Nomination Deadline: September 17, 2021  

Do you know someone who deserves to be recognized for their conservation work in the Kootenays? The annual KCP Conservation Leadership Awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated leadership, innovation and dedication to conservation in our region. Nominees must be affiliated with a KCP partner organization (see our Partner Profiles booklet or contact us if unsure) and they must show a demonstrated commitment toward the KCP vision. We welcome your nominations on or before September 17. All nominees must have three nominators. Nominations will be valid for three years unless otherwise specified. Award winners will be announced at the KCP Fall Gathering on October 15.

This article is the first in a series featuring three conservation properties in the Columbia Valley that were purchased with support from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund. The series is being published by the Columbia Valley Pioneer newspaper.

The KCP Fall Gathering & AGM serves as one of the primary venues to connect and re-connect KCP partners from across the region. The KCP Annual Fall Gathering is a wonderful opportunity to learn about conservation projects in the Kootenays, share knowledge and information, and network with other organizations in the region. Typically, Day 1 is a full day in-person conference followed by a Day 2 field tour. In 2020 due to COVID-19, the Fall Gathering took a hybrid approach with an online conference followed by small localized tours at four different sites across the Kootenays. The current plan is to hold the event in person pending health advisories. Stay tuned for venue and registration details.

ERA initiates the Elk River Watershed Collaborative Monitoring Program 

The Elk River Alliance is developing the Elk River Watershed Collaborative Monitoring Program to bring together a group of partners from across the watershed to pool and gather data, identify data gaps, better monitor water quality, fish habitat and fish populations, and publicly share the results. ERA will function as the hub for the collaborative and is actively seeking partner organizations and individuals from across the Elk Valley to represent the diverse range of interests in the continued health of Elk River ecosystems. Indigenous communities, governments, industry, river tourism and recreation, along with individual experts are invited to join the Collaborative.

The Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society have released the latest episode of the Voices of the Lake Podcast Series. Episode 8: Learning the Ropes A Kootenay Lake Sailing Experience, which has a strong recreation focus but also covers boating stewardship ethics (avoiding the use of detergent for cleaning, using pumpout stations, composting toilets or removable toilets for waste control, invasive species and clean drain dry, as well as reducing speed and noise in consideration of shoreline erosion and nesting wildlife). Listen to the latest episode. The Friends are also wanting to hear from their audience about which episodes they've liked and what they want to hear in the future.

The Province has released B.C.’s draft Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy which strengthens our capacity to anticipate and respond to impacts from climate change. The draft strategy highlights the actions the Province is taking in 2021-22 and presents a suite of proposed actions for 2022-25. The Province is inviting you and/or your organization to provide input on the proposed actions for 2022-25 and the draft guiding principles. The comment period will be open until August 12, 2021. Input will be used to inform the next phase of the strategy, expected to be released in 2022. Email your comments to: ClimateReadyBC@gov.bc.ca.

The “Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin” webinar series hosted by Living Lakes Canada that was originally planned for August has been postponed. Summer 2021 has been unprecedented for most Indigenous Peoples within B.C., not only with COVID vaccinations and roll out, but also Residential school announcements, and forest fires on top of usual cultural practices and responsibilities. Once new dates are finalized, details will be made available on the Living Lakes Canada website complete with speaker information and online registration.

Wildsight Golden is hosting outdoor movie nights through August at the Golden Museum featuring films with an environmental theme. Screenings will be from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Contact golden@wildsight.ca for more information.

Click here for the event page and here for the webpage.

Join an online discussion on September 9th or 14th to review potential projects aimed at maintaining and improving ecological health and native biodiversity. Your input will help inform which landscape-scale projects could be supported through Year 5 of the Trust's Ecosystem Enhancement Program.  

Learn more and RSVP at: ourtrust.org/ecosystems

Several regional agencies and organizations in the Northwest have partnered to create the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network. The goal of the Virtual Symposium is to bring together managers, scientists, and other practitioners to discuss the nexus of climate change, extreme events such as wildfires and droughts, and invasive species management in the Northwest including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and neighboring states and provinces. This is a free event.

