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Province commits further $700,000 to Courtenay restoration project

The Comox Valley Project Watershed Society, in partnership with K’omoks First Nation and the City of Courtenay, is dismantling and restoring Kus-kus-sum, a former sawmill site on the Courtenay River, to its native estuary saltmarsh and riverside forest.
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The Kus-kus-sum site had been a sawmill on the Courtenay River. File photo

The Comox Valley Project Watershed Society, in partnership with K’omoks First Nation and the City of Courtenay, is dismantling and restoring Kus-kus-sum, a former sawmill site on the Courtenay River, to its native estuary saltmarsh and riverside forest.

The project was awarded $1 million in 2019 and $650,000 in 2020. Further funding of $700,000 through B.C.’s Economic Recovery Plan will help restore wetlands, create jobs and protect the natural environment for future generations.

“Kus-kus-sum is an incredibly important project for our community and I’m so excited to see us building on our previous commitments to continue this project,” Courtenay-Comox MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard said. “This additional funding will support the strong partnerships we’ve built over the years.”

Restoration of the site will benefit at least nine fish species, 145 bird species, and 281 plant species. The first phase of the project will support at least 40 jobs.

Kus-kus-sum is one of 70 watershed/wetland initiatives recently announced by the provincial government. Through StrongerBC: BC’s Economic Recovery Plan, $27 million has been dedicated to ensure waterways remain healthy and resilient in a changing climate, while stimulating economic recovery by creating 750 new jobs.