You would never know it now, but twelve thousand years ago not one living thing existed in Langley. In fact, the majority of the Province lay beneath a shroud of ice more than a kilometre thick. It was a frozen wasteland. This massive sheet of ice isolated Washington�s Chehalis River for thousands of years from the rest of the continent. Unable to interbreed with other populations of their own species, the fish of that system began to evolve along a separate course. The result was the Chehalis fauna; a community of fish species found nowhere else. As the ice sheet retreated, this unique community began to disperse. One species, the Salish sucker, migrated north and was among the first ones to re-colonize the newly ice-free rivers. This very early settler of what is now the Fraser River Valley is today among the most endangered fish species in the country. Its small and shrinking populations are present in only a handful of headwater streams around Langley (Salmon River), Abbotsford (Pepin, Fishtrap and Bertrand Creeks, all of them tributaries of the Nooksack River), and Chilliwack (Salwein Creek, tributary of the Vedder River).

In the Salmon River,  Salish sucker,, inhabit the marshy headwaters upstream of 264^th Street. These fish prefer the slow waters of relatively deep pools with plenty of aquatic and bank side vegetation. They tend to feed on insect larvae found either in the creek substrate or on plants and immerse objects. Considerably smaller than other suckers, Salish suckers reach some 25 cm in length over a period of approximately 5 years (their average life span). In early summer, they congregate to spawn in the gravel shoals of the creek and their normally dull grey-green flanks bloom to a deep red.

The survival of  Salish sucker,,, which have lived in this region for thousands of years, is threatened. Their numbers are declining throughout their range and none have been seen in the Little Campbell River since the late 1970s. Over this period human population growth in the Fraser Valley has been among the fastest in Canada and this has put streams and other natural components of the valley under the pressure of many different human activities (such as urbanization, intensive agriculture and aggregate mining). For example, spawning areas have been either physically removed or covered in silt. Headwater areas that used to flow year round are now drying up in the summer due to increased water withdrawal and the construction of impervious surfaces (rooftops and paved roads, driveways and parking lots) which prevent rain from recharging the groundwater reservoirs that keep many of our creeks flowing from July to September. In addition, the quality of the remaining stream water has been dramatically altered. Many human activities tend to increase water temperatures and the level of nutrients (derived from lawn fertilizers, septic systems, manure, detergents and other sources) and reduce oxygen concentration in many creek sections.

People often ask "Why should we care about such an obscure little fish? What good are they? Can we eat them?" Two answers come to mind. The first one is simply that Salish suckers are a unique and priceless part of British Columbia�s natural heritage. They have an intrinsic right to exist and we, as stewards of the earth, have an obligation to see to it that they can. Not surprisingly, not everyone sees things this way. But there is a second, more human centred reason. The suckers may be among the most sensitive species in the streams - the first to be affected by the degradation of our waterways � but they are not alone. We, the people of the Fraser Valley, share their environment. What harms them will also harm us in the long run, and one need look no further than the nearest headline containing the word "Walkerton" to see the horrifying consequences of ignoring this fact.

All that said, however, one can remain somehow optimistic that the Salish sucker,, will continue to swim the waters of the Salmon River for many years to come. Local governments and stewardship groups are already working with many landowners to reverse the damages brought by many decades of poor management practices. Both the Watershed Management Plan that the Salmon River Watershed Management Partnership (SRWMP) is completing and the habitat restoration and public education projects that the Greater Vancouver Zoo is developing are leading examples of such cooperation. Restoring and protecting the river�s ecological integrity will ensure a safe and healthy environment for all who depend on it. Our fate and that of the Salish sucker is, quite frankly, one and the same.