Local governments play a key role in private land conservation in the Kootenays.

To support local governments in incorporating and applying conservation principles into their activities, KCP hosted a Forum in Creston for local government elected officials and staff on tools for conservation in the Kootenays in March 2019.

The goal of this Forum was to identify specific tools/resources required by local governments of the Kootenays to integrate conservation principles into planning.

The workshop showcased examples of voluntary and regulatory tools that have been used in B.C. to promote conservation in local government activities, and explored local tools, resources, and needs of local government in the Kootenays.

The priorities that were highlighted by Local Government Forum participants are: the expansion of Local Conservation Funds, integrating science into the identification of ecological corridors in land use planning, and promoting voluntary private land stewardship. KCP is focusing on these three priorities in the following ways:

  1. KCP is actively working with local governments to explore the expansion of the Local Conservation Fund service in the Kootenays. 
  2. The science-based approach through Kootenay Connect is identifying important landscape linkage areas that can be integrated into the OCP process and the designation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas.
  3. KCP has developed the Stewardship Solutions Toolkit that local governments can utilize to promote voluntary private land stewardship.
Local government elected officials and staff gathered in Creston on March 13, 2019 for the first KCP Local Government Forum. © KCP

Resources

View the Forum Agenda

See below for the video recordings of the presentations by Local Government Forum speakers.  

Below are PDFs of the Local Government Forum presentations:

  1. Juliet Craig, KCP – Setting the Stage: The  Importance of Private  Land Conservation
  2. Deb Curran, University of  Victoria – Development Permit  Areas, OCP’s and  Bylaws: How to Best  Utilize these Tools for  Conservation
  3. Scott Boswell, Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program – Creating a Multi-Jurisdictional Wildlife and Landscape Corridor
  4. Dr. Michael Proctor,  Trans-Border Grizzly  Project – Kootenay Connect: Key Landscape Part 1/Part 2
  5. Juliet Craig, KCP – Local Conservation Funds: Successes & Opportunities

Welcome: Derek Petersen, KCP Chair

Welcome: Ramona Faust, Real Estate Foundation of BC

Setting the Stage: Juliet Craig, KCP Program Manager

Tools for Conservation: Deb Curran, University of Victoria

Multi-Jurisdictional Corridors: Scott Boswell, Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program

Kootenay Connect: Dr. Michael Proctor, Trans-Border Grizzly Project

Local Conservation Funds: Juliet Craig, KCP Program Manager

Species and Ecosystems At Risk Local Govt Working Group: Lynn Campbell, Ministry of Environment