KLLCF – Funded Projects 2018
Fish/Bear Lake Western Toad Ecology and Hwy 31A Mortality Mitigation Study
$8,000 to the Valhalla Wilderness Society to complete Year 4 of a four-year study on western toads (blue-listed in BC and considered a species at risk federally) at Fish and Bear lakes between New Denver and Kaslo. More specifically, to reduce Highway 31A vehicle mortality of migrating and resident western toads, particularly pregnant females and toadlets; to address surrounding land use issues to ensure long-term integrity of a regionally important toad ecosystem; and to grow the body of knowledge about western toad ecology, conservation and mitigation techniques in the West Kootenays and B.C.
Grizzly Bear Coexistence Solutions
$12,000 to the Friends of the Lardeau River to improve grizzly bear/human coexistence in low-elevation habitats in the Kootenay Lake area, to reduce grizzly bear/agricultural conflicts by providing education and support, and to share the cost of direct conservation action (electric fencing).
Kootenay Community Bat Project: Bat Conservation on Private Land
$12,922.50 to Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada to promote and conserve the variety of bat species and their associated habitats that exist in the Kootenay Lake region through public and landowner education and outreach, and ongoing monitoring for the collection of baseline data.
North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Project
$20,000 to Kootenay Centre for Forestry Alternatives to collect quality-controlled data to improve understanding and prediction of how small- and medium-sized watersheds in the region will behave in a changing climate, especially in conditions of extreme low and high precipitation and higher temperatures. Project data will lead to improved planning and implementation of adaptation strategies in the areas of aquatic ecosystems and water supply conservation, land use planning, forest management, and natural hazard predictions.