The 2023/24 year was another highly productive year for Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP), connecting with partners and reaching more people than ever through our gatherings, workshops, field tours, webinars and eNews.

Highlights of 2023/24 include:

On behalf of the KCP Board and partnership, I would like to acknowledge and thank the KCP team (Juliet Craig, Marcy Mahr, Kendal Benesh, Megan Jamison, and Camille Roberge) for their ongoing dedication, passion, and the professionalism to which they approach their roles and the collective work of KCP. It is through their individual and team efforts that KCP has been able to advance so many new and innovative initiatives resulting in positive conservation gains in the Kootenays and more broadly in a leadership role in the organization and delivery of a conservation partnership.

I would like to extend special appreciation to KCP’s outgoing Stewardship Coordinator, Camille Roberge, who successfully coordinated KCP Stewardship Committees and Conservation Action Forum Check-ins, conducted biological evaluations of candidate properties for acquisition, and promoted the Stewardship Solutions Toolkit. We wish Camille all the best in her new role with the BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship.

And as always, KCP’s vision would not be achieved without the continued support of our funding partners, for whom we are extremely grateful. We also sincerely appreciate The Nature Trust of BC for their ongoing support as KCP’s fiscal sponsor, another contribution critical to the partnership’s success.

Derek Petersen

Chair, Kootenay Conservation Program

KCP respectfully acknowledges that our work and lives are situated in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, Sinixt and Syilx Okanagan peoples who have stewarded this land, water and all living things since time immemorial, and whose values and cultures continue to inspire and guide stewardship of this region. We are committed to learning, sharing, and deepening relations with First Nations, and endeavor to support Indigenous-led conservation priorities and initiatives as we work collaboratively towards a shared future of stewardship and conservation.

The Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) is a broad partnership of land and water conservation and stewardship groups, government agencies, agricultural producers and educational institutions working throughout the East and West Kootenays. The partnership seeks to cooperatively conserve the biological diversity and naturally functioning ecosystems of the region while providing mutual project support and leveraging technical and financial resources. The KCP vision is to have landscapes in the Kootenays that sustain naturally functioning ecosystems that can in turn support economic and social well-being. We envision vibrant communities that demonstrate the principles of environmental stewardship for future generations.

Human pressures and climate change continue to threaten wildlife habitat and rare ecosystems, impair wildlife movement corridors, and contribute to the loss of biodiversity. Important habitats exist throughout the Kootenays, and the valley bottoms have the richest diversity of habitats and biodiversity values. Many of these important habitats are located on private land. There remains a viable opportunity to conduct private land securement and stewardship activities in the Kootenays that conserves and enhances these lands and provides critical landscape linkages in the face of climate change.

The foundation of the KCP partnership is a common approach to land conservation, achieved through KCP’s strategic priorities. The 2017 – 2023 Strategic Priorities are to:

KCP assists with identifying opportunities to secure high-priority conservation lands in a number of ways, including the coordination of a confidential Securement Committee comprised of The Nature Trust of BC (NTBC), the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), the BC Ministry of Forests, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program (FWCP), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), and Shuswap Band. Priorities for land acquisition are based our updated ranking criteria, which integrates the latest science of climate change and landscape connectivity, and assesses candidate properties within a larger ecological context. This year, the candidate property list was updated based on the new ranking criteria and now includes 93 properties. KCP continues to serve as a ‘one window approach’ for land conservation inquiries. This year, KCP tracked and responded to eight land securement inquiries from KCP partner organizations or directly from interested landowners, and completed five property evaluations and three property appraisals.

Since 2002, KCP has worked with partners to conserve over 83,000 hectares of private land and acquire over 60 properties across the Kootenays. In 2023/24, KCP continued to coordinate communication between the land trusts in the region, and based on the dedication and hard work of local land trusts, three valuable conservation properties were acquired this year: Kootenay River Ranch expansion – Larsen Lake (by the Nature Conservancy of  Canada), and two other properties which have not been publicly announced, adding 586 hectares of secured conservation lands to the region.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada and Nature Trust of BC acquired 586 ha of conservation land in 2023-24

The goal of the KCP stewardship initiative is to increase the effectiveness and coordination of stewardship activities taking place on private land. This initiative is guided by the KCP Stewardship Framework.

In June 2023, KCP hosted hybrid-style East and West Spring Stewardship Committee meetings and field tours. The meeting objectives for both were to share updates on local stewardship activities of each organization and areas of potential collaboration, provide input on KCP’s stewardship activities, discuss KCP’s 2023-2028 Strategic Priorities, and have a group discussion on trending stewardship topics.

