Introduction
The Foundation for Conservation of Atlantic Salmon (FCAS) is a Canadian charitable and non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation, protection, restoration and sustainable management of wild Atlantic salmon and their freshwater habitat across Atlantic Canada and Québec. The Foundation supports community-led conservation, watershed restoration, Indigenous-led initiatives, scientific research, habitat improvement and public education designed to strengthen wild Atlantic salmon populations and the ecosystems on which they depend.
The Foundation works across New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Québec, creating partnerships among conservation organizations, Indigenous organizations, municipalities, researchers, educational institutions, governments and local communities.
FCAS has become an important source of Atlantic salmon conservation funding in Canada, particularly for organizations undertaking practical conservation activities at the watershed and community level. Its funding model is designed to provide a long-term source of financial support rather than relying exclusively on annual government appropriations.
Relevant areas of the Foundation’s work include Atlantic salmon conservation, salmon habitat restoration, watershed conservation, fish passage restoration, aquatic ecosystem management, Indigenous conservation, conservation grants, biodiversity protection, environmental education and applied scientific research.
History and Background
The Foundation for Conservation of Atlantic Salmon traces its establishment to 2007, when the Government of Canada created a permanent funding mechanism to strengthen wild Atlantic salmon conservation in eastern Canada.
On January 23, 2007, the Government of Canada provided a $30 million contribution for the establishment of the Atlantic Salmon Endowment Fund. The funding was intended to create a long-term financial resource for projects restoring and conserving Atlantic salmon populations and habitats in the Atlantic provinces and Québec.
Instead of spending the original $30 million directly on projects, the Foundation was structured to invest the endowment and use the income generated by those investments to finance conservation activities. This approach was designed to make conservation funding available over the long term. Fisheries and Oceans Canada continues to describe the arrangement as an up-front grant invested to provide long-term funding for Atlantic salmon restoration, protection and conservation.
FCAS began providing project grants in 2008, supporting local organizations that were already closely involved with rivers, watersheds, salmon populations and community conservation.
Over time, the Foundation’s role expanded beyond direct habitat projects. Its portfolio now incorporates conservation planning, applied scientific research, education, knowledge sharing, Indigenous-led projects, monitoring and efforts to strengthen collaboration among different participants in Atlantic salmon conservation.
Its history reflects an important principle in environmental philanthropy and conservation funding: local organizations often possess detailed knowledge of individual watersheds and can implement practical conservation solutions when reliable funding and scientific support are available.
Mission and Purpose
The Foundation’s mission is to promote enhanced community partnerships in the conservation of wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat in Atlantic Canada and Québec. Its broader vision is to contribute to healthy and sustainable wild Atlantic salmon populations throughout the region.
FCAS places considerable emphasis on watershed-based conservation. Rather than viewing individual restoration activities in isolation, the Foundation promotes conservation planning and management at the watershed and sub-watershed level.
Its principal objectives include:
- Providing an effective and continuing source of funding for community and volunteer organizations involved in protecting, conserving and restoring wild Atlantic salmon and salmon habitat.
- Strengthening cooperation among governments, Indigenous organizations, conservation organizations, community groups, researchers and other stakeholders.
- Supporting better conservation planning and management at the watershed level.
- Encouraging accountability and effective use of conservation funding.
- Improving public awareness and environmental education related to Atlantic salmon.
- Supporting research that can strengthen Atlantic salmon conservation and management.
The Foundation’s strategic approach is especially focused on projects capable of producing measurable, practical conservation outcomes rather than conservation activities without a clear relationship to wild Atlantic salmon or their habitat.
Partnership is another central element of the FCAS model. Community organizations may possess local knowledge and volunteer capacity, universities can provide scientific expertise, Indigenous communities contribute Indigenous knowledge and stewardship experience, governments provide regulatory and technical expertise, and other environmental organizations contribute specialized conservation capabilities.
By bringing these different forms of knowledge and capacity together, FCAS aims to strengthen the overall Atlantic salmon conservation network.
Governance and Structure
FCAS is an independent, federally incorporated non-profit organization and registered Canadian charitable organization. Its organizational structure combines a volunteer Board of Directors, professional staff and volunteer scientific and provincial advisory committees.
