Miami River streamkeepers Society is helping Sts'ailes First Nation with a Pilot Floating Island Wetland Project. The project is funded by the Watershed Security Fund and runs until from 2025 to 2027. On August 27 , 2025 the first 4 islands were planted and placed in the Miami River. The objective is for the plants to uptake excess nutrients to improve the water quality for fish and other aquatic life.

Update December 2025 - January, 2026: With the atmospheric river that hit at the beginning of December, the floating island at the McCombs Bridge got washed out with the swift water. Members of the Sts'ailes Nation came out and secured mats on the banks, added pone mat to the 9 at the installation at the mouth of the river and removed some altogether in December. In January they returned to secure a mat just north of McCombs bridge and remover three to the canoe launch area for later pick up area. The force of the water washed out the plants and coconut matting on some.

There will be 22 islands in all installed in the Miami River. Nine in the lower reach of the river behind the Harrison Resort and Spa Hotel, 3 near in the river between Karen's Tearoom and the Harrison Country Club and 9 around the McCombs Road Bridge. The 54 X 54 inch mats are deployed in sets of three, 18 plants of one type on each mat, each mat in the triple set has a different species thereby mimicking a natural wetland.

The three species chosen for their potential nutrient uptake ability are Common Cattail (Typha latifolia), Slough Sedge (Carex obnupta) and Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale). They will be harvested throughout the season to stimulate root growth. All are used traditionally by the Sts'ailes people.

Water quality analysis at the three sections where the mats are installed will compare nutrients and heavy metals concentrations before and after the floating wetlands. Also a comparison of the concentrations in the water vs in the plants’ tissues will be done. Conductivity and oxygen loggers will be used to determine peaks in nutrient concentrations in the river. Nutrients of concern are nitrogen, phosphorus and heavy metals. The Miami carries a heavy nutrient load from the surrounding agricultural land.