Are you ready to learn R in a supportive online environment and use it to streamline your data analyses? This 3-day course will teach you how to use R and its user-friendly R Studio interface to create appealing data visualizations and perform basic statistical analyses. You can take this course on its own or in conjunction with the proceeding Intermediate R Course. This course will be held virtually over Zoom. Registration is now open.

October 15-16, Cranbrook/Kimberley area: location TBD

The KCP Fall Gathering & AGM serves as one of the primary venues to connect and re-connect KCP partners from across the region. The KCP Annual Fall Gathering is a wonderful opportunity to learn about conservation projects in the Kootenays, share knowledge and information, and network with other organizations in the region. Typically, Day 1 is a full day in-person conference followed by a Day 2 field tour. In 2020 due to COVID-19, the Fall Gathering took a hybrid approach with an online conference followed by small localized tours at four different sites across the Kootenays. The current plan is to hold the event in person pending health advisories. Stay tuned for venue and registration details.

Once you start learning R, there is so much more you can learn in order to take your R skills to the next level. This 3-day course will help you expand your current R skills so they include the ability to perform a range of data preparation, R programming and automated reporting tasks. This course may be taken on its own or in conjunction with the preceding Introductory R Course. Registration is now open.

New to R? The purpose of this 1/2 day workshop is to give participants an introduction to R/RStudio so that you can take full advantage of the subsequent 3-day course: Stats Refresher for Biologists in “R”. This course may also be taken on its own.

Environmental impact assessments want to know if trends over time differ between control and impact sites. Statistical methods for the analysis of trends over time use many of the same methods as the analysis of experimental data (e.g. ANOVA, regression) but must now deal with problems such as autocorrelation and process error. This course is primarily for students using R software. If you are using JMP software and have interest in this course contact Hailey to discuss: office@cmiae.org.

Columbia Basin Trust’s Ecosystem Enhancement Program is currently seeking eligible project ideas from across the Columbia Basin. Projects can focus on any ecosystem and must implement on-the-ground restoration and/or enhancements that yield landscape-scale ecosystem benefits. Project ideas are due Friday, August 13, 2021. If you have an idea for a project that will have a meaningful and measurable ecological benefit, contact the Ecosystems Coordinator, Lisa Pavelich at ecosystems@ourtrust.org.

Environment Grants funds community-initiated and community-supported projects in the areas of ecosystems, water or environmental education. If you have an idea that will strengthen environmental well-being, this program could help support it. This program aligns with the Columbia Basin Management Plan 2020-2022) Strategic Priorities and Integrated Priorities of Ecosystem Enhancement and Climate Resilience and Working with Indigenous Peoples.

Wildsight launched the Youth Climate Corps in 2020 to connect young people in need of opportunity with work that needs to be done on the climate crisis. They are now launching a crew for the fall in the West Kootenay area, with projects based in the Slocan Valley and around Nelson. Projects will include agroforestry work in partnership with other local organizations and wildfire risk reduction. As feasible, other work may focus on energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture and food security, ecosystem restoration, and community engagement, plus other kinds of projects that address the climate crisis and align with local priorities. Deadline to apply is Saturday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m. MT.

The Communications and Engagement Lead is responsible for leading Wildsight’s communications, engagement and philanthropy strategies. You are a strategic thinker and passionate about driving engagement and have demonstrated experience in planning and executing engagement strategies. You are passionate about storytelling and will have a proven ability to communicate with different audiences. You will work closely with the communications, campaign and fundraising teams to develop and execute our communications strategies and will deepen Wildsight’s digital campaign strategies. Deadline to apply is August 15.

The Mining Coordinator works closely with the Conservation Director, Elk Valley Conservation Coordinator and other Wildsight team members to advocate for strong, enforceable legislation and regulations to protect climate, aquatic life and biodiversity across the landscape from the impacts of the Elk Valley coal mines. Building public support, coalition work, media relations and government relations are key pillars of this work. The Mining Coordinator is a strong advocate and is comfortable with technical research, analysis and numbers. Applications will be received until position is filled.

