University of B.C. researchers are embarking on a five-year study to find out whether road salt is contributing to salmon mortality in B.C. streams. The team, led by Patricia Schulte, Chris Wood and Colin Brauner, also involves dozens of volunteer stream-keepers at 30 streams or creeks. Schulte, a professor in the Department of Zoology at UBC, said as the ice melts on the roads, it runs down into freshwater streams or can seep into the groundwater. Researchers know the salt can harm baby salmon or trout but what they don’t know yet is how much of the salt is winding up in the water.