Stream Stewardship

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A Guide for Planners and Developers

The Guide to Stream Stewardship is about habitat – a place to live – for both people and fish.

Pacific salmon and trout are valuable public property. They spawn and rear in streams, in many cases right on the doorstep of urban development. If we want both our communities and the fish, we must make the concept of sustainable development work. This document introduces concepts which accommodate urban development and conserve the fish resource, for current needs, and those of future generations.

This document is designed for the use of local governments, planners, developers, consultants, and anyone interested in the relationship of urban development to the fisheries resource.

The objectives of this document are to:

• Describe the fishery resource and habitat requirements which are essential to maintain healthy streams
• Provide an outline of the land development process in British Columbia identifying key stages and approvals required,
• Highlight existing planning tools and encourage their use for the protection of fish habitat, and other environmentally sensitive areas,
• Suggest economic issues which should be addressed which influence appropriate development proposals,
• Introduce the Land Development Guidelines which describe techniques for the protection of productive conditions during land development, and,
• Describe the environmental approval process which oversees the protection of fish habitat during land development.

For technical information about development near fish streams, refer to the Land Development Guidelines for the Protection of the Aquatic Habitat, available from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans or the Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks.