HRSEP

Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Program

The Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Program (HCSP) was first announced by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in June 1998. The Program sought to establish partnerships and to enhance habitat protection and expanded community capacity to steward fish habitat resources. As of March 31, 2003, HCSP officially ended, but has moved Fisheries and Oceans Canada forward toward this vision. It is the hope of the Department that the partnerships and community capacity that have been developed through HCSP will be the Program's legacy.

Over the last five years Stewardship Coordinators, Habitat Stewards, Habitat Auxiliaries and Habitat Fishery Officers worked together with community groups, First Nations and local governments to enhance fish habitat stewardship in British Columbia by:

• incorporating fish habitat protection requirements into planning processes;
• increasing public and stakeholder awareness of fish habitat requirements;
• improving habitat mapping and inventory data required for land management and resource planning;
• increasing local stream surveillance and monitoring;
• improving compliance monitoring of development projects;
• providing technical information, advice, and support to partners and communities;
• increasing community responsibility for watershed management.

The Program has left a legacy of stewardship initiatives behind. To find out more, follow a link below:

• Assessment of Barriers and Proposed Actions to Advance Watershed Management in BC, A Report on Community Workshops (PDF)

• Employers Guide: Hiring, Employment and Legal Obligations (PDF)

• Directory of HCSP Stewards, March 2003 (PDF)

• HCSP Background Documents:

  • Getting Ahead of the Curve: Community Capacity for Watershed Stewardship in B.C. (WAVES CATNO = 237522 / PDF)

  • HCSP Framework Document (PDF)

  • HCSP Program Discussion Paper (PDF)

  • New Direction: Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Forum, Summary Report, A  (WAVES CATNO = 235008 / PDF)

  • A New Direction for Canada's Pacific Salmon Fisheries - October 1998 (Policy Paper)

• HCSP Evaluations:

  • Benchmark Assessment of Public Awareness, Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior (PDF)

  • Building First Nations Capacity with HCSP (PDF)

  • Building Stewardship Today for the Watersheds of Tomorrow: HCSP Status Report, March 2001 

  • HCSP Field Level Evaluation (PDF)

  • HCSP Steward Case Studies

  • HCSP Steward Final Reports

  • Leveraging Dollars: HCSP Financial Review (PDF)

  • 50 Lessons Learned: Final Report for the Habitat Conservation and Stewardship Program (PDF)

• HCSP Steward News Articles (PDF)

• HCSP Training Materials:

  • HCSP Mid-term Meeting Proceedings (PDF)

  • HCSP Training Plan

  • Regional Orientation Sessions