In the East Kootenay, 21 partners gathered in Cranbrook or remotely, and the morning meeting was followed by an afternoon field tour of the Bull River Grassland Corridor to discuss invasive species management and restoration of bighorn sheep habitat through controlled burning. In the West Kootenay, 27 partners gathered in New Denver or remotely, followed by an afternoon field tour to the Bonanza Biodiversity Corridor to learn about the native species and habitats and the importance of conserving and stewarding this area. KCP’s Stewardship Committee meetings increase collaboration and awareness around the many stewardship initiatives taking place within Kootenay Conservation Program’s service area.

In 2023/24, KCP co-hosted two Conservation Action Forum “Check-ins” to provide an opportunity for participants of previous forums to connect and discuss the progress of previously identified priority actions and to identify next steps and opportunities for collaboration.

The first check-in took place in the Columbia Valley in May 2023 as part of the Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners’ Annual General Meeting. The check-in meeting included presentations from partners working on conservation actions from the 2017 KCP Columbia Valley Conservation Action Forum, discussion on the progress of these actions, and identifying next steps.

In November 2023, KCP hosted a second Conservation Action Forum Check-in meeting focused on the Slocan Lake Watershed, in partnership with the Slocan Lake Stewardship Society and the Slocan River Streamkeepers, to review progress on priority actions identified during the 2017 Slocan Lake Watershed Conservation Action Forum. The Check-in meeting was a collaborative event that involved participants with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, including scientists, resource managers, conservationists, governments, and educational institutions. Forum participants worked together to identify seven priority actions that would contribute to maintaining healthy fish and wildlife populations and ecological functions in the Slocan Lake watershed over the next five years and were encouraged to pursue these actions as they were able. Six years after the event, it was timely to check-in on these actions and their progress and the results were detailed in the Slocan Lake Watershed Conservation Action Forum Check-In Meeting Summary Report.

KCP continues to track the progress of actions identified during previous Forums and is pleased to report that of the 39 Priority Actions identified across seven KCP Conservation Action Forums, all actions are either completed or are actively being pursued as of March 31, 2024!

In 2023/24, KCP successfully administered Year 5 of Kootenay Connect, after acquiring an additional $1.95M in funding over three years (forecasted to end in 2026). The Canada Nature Fund grant now includes work in the four original focal areas (Bonanza Biodiversity Corridor, Creston Valley, Wycliffe Wildlife Corridor, and Columbia Valley Wetlands) and three additional areas (Columbia Lake, Slocan Valley, and Duncan-Lardeau Valley) totaling an area of 1,660,000 hectares. Thirty-five KCP partners and specialists including stewardship groups, land trusts, science and technical consultants, and recovery teams are actively working together to enhance and restore habitat for species at risk in these seven biodiversity hotspots in the Kootenays. Restoration and enhancement efforts are improving and protecting a broad spectrum of habitat types such as native grasslands, rich wetlands, cottonwood riparian areas, and mature cedar-hemlock forests that support 34 species at risk and over 40 culturally important species. The Kootenay Connect Priority Places project focuses on the important linkage between these habitats that is critical for maintaining healthy functioning ecosystems and biodiversity.

Over the past five years, projects have inventoried species at risk; improved wetland, riparian, dry forest and grassland habitats; installed and constructed habitat features such as basking logs for turtles, beaver dam analogues, and artificial roosting structures for bats; developed new GIS datalayers that identify and assess habitat quality; applied for Wildlife Habitat Area and Wildlife Habitat Feature designations on public land; modeled wildlife corridors and wetland vulnerability to climate change; planted native vegetation and managed invasives species; and installed wildlife-friendly fencing. Details on the Kootenay Connect project can be found on the KCP website, including a four year summary report.

The Year 4 Summary Report is a 276-page document prepared by Michael Proctor, PhD and Marcy Mahr, MSc, in September of 2023. This Summary Report of Kootenay Connect activities includes an extensive body of results spanning 2019-2023 from the various streams of the Kootenay Connect Initiative including Kootenay Connect Community-Nominated Priority Places supported by $2 million from Environment and Climate Change Canada funding directed into on-the-ground habitat enhancement and restoration across the Kootenays; Kootenay Connect Workshops supported by approximately $80,000 from the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program to develop coordinated approaches to assessing wildlife corridors and advancing connectivity conservation; and the Kootenay Connectivity Working Group supported by approximately $80,000 from a combination of Parks Canada, BC’s Together for Wildlife Program, and the Sitka Foundation to develop multi-jurisdictional corridor conservation and management plans.

