Historic return to the Columbia River

The Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative, led by the Ktunaxa, Syilx Okanagan and Secwépemc Nations, in partnership with the governments of British Columbia and Canada, is proud to announce a historic achievement: sockeye salmon released as fry in the upper Columbia River in Canada have returned as adults this year as far upriver as fish passage currently allows.

The Columbia’s headwaters in the East Kootenay, once the spawning grounds of the world’s greatest salmon runs, have been blocked to returning salmon since the downstream construction of Grand Coulee Dam over 86 years ago.

Through the Indigenous-led Bringing the Salmon Home: The Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative, two tagged sockeye salmon that were released in the upper Columbia as juvenile fry in 2023 were detected returning into the Columbia River as adults in the summer of 2025.

The fish completed a remarkable journey down through a dozen major dams to the ocean and back toward their ancestral waters.

One adult sockeye was tracked making its way upstream past Wells Dam in Washington State, as of June 30, 2025. The second adult sockeye was detected passing through the nearby Rocky Reach Fishway on July 7. There were no further detections beyond these points.

Cultural processes have been observed within the respective Indigenous Nations and now this momentous news can be shared widely.

“This is a powerful affirmation of what our Elders and Knowledge Keepers have always told us,” said kalʔlùpaɋʹn Chief Keith Crow, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Syilx Okanagan Nation. “Our Peoples have never stopped working together across colonial borders to call the salmon back. The salmon belong here, and with ceremony, Indigenous Knowledge combined with western science, and determination, we are bringing them home.”

Mark Thomas, Shuswap Indian Band Councillor, Secwépemc Nation, and Chair of the Bringing the Salmon Home Executive Working Group said: “This proves that, given the chance, the salmon know where they need to go. This moment is cause for celebration, reflection, and renewed commitment. We do this work for our grandchildren, for the river, and for all of our relations.”

Jason Andrew, ʔaq̓am Councillor, Ktunaxa Nation, added: “Our ancestors taught us that salmon are part of who we are. Their return signals hope, healing, and responsibility. We will continue advocating for the necessary resources until ultimate fish passage is secured and salmon once again thrive in the upper Columbia.”

The Honourable Joanne Thompson, Minister of Fisheries stated: “The recent return of adult sockeye salmon to the Columbia River is a meaningful reflection of what can be achieved through collaborative effort. Canada values the opportunity to contribute to this important work, which honours Indigenous leadership and knowledge, and supports ecological restoration efforts to benefit salmon.”

B.C.’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Randene Neill said: “This result confirms the success of collaborative reintroduction studies and the resilience of salmon life cycles once thought lost from these waters. This is a vital step in restoring salmon populations integral to the entire Pacific salmon ecosystem and communities.”

The Columbia River is over 2,000 kilometres long. With almost 40% of the river’s length originating in B.C., the upper Columbia is key to the success of transboundary salmon reintroduction.

Through the modernized Columbia River Treaty Agreement-In-Principle, Canada and the US have agreed to new measures for salmon restoration and ecosystem health, supporting the Indigenous-led Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative’s mandate to return salmon to the upper Columbia in Canada. For more information, please see the ColumbiaRiverSalmon.ca website.

Support for these technical studies was received through the federally and provincially co-funded British Columbia Salmon Restoration and Innovation Fund (BCSRIF).

Bringing the Salmon Home

Article Share