Description:
The Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners (CWSP) received funding from Kootenay Connect ECCC for four projects in the Columbia Valley in Year 7. The projects in year 7 of the KC/ECCC projects continued the work from the years 1-6, providing more detailed science, more on the ground conservation actions, and more community involvement. Species at Risk projects included conservation actions that benefit western painted turtle, American badger, Lewis’s woodpecker, and osprey. Five main subprojects comprise the Conservation & Mitigation of Wetland Basins Vulnerable to Drought project. Conservation Lands has two subprojects, one of which identified and ranked important biodiversity hotspots in riparian and upland habitat in Columbia Valley. The second subproject has collaborated with Farmland Advantage and Windermere District Farmers’ Institute to work with two landowners to develop Environmental Farm Plans and provide on-the-ground fencing and stewardship prescriptions on two properties at the north end of Columbia Lake. The fourth main project this year included monitoring and mitigating the impact of beaver on cottonwood/aspen stands and installing wire guards on important cottonwood trees in the Columbia Wetlands.

Keywords: wetlands; riparian; birds; beaver; hydrology; climate change

Authors:

Organization: Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners

Category: Project Overview

Focal Area: Columbia Wetlands

Resource Type: Report

Year: 2026