Some accomplishments of Kootenay Connect from Year 5 (2023-2024):

The KCP Stewardship Solutions Toolkit serves as a central hub for Kootenay-based resources that address stewardship issues on private land. This toolkit is organized by Conservation Neighbourhood and is designed as a one-stop shop for private landowners interested in stewardship options for their property and as a resource for stewardship practitioners, local government planners, and other service providers. The diversity of services includes information, tools, incentives, services, learning opportunities, and/or funding for stewardship activities focusing on such topics as wildlife, species at risk, invasive plants, water quantity and quality, forest and grassland ecology, fire interface management, and habitat restoration.

In 2023/24, promotion efforts focused on ensuring contact information for service providers is up to date, providing print materials to partner groups, and maintaining partner videos on the KCP YouTube channel. One new “Stewardship Solution” was added to the Toolkit, and two were retired. KCP also provided a brief overview of the Toolkit during a presentation at the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Governments in April 2023 and delivered a delegation to the RDEK Board in September 2023 focusing on how local governments can use the Toolkit to promote private land stewardship in the region.

KCP delivered a new 3-part Conservation Ambassador Training series in the fall of 2023 and continues to build and share knowledge of these ‘Stewardship Solutions’ in the Kootenays. Each training module was an interactive and engaging workshop with expert presenters who shared relevant information, case studies of Best Management Practices and innovative techniques to help fellow practitioners become more knowledgeable when they are out doing their work. The three-part series included training on stewarding for wildfire resilience, stewarding for wildlife coexistence, and stewarding for riparian and foreshore habitats. Recordings of the 2023 Conservation Ambassador Training modules can be found below.

KCP recognizes that in order to achieve stewardship and securement goals, organizations require capacity – both technical in the form of knowledge and financial in the form of funding. To achieve this, KCP provides a venue for partners to share technical knowledge and skills that allow for the latest science and best practices to be applied on the ground. As well, by working with local governments, KCP has increased the financial capacity of organizations through the Columbia Valley and RDCK Local Conservation Funds.

KCP offers a webinar series each year to facilitate the sharing of technical resources among partners and others so that local conservation activities consider the best available information and practices. The webinar series in 2024 was co-hosted with the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology’s CREDtalks with the theme of Wildlife Corridors and Ecological Connectivity. This 8-part webinar series explored wildlife corridors and ecological connectivity from different perspectives and through the lenses of wildlife biology and landscape architecture; Indigenous stewardship principles in forestry practices and fire management; road ecology and highway crossing structures; human-wildlife coexistence; and how connectivity is embedded in a larger context of ecological integrity and functioning ecosystems.

The 2024 Winter Webinar Series had an average of 270 attendees and 770 registrants per webinar, which represents an increase of roughly 1000% in attendance since 2017, and a 250% increase from the 2023 Webinar Series. The webinar recordings are available on the KCP website, and there are over 2,000 views of the recordings so far.

In 2008, KCP was instrumental in establishing the first Local Conservation Fund in Canadian history in the RDEK’s upper Columbia Valley. The Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund (CVLCF) has now invested over $2.8M across 120 securement and stewardship projects which address local priorities including ecosystem restoration, invasive species control and lake stewardship. This critical funding has helped to leverage an additional $24.5M in conservation investments in the local area.

In 2023, Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund funding was awarded to ten stewardship projects that together received nearly $135,000: riparian area enhancement on farms, water monitoring on Columbia Lake and Lake Windermere, wetland restoration and environmental training for Indigenous youth, bat roost habitat enhancement, swallow habitat enhancement, conservation of biodiversity in the Columbia Wetlands, working with farmers to support wild sheep conservation, and invasive plant control.

The RDCK Local Conservation Fund (RDCK LCF) was established in 2014, and since then, has invested over $600,000 in 50 local securement and stewardship projects and has leveraged over $20.5M which includes two securement acquisitions. In 2023, RDCK LCF funding was awarded to six projects that together received over $74,000 including: grizzly bear conflict reduction, water monitoring, wetland restoration, beaver habitat restoration, bat roost habitat enhancement, and protecting Indigenous cultural values and fish and wildlife habitat on Kootenay Lake.

In 2023, $209,000 was distributed through the Columbia Valley and RDCK Local Conservation Funds to 16 high-priority stewardship projects.

In 2023/24, KCP provided outreach on Local Conservation Funds while the RDCK expanded the service to Electoral Area F. The service passed via the Alternative Approval Process in September 2023, expanding the service to the remainder of the Kootenay Lake area. This was an exciting achievement that will bring further financial capacity to local conservation projects in the RDCK.

