Located at the head of Howe Sound, British Columbia, the Squamish River Estuary supports a rich diversity of wildlife and plays a vital ecological role in the region. From 2022 to 2023, 850 m of the training dyke separating the Squamish River main channel and central estuary was breached to improve fish habitat connectivity.
The CSE team has been working with Fisheries & Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Habitat Restoration Centre of Expertise to examine how this recent restoration effort influences hydrodynamics at the breach and nearby navigation waterways. Over a 16-week term supported by a NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award, Shan worked to analyze how upstream river flow, tidal cycles, and extreme weather events influence water levels and salinity in the estuary. This included several field visits to Squamish with Morgan and Max from DFO to retrieve oceanographic instruments and data for the study.
