The KCP Fall Gathering & AGM serves as one of the primary venues to connect and re-connect KCP partners from across the region. This year the Fall Gathering was a one-day virtual conference with the organizing theme “Partnerships in Conservation”. Attendees took in five excellent presentations by guest speakers, an engaging "Conservation Cafe", the annual Conservation Leadership Awards and the KCP AGM including an overview of the KCP 2020-2021 Annual Report. If you weren't able to make this year's Fall Gathering, you'll find all the recordings at the link below.

At the 2021 AGM that took place on October 15 following the Virtual Fall Gathering, the KCP partnership unanimously passed two motions pertaining to the structure of the KCP Board. Motion 1 was to increase the number of Board Directors to up to 10 (currently it is 8) with at least two Directors with local Indigenous cultural knowledge/values/perspective. Motion 2 was to change the KCP Board member term from a 1-year term to a 2-year term. In the subsequent Board elections, long-standing Board member Candace Batycki, BC and Yukon Program Director for the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, stepped down and KCP welcomed new Board member Norm Allard, Community Planner with the Lower Kootenay Band.

The extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and poor air quality conditions of summer 2021 created many challenges for inhabitants of the Columbia Basin-Boundary Region and beyond. During the historic heat event in late June over Western Canada, many communities in the region surpassed heat records, including multiple locations that reached temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (°C) in June. For an overview of snowpack, temperature and air quality data from the summer, read the Selkirk College “RDI Focus” October e-blast at the link below.

The deaths of a female grizzly bear and her three cubs when they were hit by a train east of Elko, B.C. should serve as a wakeup call and another sad reminder of how fragile the powerful creatures' population is in that area, says the wildlife scientist who discovered their remains. Clayton Lamb, a wildlife scientist at the University of British Columbia, tagged the female bear in September 2019 and had been tracking her since, along with a number of other grizzlies in southeast B.C.

Vancouver Foundation is excited to announce that a new granting stream will open on November 15th — the Indigenous Priorities Granting Program (IPGP). This initiative will support First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities with $750,000 in flexible, one-time grants to Indigenous-led organizations operating in the lands now known as BC. Grants of up to $50,000 will be available to encourage community inclusiveness, belonging, and healing. See the Funding Opportunities section below.

If Canadians are to create a space for reconciliation, further education is needed to understand Indigenous ways of knowing. This webinar addressed some of the misconceptions, beliefs, and inaccuracies Canadians have regarding Indigenous peoples. Under the webinar you will see “webinar complete” and click “recording”.

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.

Hosted by Living Lakes Canada, Indigenous Water Relations within the Columbia Basin is a new webinar series that will create space, time and place for knowledge-sharing by the place-based Indigenous Peoples that are located within what is now known as the Columbia Basin. The first webinar in the series took place on October 26 and showcased Ktunaxa Knowledge Relationships. The recording can be viewed here. November 2 will feature Secwe̓pemc Knowledge Relationships and November 9 will feature Syilx-Okanagan/Sinixt Knowledge Relationships. Both webinars will run from 12:30 – 3:30 pm PT / 1:30 – 4:30 pm MT.

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.

Join CBEEN’s Canadian Outdoor Learning Partners to learn, share and connect around all things related to outdoor learning. There will be opportunities to hear from partners and breakout into groups and discuss key things on your mind. Whether you’re a seasoned outdoor learning educator, or an educator taking their first steps outside the classroom, there will be some great takeaways. Starts at 4 pm PT / 5 pm MT. Recorded and posted here for those who can’t attend at this time.

Vancouver Foundation: Indigenous Priorities Granting Program

Vancouver Foundation is committing $750,000 to the Indigenous Priorities Granting Program (IPGP) to provide flexible, one-time grants to First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities, and Indigenous-led organizations operating in the lands now known as BC. Grants are available up to $50,000 and are to support Indigenous-led initiatives that encourage community inclusiveness, belonging, and healing. Grant applications open November 15, 2021.

Does your organization or community have a project idea that reduces wildfire risk while creating jobs? The Crown Land Wildfire Risk Reduction Program – Columbia Basin Economic Recovery Initiative supports Basin communities to build local wildfire resiliency while recovering from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative is a partnership between the Province of BC and Columbia Basin Trust, developed with the BC Wildfire Service. The Trust is administering this program on behalf of the partners.

The Invasive Species Council of BC is a provincial non-profit organization working to protect and restore BC’s landscapes and habitats from the devastating impacts of invasive species. Current openings include Projects & Grants Coordinator, Education Facilitator, and Communications Manager. Most of the ISC team works remotely around BC. The Council offers an attractive benefit package for eligible employees along with an open and flexible working environment to accommodate a healthy work-life balance.

As part of this initiative, the Biosphere Institute and CRYN are creating a mentor bank of inspiring and knowledgeable mountain people who want to help our youth-led environmental initiative! For more info on CRYN, click here.

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.