In RDCK Electoral Area F, the Local Conservation Fund service passed via the Alternative Approval Process in September 2023, expanding the service to the remainder of the Kootenay Lake area.

KCP continues to foster a strong network of conservation and stewardship organizations to identify synergies and ultimately greater effectiveness by working together. Gatherings, communications, and recognizing leadership contribute to this effective network.

KCP’s annual Fall Gathering and AGM serves as one of the primary opportunities to connect and re-connect KCP partners from across the region. In October 2023, over 50 individuals from 40 organizations attended the event in Cranbrook on the theme of Kootenay Connect Summit where we showcased the amazing work and results of four years of Kootenay Connect, and highlighted important benefits and accomplishments of the project’s landscape-level approach to conservation. The event included panel presentations on the themes of habitat enhancement & restoration projects, multi-species approaches to conserving species at risk, collaboratively managing conservation complexes, and corridors for wildlife and climate change. The event was followed by a field tour to the Wycliffe Conservation Complex to discuss collaborative conservation and on-the-ground actions for species at risk.

KCP stays connected with partner organizations by maintaining a central hub of conservation news and resources through our website and monthly e-newsletter. Our e-News is distributed to over 1,700 recipients across the region and continues to feature our monthly “Faces & Places” spotlight to showcase KCP partners and their current projects and innovations. The KCP Facebook page, which has grown to over 1,200 followers, is an effective channel for promoting KCP partner events and initiatives to a Kootenay-wide online audience. KCP also has an active YouTube channel and Instagram account, which continue to grow in subscribers and followers.

KCP also regularly maintains and updates our website, which includes a Conservation Resource webpage focusing on content unique to the Columbia Basin.

During February of 2024, KCP highlighted the work carried out by KCP partners through Kootenay Connect by sharing daily inspiring videos featuring a broad range of project work in a series called “For the Love of the Kootenays”. Over 170 people registered to receive the videos in their inboxes.

The Kootenay Conservation Program YouTube channel has over 175 videos and 167 subscribers. 

Each year, KCP awards an annual Conservation Leadership Award to showcase some of the outstanding work being done in conservation in our region. The recipients of the 2023 Conservation Leadership Award were Marc-André Beaucher (Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area) and Kat Hartwig (Living Lakes Canada).

Kat Hartwig is the Founder and Executive Director of Living Lakes Canada (LLC). In her former position as part of the leadership team for Wildsight, Kat played a key role in many large-scale, environmental conservation initiatives in the East Kootenay – from the campaign to fight the proposed ski resort for Jumbo Valley to helping the Columbia Wetlands obtain its international RAMSAR Designation. Since 2010, she has brought that same passion to her role with Living Lakes Canada, and has spearheaded the development of numerous Kootenay-wide water stewardship programs, including a community-based lake stewardship model that led to the development of the Lake Windermere Ambassadors; the East Kootenay Integrated Lakes Management Partnership (EKILMP); the Columbia Basin Foreshore Inventory and Mapping for Aquatic Species at Risk Project; the Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program; the open source Columbia Basin Water Hub database; and the Columbia Basin Water Monitoring Framework project that’s helping track and understand climate impacts on the region’s freshwater sources. Her passion and approach have led her to be recognized with multiple awards and as someone who ‘gets things done’ in Canada’s water world. Kat’s dedication to fostering partnerships has led to countless collaborations across all sectors, influenced the highest level of government policy, and advanced conservation for the Kootenays and beyond.

Marc-André Beaucher is Head of Conservation Programs at the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area (CVWMA), and he has volunteered and worked at CVWMA for nearly 20 years. He supports a great network of staff, partner organizations, non-profits, and individuals in both hands-on and educational conservation efforts. His work encompasses a wide variety of activities ranging from wildlife monitoring, water quality assessment, water level manipulations and infrastructure management, and land and assets management. One of his favorite projects has been the recovery of Northern Leopard Frogs in the CVWMA, with which he has been involved for over two decades.  Marc-André emphasizes that collaboration with partner organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited Canada, have been key to accomplishing this crucial work. Marc-André has volunteered for numerous organizations over the years. He participates on the RDCK Local Conservation Fund Technical Review Committee and is the Board Chair for the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology. When in the field with Marc-André, his enthusiasm for conservation and for finding and identifying birds is infectious. He regularly takes people and groups on field trips out in the wetland and especially loves getting people impassioned about wildlife through hands-on experiences.