible and comprehensive water management policy to support and protect the river ecosystem, and initiate and support scientific research in the watershed. The ecosystem-based assessment was completed in September of 2019. Read the reports.

We recognize that Cowichan Station was established as a settler community that displaced and gravely disrupted the lives of the Quw’utsun’ people, and that the Koksilah River, Xwulqw’selu Sta’lo’, has deep cultural and spiritual meaning for the nation and remains unceded territory. We recognize that we bear the responsibility for doing all that we can to work toward reconciliation and understanding between cultures, in the hope of building a better future for us all.

We collaborate with First Nations and with other local, provincial and federal organizations to create sustainable and culturally appropriate plans to care for the watershed. We’re building our community’s knowledge and capacity to bring sound science-based recommendations into local decision-making processes.

REPORTS

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RESOURCES

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FLORA & FAUNA

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“To us, the river is a family member. It’s not only a family member, it’s something that distinctly sustains us, not just with salmon, not just with drinking water, but with all of these other issues with all of these other cultural connotations,” Tim Kulchyski, fisheries biologist and resource consultant with the Cowichan Tribes First Nation.

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