The Problem

For decades, the dominant response to salmon-beaver conflict has been immediate: beavers are lethally removed and their dams are pulled. The logic is straightforward — beaver dams obstruct salmon migration. But the evidence tells a more complicated story.

Historically, beaver populations in BC were dramatically larger than they are today, and salmon stocks were correspondingly larger as well. Beaver pond habitats are documented nurseries for juvenile salmonids: slow, deep, and productive. The conflict between beaver habitat and salmon passage is real, but the automatic response of lethal removal discards the substantial ecological value beavers provide while failing to engage the actual passage challenge.

The City of Port Moody understood this. Progressive in its environmental policy, Port Moody had invested in maintaining fish-bearing streams and beaver colonies as ecologically connected assets. When a salmon-beaver passage conflict emerged, they asked us for an alternative to the industry standard.

Research Context

Study data from BC waterways is clear on the cost of downstream passage failure. Research on sockeye salmon survival rates shows a marked difference: salmon released upstream of a beaver dam achieved 93% survival, compared to 49% for those released downstream. For female salmon — the ecological bottleneck for population recovery — downstream survival rates fell as low as 39%.

With keystone species like orcas and grizzly bears depending on robust salmon populations, passage failures have cascading effects well beyond the immediate watershed.

Our Solution — The Fish Lyft™

We designed the Fish Lyft™ in partnership with DFO to enable salmon passage through beaver dams of any height, without removing the dam or the beavers.

How It Works

The Fish Lyft is a modular staircase-style fish passage system:

  1. A pond leveler maintains the upstream water level at a set point, creating a controlled outflow
  2. A series of interlocking boxes in a staircase configuration create pools that drain into each other, each sized to slow the current into fish-passable velocities
  3. The top box is fed by the pond leveler's outflow discharge
  4. During high water events, the boxes fill and the discharge draws migrating fish to the system entrance
  5. Fish ascend the staircase naturally, entering upstream spawning habitat through the leveler outflow

The system scales to any dam height by adding or removing boxes. There are no moving parts and no power requirements.

Regulatory Coordination

Permits from DFO and the City of Port Moody were coordinated rapidly given the approaching salmon migration window. The Fish Lyft was installed within a single day. The salmon arrived shortly after installation.

The Impact

100% of salmon approaching the Fish Lyft successfully traversed the dam in the trial run. Every individual that reached the system made it through to upstream spawning habitat.

The City of Port Moody declared the trial a success. Beavers remained in their habitat — contributing wetland stability, water quality, and juvenile fish nursery habitat — while salmon migration was unimpeded.

Since the Port Moody deployment, we have:

  • Presented the Fish Lyft methodology at symposia and training events across western Canada
  • Collaborated with ALUS Canada, Cows & Fish, Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Society, and Miistakis Institute on beaver management training in Alberta
  • Contributed to published research on beaver-salmon coexistence methodology
  • Continued to develop and refine the system for broader application

Looking Forward

The Fish Lyft addresses a problem that is geographically widespread — wherever salmon migration and beaver habitat coexist. We believe the system has national and international application potential and are actively seeking partnership opportunities with conservation organizations, municipalities, and government agencies working on salmon recovery programs.

Contact us to discuss Fish Lyft deployment for your watershed.