The Fraser River Challenge:
The 2026 30-Day Expedition
A living lifeline. A once-in-a-generation journey. A public mandate for permanent protection.
From August 7 to September 5, 2026, a Core Four will swim a 1,400 km relay down the Fraser River—re-tracing the legendary swims completed by Fin Donnelly in 1995 and 2000, which helped awaken Canada to the Fraser’s importance. The team includes four core swimmers—Isabelle Côté, Michelle Connolly, and Naomi Devine—joined by a rotating fourth swimmer: an Indigenous swimmer from Nations along the Fraser, stepping into the core team through different legs of the journey.
Why this matters
The Fraser is one of the world’s great wild salmon rivers—an ecological and cultural backbone for dozens of First Nations, and the rivershed that supports three-quarters of BC’s population. But its health is at a crossroads. Habitat fragmentation, industrial pressures, and climate impacts are pushing salmon, communities, and ecosystems to their limits.
Protecting 30% of its habitat by 2030 is no longer optional—it’s essential.
The cornerstone year in a 5-year push
The Fraser River Challenge, a partnership between the Fraser Riverkeeper and the Indigenous Stewardship Fund, is building toward 2030—but 2026 is the moment the movement becomes visible.
This 30-day expedition is the cornerstone year because it turns a vast, complex rivershed into a human story people can actually feel: day by day, community by community, from Mt. Robson to the Salish Sea.
It’s where awareness becomes participation—and participation becomes a public mandate.
What happens over 30 days
1) The Swim Relay
A Core Four will retrace Fin’s original route—an embodied story of courage, continuity, and commitment. The relay is led by Isabelle Côté, Michelle Connolly, and Naomi Devine, alongside a rotating Indigenous fourth swimmer who joins the core team through different stretches of the river. The swim will be documented with intimate, cinematic footage from headwaters to sea.
2) The Fraser Rivershed Walk
Solo walker Justin Smith will traverse 1000km of the rivershed, connecting upriver and downriver communities, gathering stories from residents, knowledge keepers, youth, guardians, and leaders.
3) Canoe + Raft Journeys
Canoe and raft adventures throughout the rivershed will bring First Nations, organizations, businesses, and community paddlers onto the river—creating powerful on-the-water engagement (and sponsorship) opportunities.
What the expedition will do
Across the watershed, the 2026 Expedition will:
Engage communities through gatherings, town events, youth activities, screenings, and storytelling—from the headwaters to the sea.
Centre Indigenous leadership and stewardship—elevating Indigenous-led conservation already underway across the rivershed.
Grow the Fraser Rivershed Declaration to thousands of new signatories—building a public mandate for 30×30.
Amplify urgency around salmon declines, fragmentation, and the need for permanent protections.
Translate the true scale of the Fraser into a journey people can understand—and support.
Get involved
Sign the Declaration
Be counted. Add your name to a growing mandate to protect the Fraser Rivershed.
Donate
Fuel the 30-day expedition and the watershed-wide work it powers—storytelling, community engagement, and the push for lasting protection by 2030.
Tell others
Movements move when people talk. Share the declaration, share the story, bring someone in.