The Whistler Fisheries Stewardship Group (WFSG) was formed in 1996 as a partnership between various Whistler community groups and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) Parks and Planning Department. It became a society in 1998, and currently has approximately 30 volunteers available for various projects.
The Whistler Fisheries Stewardship Group, WFSG, exists to restore the health of Whistler’s watersheds to their utmost potential for people and fish through community partnerships, advocacy, education and projects. The group monitors and restores stream habitats, which will in turn improve fish populations.
The WFSG commissioned the River of Golden Dreams (ROGD) Restoration Plan in 2003 to provide a rehabilitation program for this ecologically and socially important river in the heart of the Whistler Valley. The ROGD is a seven–kilometer valley bottom river that flows from Alta Lake north to Green Lake. Its ecological health is critical because it provides spawning and rearing areas for the main population of rainbow trout in the area, supports wetlands and numerous waterfowl, and for the last four years, after a fifteen year absence, kokanee salmon have reappeared and are spawning again in the river.
The ROGD has had a degradation of its habitat in recent years due to a number of activities, including: the construction of BC Rail line, hydro lines, residential development, historical upslope logging, and the diversion of 21 Mile Creek directly into the creek rather than into Alta Lake and tourism from canoe and kayak trips over the summer months. The ROGD Restoration Plan includes building three structures for Large Woody Debris (LWD) recruitment to enhance aquatic habitat quality by providing feeding and resting sites, and shelter from predators. The structures will also stabilize the stream banks.
In December 2004, the AFOW committed $6,000 to assist WFSG in constructing of the first of its three planned structures for the River of Golden Dreams restoration project.
American Friends of Whistler 