Marcy Mahr was recognized by KCP Board Chair Derek Peterson at the 2026 Fall Gathering on behalf of the KCP Board, Team, and partner organizations with a special award for outstanding contribution to KCP over the years.
Over 96 people gathered in Nelson on October 15 & 16 for KCP's 2026 Fall Gathering on the theme of "Passing the Torch: Lessons for the Next Chapter of Restoration and Stewardship”.
The application period for Local Conservation Fund projects for 2027 projects is now open! Applications are accepted until October 30, and can be submitted by non-profit organizations and Indigenous Nations for projects within the participating areas of both the Columbia Valley and the Regional District of Central Kootenay.
The dozens of reports, maps, and videos developed as part of the 7-year Kootenay Connect Priority Places initiative, from 2019 to 2026, are now available in a user-friendly searchable database. These resources highlight important research and work done on the ground, including ecosystem restoration and monitoring, biodiversity inventories, habitat enhancement, and conservation of at-risk species.
KCP’s Kootenay Connect Priority Places (KCPP) initiative is the topic of an article in the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of 'The Trench'. The article highlights research by Kootenay conservation ecologist Greg Utzig, who has spent four decades analyzing how climate change will impact the Kootenays’ ecological corridors.
Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) is a broad partnership […]
In May 2026, KCP hosted a West Kootenay Stewardship Committee meeting in Nelson, and in June 2026, an East Kootenay Stewardship Committee meeting in Baynes Lake, with the option of remote attendance via Zoom for both. Each morning meeting was followed by a local field tour in the afternoon.
This report shares the impact of Kootenay Connect Priority Places. It celebrates the remarkable work of local champions and partners—working together for the place we all call home, now and for the future. Nearly ten years ago, new research envisioned a landscape-level framework for conservation work in the region. Rather than focusing on a single species or ecosystem, a dozen ecological corridors were mapped across the Kootenays.
The Kootenay Connect initiative and KCP’s Kootenay Connect Priority Places (KCPP) were the topic of an article written in the French-language news magazine "La Source"! A friendly challenge between Kootenay biologists Marcy Mahr and Michael Proctor developed into the Kootenay Connect initiative, a conservation framework for a regional network designed to help species move and adapt as ecosystems shift with a changing climate. The vision of connectivity across 12 corridors received support from KCP and many keen partners to help bring it to life and create lasting conservation benefits for the Kootenay region.
