Kootenay Lake local conservation fund accepting 2022 proposals

The Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP), on behalf of the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK), is now accepting proposals for the Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund (KLLCF).

“The Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund provides an excellent opportunity for organizations that need funding for local projects that help support fish and wildlife, habitat, and water values in the region,” says Juliet Craig, KCP Program Manager.

The KLLCF was established by the RDCK in 2014 by referendum. Property owners in Electoral Areas A, D and E pay a parcel tax of $15 per parcel per year towards this dedicated fund, which provides financial support each year to local projects that help conserve and restore the area’s prized natural surroundings. From 2016 to 2020, the KLLCF disbursed 29 grants totalling nearly $400,000. This local investment has leveraged over three times this amount in external grants and in-kind support for the approved projects, not including land acquisitions, which raise this leveraged amount to 48 times.

In 2021, eight projects successfully received KLLCF funding: bat stewardship on private land through the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada; reducing grizzly bear conflict through Grizzly Bear Coexistence Solutions; restoration of the Harrop wetlands in Sunshine Bay Regional Park by the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society; water monitoring of north Kootenay Lake by Living Lakes Canada; conservation of native pollinators including at‐risk bumble bees and butterflies through the Kootenay Native Plant Society; conservation of Western Toads in the Fish and Bear Lakes area by the Valhalla Wilderness Society; habitat restoration for beavers along the Duncan Lardeau River Floodplains through the BC Conservation Foundation; and acquiring the land surrounding Cottonwood Lake by the Cottonwood Lake Preservation Society.

KCP, which works in partnership with the RDCK to administer the KLLCF, is encouraging non-profit organizations and Indigenous communities operating in the participating areas to submit their funding proposals for 2022 projects. Community groups and individuals can partner with an eligible organization to apply. The deadline for applications is 4:30 p.m. PT on October 29, 2021. If you have a new project idea, it is highly recommended that you contact the KCP Program Manager prior to submitting an application to discuss your project idea.

Local conservation priorities were identified in a KLLCF Guidance Document that the RDCK commissioned in 2018. To learn more about the KLLCF, how to apply, and conservation priorities from the Guidance Document, please visit https://kootenayconservation.ca/kootenay-lake-local-conservation-fund/. For phone or email inquiries, please contact KCP Program Manager Juliet Craig at 250-352-2260 or juliet@kootenayconservation.ca.