Golden Check-in Meeting

On January 23, 2025, over 40 representatives from various local stewardship organizations, First Nations, and other agencies came together in Golden to review the progress being made on the priority actions identified during the 2020 Golden Conservation Action Forum. Participants from sixteen organizations provided updates on their conservation and stewardship projects occurring throughout the region. Attendees also learned about upcoming Kootenay Connect projects in the Golden area, and shared diverse perspectives in an engaging discussion on next steps for key actions and potential collaborations.     © KCP

The Priority Actions were updated at the 2025 meeting as follows: 

1. Consider Science and Indigenous Knowledge to Protect Habitat for Species at Risk and Biodiversity (terrestrial)
2. Establish and Recognize Conservation of Multi-Species Wildlife Corridors
3. Protect and Enhance Watersheds, Wetlands and Aquatic Habitats
4. Mitigate Recreational Impacts by Incorporating Recreation and Ecological Data to Inform Land Use Decision-Making
5. Increase Climate Resilience Through Wildfire Risk Reduction and Mitigation

Resources

Below is a list of the Priority Actions from 2020, with links to PDFs of the presentations given at the 2025 Golden Conservation Action Forum Check-In Meeting.

Below that are the 3 video presentations. 

1. Priority Action 1 – Combine Science and Indigenous Knowledge to Protect Habitat for Species at Risk and Biodiversity:
   o Bighorn sheep monitoring – Brian Gustafson (Golden District Rod & Gun Club)
   o Guardians Program – Joshua Martin (Shuswap Guardian Program)
   o Swallow projects – Rachel Darvill (Wildsight Golden)
   o Columbia Headwaters Aquatic Restoration Strategy (CHARS) project – Jon Bisset (Shuswap Band)
   o Upper Columbia River Fish Project – Scott Cope (Shuswap Band)
2. Priority Action 2 – Identify and Prioritize Conserving Multi-Species Wildlife Corridors:
   o Kootenay Connect Corridors – Michael Proctor (Kootenay Connect)
   o Kootenay Connect SAR – Rachel Darvill (Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners)
   o Beavers regulate water levels in Columbia River wetlands – Catriona Leven (Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners)
   o Northern myotis use of remnant old growth – Laura Kaupas (Lark Wildlife Research)
   o Tree Enhancement and Roost Mitigation for Bats in the Northern Columbia River Valley – Heather Gates (Wildlife Conservation Society Canada)
3. Priority Action 3 – Reduce Intensity of Human Disturbance in Backcountry, Sensitive Areas and Wildlife Corridors: 
   o Y2Y Recreational Ecology Project – Brynn McLellan (Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative); Video of Brynn’s presentation
   o West Bench Recreation Project – Gemma Cobb (Wildsight Golden); Video of Gemma’s presentation
   o Bighorn sheep monitoring – Meg Langley (Wildsight Golden)
4. Priority Action 4 – Mitigate Recreational Impacts by Incorporating Recreation and Ecological Data to Inform Land Use Decision-Making:
   o Wolverine conservation and recreation – Mirjam Barrueto (University of Calgary)
   o Wild Spaces Recreational Dialogues – Casey Brennan (Wildsight Regional)
   o Ecological data for recreation planning – Brian Gustafson (Columbia Wetland Stewardship Partners)
5. Priority Action #5: Build Climate Disruption, Adaptation and Mitigation Thinking into All Conservation Activities: 
   o Wildfire resilience and risk reduction – Chris Joseph (ʔakisq̓nuk)
   o Climate Corridors – Greg Utzig (Kutenai Nature Investigations); Video of Greg’s presentation
   o Wetland restoration at Burges James Provincial Park – Matt Wilson (Ducks Unlimited) and Amanda Weber-Roy (BC Parks)