Board of Directors
Overall strategic direction and oversight are provided by the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
According to FCAS, its Board members are volunteers who contribute professional expertise, conservation knowledge and community leadership to the management and responsible use of the Foundation’s resources. The Foundation represents six major constituencies: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Québec and Indigenous groups.
Raymond Lacroix currently serves as President of FCAS, while the organization is administered by an operational team headed by Executive Director Charline McCoy, supported by conservation program coordinators.
Board Committees
The Foundation maintains several committees supporting financial management, program development and organizational accountability, including:
- Investment Committee
- Program and Development Committee
- Audit and Finance Committee
- Governance and Executive Support Committee
The presence of a dedicated Investment Committee is particularly important because FCAS’s long-term grantmaking capacity depends significantly on prudent management of its original endowment.
Provincial Advisory Committees
FCAS operates five Provincial Advisory Committees covering:
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
- Québec
These volunteer committees help identify salmon conservation priorities within individual provinces, assess project applications and recommend projects for funding.
Scientific Advisory Committee
A separate Scientific Advisory Committee provides scientific and technical expertise. It helps the Foundation identify research and conservation priorities and evaluates applied scientific research proposals.
Together, the five provincial committees and Scientific Advisory Committee form a six-committee advisory structure that brings scientists, conservation practitioners, government experts, Indigenous participants and other stakeholders into the Foundation’s decision-making process.
Project proposals are reviewed against Foundation requirements and conservation priorities before recommendations are submitted to the Board for final approval. This structure helps combine local conservation priorities with technical assessment and organizational oversight.
Funding and Grants
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Foundation for Conservation of Atlantic Salmon is its endowment-based funding model.
The organization was established through a one-time $30 million Government of Canada grant. The capital is invested, and investment income supports the Foundation’s operations and conservation grantmaking. This structure was specifically designed to create a continuing source of funding for Atlantic salmon conservation.
FCAS states that its trust fund is professionally managed by recognized investment management firms, with investment performance overseen by the Board.
Provincial Conservation Grants
FCAS provides funding to organizations undertaking projects in watersheds within Québec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Eligible applicants currently include:
- Non-governmental organizations
- Community-based conservation organizations
- Watershed organizations
- Cooperatives
- Municipalities
- Educational institutions
- Indigenous organizations
Partnerships among eligible organizations are encouraged.
Current provincial funding categories include:
- Development of wild Atlantic salmon and salmon habitat conservation plans for watersheds or sub-watersheds.
- Conservation, rebuilding and restoration of wild Atlantic salmon populations and habitat.
- Restoration of access to Atlantic salmon habitat, including addressing barriers to fish passage.
- Public education and awareness concerning the importance of wild Atlantic salmon and their habitat.
Applied Scientific Research Funding
Scientific research is another significant part of FCAS grantmaking.
The Foundation defines applied research as research aimed at generating knowledge that addresses a specific practical problem or conservation objective. Supported projects can involve field research, laboratory studies, analysis of existing information and scientific investigations designed to improve Atlantic salmon management and conservation.
Examples of relevant research questions include salmon migration, survival rates, freshwater habitat quality, barriers to fish passage, effects of water temperature, predator interactions and the impacts of environmental and climatic change.
Under current provincial grant guidelines, applied scientific research can be submitted through provincial funding streams, although the Foundation specifies limits on the proportion of available grant funding directed toward research.
Annual Grantmaking
The scale of FCAS grantmaking has grown substantially since its first projects were supported in 2008.
Following the 2026 grant allocations, FCAS reported cumulative contributions of more than $19.5 million to 1,034 projects, including more than $2.1 million for Indigenous community-led projects.
These figures demonstrate how the original endowment has been used to create a long-running environmental grant program rather than a short-term funding initiative.
Major Programs and Initiatives
FCAS’s activities extend across habitat restoration, watershed planning, research, education, knowledge exchange and community capacity building.
Wild Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration
Habitat restoration is central to the Foundation’s work.
Projects can involve repairing degraded river habitats, improving spawning areas, restoring riparian environments, improving water quality, addressing erosion and sedimentation, enhancing cold-water refuges and undertaking other interventions that improve conditions for salmon at different stages of their life cycle.
One example is work supported in the Miramichi watershed in New Brunswick to enhance important cold-water refuge habitat. A Miramichi Salmon Association initiative received FCAS support for physical restoration and enhancement of several cold-water refuge sites important to salmon during periods of stressful water temperatures.
