The 2022 20th Anniversary Fall Gathering was a celebration of 20 years of partnership for the Kootenay Conservation Program!

The organizing theme for the 2022 Fall Gathering was “Celebrating 20 Years of Conservation Partnership”. This two-day event over September 23 & 24 in Creston showcased the conservation achievements of KCP partner organizations in the past 20 years in the Kootenays in private land securement, landscape connectivity, local conservation funds and much more. And we were excited to hold the KCP Fall Gathering in person once again after years of virtual gatherings due to COVID-19.

Things kicked off with a Thursday night social at Wild North Brewing, followed by an early morning birding excursion the next day at the Creston Valley Wildlife Management area led by Marc-Andre Beaucher.

As part of the Day 1 conference held at the Ramada Inn in Creston, an Indigenous welcome was presented by Anne Jimmie of the Lower Kootenay Band. KCP Board Chair Derek Petersen set the stage for the event with reflections on the 2022 anniversary theme, followed by a “20 Years in Review” presentation by Program Director Juliet Craig. Next, a review of the Conservation Neighbourhood Approach was led by Stewardship & Kootenay Connect Manager Marcy Mahr, which included updates from each of the CAFs that have taken place to date. Finally, the afternoon ended with a Panel Discussion on the theme “Facing Forward: Solutions for Embracing Change” featuring Dr. Greg Greene, Valerie Huff and Dave Zehnder that concluded with a Q&A.

The evening featured plenary speaker Nancy Newhouse, roundtable reflections on the history of the KCP partnership, and the announcement of the annual Leadership Awards.

The Day 2 field tour visited the Yaqan Nukiy Wetland Restoration hosted by Norm Allard with Lower Kootenay Band, and the Frog-Bear Kootenay Connect Corridor hosted by Marc-Andre Beaucher with the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area.

Thank you to everyone who helped make KCP’s anniversary event a remarkable one! And a huge thanks to Rick Hoar for providing the beautiful handmade door prizes engraved with KCP logos!