KCP 2023 Fall Gathering & KC Summit Group Crop 2 (2)

The 2023 Fall Gathering was a celebration of 4 years of Kootenay Connect!

The organizing theme for the 2023 KCP Fall Gathering was the “Kootenay Connect Summit”. This two-day event over October 13 & 14 in Cranbrook showcased the amazing work and results of four years of Kootenay Connect, an inspiring vision for a regional network of ecological corridors in the Kootenays.

The full-day conference was held at the Prestige Rocky Mountain Resort in Cranbrook. There was an informal dinner at The Heid Out on Thursday evening to begin the event.

To kick off Day 1, KCP Board Chair Derek Petersen, Kootenay Connect Manager Marcy Mahr, and Kootenay Connect Science Advisor Dr. Michael Proctor set the stage for the event, followed by panel discussions on important themes. These panel presentations focused on Habitat Enhancement & Restoration Projects, Multi-species Approaches to Conserving Species at Risk, Collaboratively Managing Conservation Complexes, and Corridors for Wildlife and Climate Change. Each set of presentations was followed by a Q & A discussion period. We would like to thank our many presenters for their hard work and for their engaging presentations.

Following the panel discussions, Ken Brock with Environment & Climate Change Canada tied all the themes together from both a national and a local perspective and asked provocative questions to inspire more discussion. Next was the Conservation Café in which participants met in small breakout groups to discuss conservation topics such as Ecosystem Enhancement and Restoration, Conservation Policy, Effects of Wildfire on Wildlife, and Riparian Ecosystem Function.

The evening banquet featured a delicious dinner and the announcement of the KCP’s Annual Leadership Awards. The 2023 recipients were Marc-Andre Beaucher from the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area for the West Kootenay, and Kat Hartwig from Living Lakes Canada for the East Kootenay. Congratulations to both!

The Day 2 field tour showcased the Wycliffe Conservation Complex and was hosted by Chris Bosman with The Nature Trust of BC, Richard Klafki with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, Allana Oestreich with the Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, and Heather Gates with the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. The tour focused on collaborative conservation and many interesting discussions occurred along the tour which included modifying trees to create bat roosts, wildlife-friendly fencing, biodiversity slash piles, and more.

Thank you to everyone who helped make KCP’s 2023 Fall Gathering and Field Tour a success! And a big thanks to Rick Hoar for providing the beautiful handmade table decorations!