Fish Passage and Habitat Connectivity
Barriers such as poorly designed culverts, dams and other structures can prevent salmon from reaching spawning and rearing habitat.
FCAS therefore supports projects aimed at identifying barriers, improving fish passage and reconnecting river systems.
Featured Foundation projects have included assessment and restoration of fish passage in the Belleisle watershed in New Brunswick and work to restore connectivity for Atlantic salmon in Nova Scotia’s LaHave River watershed.
Habitat connectivity is important because increasing the amount of accessible, suitable freshwater habitat can improve opportunities for spawning, juvenile development and long-term population recovery.
Watershed Conservation Planning
FCAS also funds organizations to develop longer-term salmon conservation strategies.
For example, the Miramichi River Environmental Assessment Committee received $15,000 in 2024 for an Atlantic Salmon Conservation Strategy for the Tracadie River watershed in northeastern New Brunswick.
The project incorporated stakeholder engagement, water-temperature monitoring, water-quality assessment, juvenile salmon surveys and analysis of threats and limiting factors to develop short- and long-term recommendations for Atlantic salmon conservation.
This reflects the Foundation’s wider emphasis on evidence-based watershed management rather than isolated environmental interventions.
Monitoring and Salmon Population Management
Monitoring projects give conservation organizations and fisheries managers better information about salmon abundance, movement and habitat use.
In Québec, FCAS approved $50,000 in 2024 for the Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique to support a strategy involving counting systems on salmon rivers. Such monitoring can provide information about returning adult salmon and potential spawning populations, helping inform river-specific management.
Applied Salmon Science
Scientific projects supported through FCAS have addressed complicated conservation questions.
One University of New Brunswick project examined migration and survival of Atlantic salmon smolts, post-spawning salmon and adults in the hydropower-regulated Saint John River, including movement through the Mactaquac reservoir. FCAS support for the project totalled $118,500 over three years.
Another project examined possible predation of Atlantic salmon smolts by striped bass and muskellunge near the Mactaquac Dam, helping researchers better understand factors affecting salmon mortality.
Earlier research supported by FCAS and undertaken by the Atlantic Salmon Federation also used tracking to investigate salmon smolt migration and survival across rivers, estuaries and marine environments.
Climate Change and Salmon Resilience
Climate change represents an increasingly important challenge for Atlantic salmon conservation.
Warmer river temperatures, altered water flows and other environmental changes can affect salmon survival and suitable freshwater habitat.
FCAS-supported initiatives have examined adaptation of salmon management and recreational fisheries to climate change in Québec, while habitat restoration projects have worked to protect and improve cold-water refuges that salmon can use during periods of high river temperatures.
Climate resilience is therefore becoming increasingly connected with traditional salmon habitat restoration and watershed management.
Indigenous-Led Salmon Conservation
Indigenous organizations and communities are important partners in FCAS-supported conservation.
The Foundation reported in 2026 that more than $2.1 million had cumulatively been provided to Indigenous community-led projects.
Projects have incorporated Indigenous knowledge, community involvement, salmon management, education and stewardship.
For example, the Foundation supported an initiative involving Innu communities of Québec’s North Shore that sought to strengthen Atlantic salmon conservation by recognizing and integrating Indigenous traditional knowledge, gathering information, engaging community members and involving students and elders in conservation education.
The inclusion of Indigenous representatives within the Foundation’s governance and advisory structures further supports cooperation between scientific, community and Indigenous approaches to salmon conservation.
Education, Awareness and Knowledge Sharing
Public participation is an important part of sustainable conservation.
FCAS supports education and awareness projects that help residents, students, anglers and other community members better understand the importance of healthy rivers, salmon populations and watershed stewardship.
Knowledge sharing also takes place through symposiums, forums and other collaborative initiatives.
One example is the Atlantic Salmon Knowledge Forum in Québec, which FCAS supported with $50,000 in 2024. The forum was designed to bring together scientists, researchers, students, managers, fishers and other stakeholders to exchange information related to Atlantic salmon conservation.
In March 2026, Fisheries and Oceans Canada also announced $200,000 in support to FCAS for inter-provincial Atlantic salmon symposiums in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The initiative forms part of Canada’s broader National Strategy to Ensure the Future of Atlantic Salmon and is intended to encourage information exchange, best-practice sharing and collaboration among conservation leaders.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
FCAS has developed a substantial conservation portfolio since it began awarding grants.
