Aquatic Habitat Restoration Fund

Through the Aquatic Habitat Restoration Fund (AHRF), we collaborated with eligible Indigenous groups to develop a 6-year initiative that provides funding for community capacity and Indigenous-led aquatic habitat restoration activities in freshwater and marine ecosystems. Restoration activities are underway in the Fraser River Watershed and inland watersheds along the Trans Mountain pipeline corridor in British Columbia and Alberta, as well as along the shipping corridor and the Salish Sea.

A total of $75 million was available to eligible Indigenous groups between 2019 and 2025 to support Indigenous capacity building, collaborative program development, and Indigenous-led restoration project development and implementation.

The AHRF is part of the Government of Canada’s commitment to restore freshwater and marine ecosystems and to contribute to the sustainability of fish and fish habitat.

Find out how the Fund is responding to the Trans Mountain Expansion Project as an accommodation measure.

Objectives

• To build capacity within Indigenous communities to enable habitat restoration in areas of priority to Indigenous groups
• To rehabilitate aquatic habitats and contribute to the mitigation of stressors affecting marine, coastal, and freshwater species and their habitats
• To contribute to the long-term sustainability of aquatic, coastal and riparian habitats through monitoring and maintenance
• To contribute to strategic planning and studies in coastal and riparian areas

Work underway

Phase 1: 2020 to 2022

Capacity funding provided to support co-development of an aquatic habitat restoration program with eligible Indigenous communities in BC and Alberta and to build community capacity to undertake future restoration projects and activities.

Phase 2: 2021 to 2025

Funding provided to eligible Indigenous groups located along the marine shipping corridor and Salish Sea, the Fraser River and other inland watersheds along the Trans Mountain pipeline corridor in BC and Alberta to address restoration priorities in their traditional territories.

Contact us

If you have questions about the status of the AHRF program, please contact the AHRF team at DFO.AHRF-FRHA.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.