Paper Excellence donates $50,000 to the Pacific Salmon Foundation

For Immediate Release:

[Richmond, BC] – Today Paper Excellence announced the donation of $50,000 to the Pacific Salmon Foundation to support regeneration and recovery of wild Pacific salmon.

These funds will support the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Community Salmon Program which supports volunteer and community–driven organizations that undertake salmon conservation and restoration projects.

“With half of Pacific salmon populations in a serious state of decline, we welcome the generous donation from Paper Excellence, which will advance vital community-based salmon enhancement and conservation activities,” said Michael Meneer, President & CEO, Pacific Salmon Foundation. “The Community Salmon Program supports more than 300 volunteer-led programs in B.C. with dedicated individuals committed to improving salmon habitat and survival.”  

“We value protecting our freshwater and marine environments that represent our critically important wild salmon habitat,” said Graham Kissack, Vice President, Environment, Health & Safety, and Corporate Communications. “For example, our long-standing work with the community around defending the Cowichan River and our hosting of Coho salmon fry at our Howe Sound mill over the summer so they could stay cool.”

“All of Paper Excellence’s BC mills rely on local fresh-water sources for production processes and obviously each mill releases treated wastewater back into either freshwater or marine ecosystems.” said Kissack. “We actively monitor the quality of our water discharges as we work towards continuous improvement of our environmental performance and reduction of our ecological footprint.”

Additional Information from the Pacific Salmon Foundation:

  • The Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Community Salmon Program provides grants to community-based conservation groups throughout B.C. The Program has two grant application intakes per year with the Fall 2021 round applications now submitted and funding review underway. The next grant application round will open in January 2022. More information can be found here: Community Salmon Program – Pacific Salmon Foundation (psf.ca)
  • Here’s an example of a program supported by a Community Salmon Program grant. The riparian restoration youth engagement project led by the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre Society, which empowers youth to engage in restoration work along the shores of the Cowichan and Koksilah watersheds to address regional freshwater challenges, including drought and floods. In 2021, youth performed invasive species removals and riparian planting efforts to restore critical salmon habitat, with support from Cowichan Tribes biologists and volunteers from local stewardship groups.
  • Every dollar donated to the Pacific Salmon Foundation’s Community Salmon Program are leveraged up to seven-times thanks to community-based contributions.

-30-

Paper Excellence, headquartered in British Columbia, is a diversified manufacturer of pulp and specialty, printing, writing, and packaging papers. The company operates seven mills and a large-scale cargo distribution centre in Canada producing and shipping over 2.8 million tonnes annually with a workforce of more than 2,800. Paper Excellence is poised to continue to grow with its strategy of operational excellence and high-quality, cost-effective products.

Media Contact: Graham Kissack, Vice President, Environment, Health & Safety and Corporate Communications | media@paperexcellence.com | Mobile: (250) 732-7991