The Salmo Watershed Streamkeepers Society (SWSS) is looking for an individual with the ability to stay organized and thrive in a fast paced, team environment; someone with strong analytical and decision-making abilities with the capacity for practical problems solving. The successful applicant will be assisting both in field and office-based activities under the guidance of our Coordinator and Environmental Assistant. This is a part-time position for someone between the ages of 18 and 30. Applications will be received until position is filled.

The Rapid Assessment Rapid Remediation (RARR) of mine tailings is a new innovative Green Economics approach to the way we look at the thousands of mine waste tailings sites that exist in this Province and beyond. The Coordinator will work with the SWSS team to choose 5 local tailings sites and 1 sites elsewhere to pilot the RARR. Streamkeepers partners in this approach are Teck Metals Ltd., The Real Estate Foundation of BC and Cassiar Gold Corp. Streamkeepers are interested in hiring a person who can characterize a tailings site, provide mapping data, perform Water Quality and soil sampling as well as collect assay samples that could determine recycling values as well as risks to the Environment. This project focus is on the ‘Assessment’ end of RARR as well as a developing thinking around providing overview thoughts for remediation. Please connect with SWSS Coordinator Gerry Nellestijn at 250-357-2630 or gerry@streamkeepers.bc.ca for more information. Applications will be received until position is filled.

The Salmo Watershed Streamkeepers Society (SWSS) is looking to hire a skilled, keen person to move into the Coordinator position for their group. The SWSS is an accomplished, motivated, community stewardship, charitable, non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, enhancement and the regeneration of species and habitat in our watershed and beyond. Career Intern will work with the SWSS Coordinator to become familiar with, and responsible for directing and managing the activities of the SWSS in accordance with policies, goals, and objectives established by the SWSS multi-stakeholder Watershed Planning Team and our Board of Directors. Applications will be received until position is filled.

ISCBC has a number of current employment opportunities for people who are passionate about making a difference to BC’s outdoors. Enjoy a rewarding career with ISCBC with great benefits. Most of their team works remotely in BC and full-time staff are provided a competitive package including benefits, annual vacation and flexible schedules. Applications will be received until positions are filled.

The Invasive Species Council of BC is recruiting youth volunteers between the ages of 15-30 in the Kootenays. Youth volunteers help to protect B.C. from new and spreading invasive species by gaining expert knowledge of our local environment and ecosystems, and by taking meaningful action in the field and virtually. Applications will be received until positions are filled.

The Director, Corporate Development will assume a lead role in assisting the Chief Marketing Officer in the coordination and delivery of fundraising activities to further the mission of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and to maximize corporate revenues for its programs and projects. This position can be based anywhere in Canada. Applications will be received until position is filled.

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) in partnership with the Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) are seeking qualified members for the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund (CVLCF) Technical Review Committee (TRC). The role of the TRC is to make recommendations on allocating annual funding for conservation projects for the area from Canal Flats to Spillimacheen. Applications will be received on an ongoing basis.

Kevin Barnett, & R. Travis Belote

Recordings of the “Why Care About Water Data?” Webinar Series focusing on the Columbia Basin are available online. The purpose of this series is to increase awareness of what water data is, and the value and applications of water data for decision makers and the public.

Access the recordings here.

The Shore-spawning Kokanee Research and Restoration Project, led by the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society, focuses on collecting data and restoring habitat for declining shore-spawning Kokanee in the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. Gravel installed at a lower elevation than the current rearing habitat will encourage Kokanee to spawn at elevations unaffected by fluctuations in the hydrograph. It is expected that Kokanee will show a preference for restored habitat, reducing the risk of redds being de-watered in the spring.

KCP has created the “Case for Conservation” tri-fold brochure, which details 9 different reasons why conserving private land is so crucial to the health of the region’s ecosystems that support a myriad of plant, fish and animal species — many of which are currently rare or endangered or at risk of becoming so. The brochure opens up into an attractive poster that can be easily posted in offices, public spaces and homes. Printed brochures are available for distribution. If you would like copies, please contact KCP Program Manager Juliet Craig at manager@kootenayconservation.ca.