By March 2026, the Foundation reported:
- More than $19.5 million contributed
- 1,034 projects supported
- More than $2.1 million provided to Indigenous community-led projects
- Projects delivered throughout all five eligible provinces and Québec’s major Atlantic salmon watersheds
Earlier Foundation reporting also demonstrates the physical scale of its conservation work. By September 2025, FCAS reported that supported projects had contributed to more than 200 million square metres of Atlantic salmon habitat being opened or improved.
The significance of these results extends beyond the number of grants awarded. Projects collectively address multiple stages of the conservation process, including:
- Identifying environmental threats.
- Collecting scientific and monitoring data.
- Developing watershed conservation plans.
- Restoring degraded habitat.
- Removing or mitigating barriers to fish movement.
- Improving cold-water habitat.
- Educating communities and young people.
- Strengthening Indigenous and community stewardship.
- Building partnerships among scientists, governments and conservation organizations.
- Developing practical tools that can guide fisheries and habitat management.
Examples of FCAS-Supported Projects
Québec salmon river monitoring: A $50,000 project supported the deployment of salmon-counting systems to strengthen information about returning salmon and spawning populations.
Tracadie River conservation planning: A $15,000 New Brunswick project supported development of an Atlantic salmon conservation strategy combining water-quality monitoring, temperature monitoring, electrofishing surveys and threat assessment.
Québec salmon habitat modelling: FCAS provided a total of $60,000 over two years for research using high-resolution imagery and modelling to develop tools for evaluating salmon habitat and production potential.
Mactaquac salmon migration research: A three-year University of New Brunswick project received a total FCAS commitment of $118,500 to investigate salmon migration and survival through the Mactaquac reservoir and surrounding Saint John River system.
Miramichi cold-water refuges: FCAS supported restoration and enhancement of important cold-water habitat used by salmon during periods when river temperatures can reach stressful levels.
These examples demonstrate the diversity of the Foundation’s conservation grantmaking, ranging from relatively small community initiatives to multi-year scientific studies.
Why the Foundation’s Work Matters
Wild Atlantic salmon are ecologically, culturally and economically significant across Atlantic Canada and Québec. Fisheries and Oceans Canada describes the species as having deep cultural and economic importance and forming an important part of Canada’s history and identity.
At the same time, Atlantic salmon face pressures associated with habitat degradation, climate change, barriers to migration, changing ocean conditions and other environmental stresses.
Effective salmon recovery therefore requires more than one type of intervention. Scientific research must identify threats, habitat projects must address conditions in individual watersheds, monitoring must measure population trends, Indigenous and community knowledge must inform stewardship, and conservation organizations need sufficient capacity to implement projects.
FCAS provides a mechanism for connecting these activities through a combination of grant funding, scientific review, community partnerships and long-term conservation planning.
Its endowment structure is also important from a funding perspective. Rather than functioning as a single-cycle environmental grant, the original investment was intended to generate continuing support for conservation. This provides community organizations with a recurring source of funding focused specifically on wild Atlantic salmon and their ecosystems.
Conclusion
The Foundation for Conservation of Atlantic Salmon represents a long-term Canadian model for community-based environmental conservation and sustainable conservation financing. Established in 2007 through a $30 million Government of Canada endowment, the Foundation uses investment income to support practical projects aimed at protecting and restoring wild Atlantic salmon populations and their habitats across Atlantic Canada and Québec.
Its approach combines Atlantic salmon conservation grants, habitat restoration, watershed planning, fish passage improvement, applied scientific research, Indigenous-led conservation, environmental education and community partnerships.
By March 2026, FCAS had invested more than $19.5 million in 1,034 projects, including more than $2.1 million for Indigenous community-led initiatives. Its supported projects range from river restoration and salmon monitoring to climate resilience, habitat modelling, scientific research and conservation education.
The Foundation’s governance structure, provincial and scientific advisory committees, permanent endowment model and emphasis on measurable conservation results make it an important institution within Canada’s broader network of organizations working to secure the future of wild Atlantic salmon and healthy freshwater ecosystems.
For NGOs, Indigenous organizations, municipalities, educational institutions, watershed groups, conservation associations and researchers working in eligible regions, FCAS remains a significant source of conservation funding and collaborative support for Atlantic salmon protection and habitat restoration.
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