Interested in knowing more about what makes a well-developed restoration project? Looking for ideas on how to build climate resiliency into your projects? Curious about how to develop effective monitoring and evaluation of your project’s results? Building Restoration & Enhancement Projects that Make a Difference is a new four-part webinar series that is being offered by the Kootenay Conservation Program, Columbia Basin Trust and Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program to help build awareness and capacity for individuals and organizations undertaking ecological restoration projects in the Columbia Basin. The goal of this series is to provide hands-on, practical solutions for participants to build into their projects to contribute to ecosystem resiliency in the context of a changing climate. Stayed tuned for webinar details, the schedule and online registration in our January newsletter.

This article is the third in a series that featured three conservation properties in the Columbia Valley that were purchased with support from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund. The series was submitted by KCP and published by the Columbia Valley Pioneer newspaper.

KCP's “Case for Conservation” tri-fold brochure 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 Director Juliet Craig at: manager@kootenayconservation.ca.

Under the guidance of Living Lakes Canada, a team from Wildsight’s Youth Climate Corps spent two weeks this November making a splash in the Columbia Valley. The first week was a crash course in water monitoring, with learning and hands-on experience in assessing water quality and water quantity parameters; the team was also introduced to techniques used to monitor for aquatic invasive species. In week two, Living Lakes Canada staff turned the crew’s focus towards beaver conservation in the Columbia Wetlands, including conducting beaver surveys, establishing protective wiring around several high-value cottonwood trees, and assisting in upgrades to an artificial beaver dam designed to encourage these natural ecosystem engineers to stay in the wetlands.

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Is currently working on Parks Management Plans for three parks in Electoral Area B. Community input is an important piece of this process, and the RDEK is currently seeking public feedback as part of the planning process. The RDEK would like to hear your comments by December 17th, 2021 at 4:30 pm MT.

For the first KBA webinar in KBA Canada's 2021-2022 monthly webinar series, KBA Canada's Assessment and Outreach Coordinator, Peter Soroye, WCS Canada's Director of National Conservation, Dan Kraus, and Birds Canada's Senior Director of Landscape Science and Conservation, Andrew Couturier, shared thoughts and ideas on how KBAs could be applied across our broad and diverse conservation community. Slides from the presentation can be viewed here.

The Indigenous-led Water Relationships within the Columbia Basin webinar series was organized to make time, space and place for the Ktunaxa, Secwepemc, Syilx-Okanagan/Sinixt Peoples to share values, relationships and responsibilities for and with Water, now and for the future of the water in the Columbia Basin. The series took place over three weeks and the recordings are now available online.

This webinar explores four of the busiest roads in the region near the U.S.-Canadian border: Interstate 90, Highway 93, Highway 1, and Highway 3. Panel discussions share how both countries can work together with Indigenous Peoples, conservation organizations, scientists, and others to make roads safer for all.

This webinar will introduce the 2021 version of the Green Bylaws Toolkit (GBT) for Protecting and Enhancing the Natural Environment and Green Infrastructure, a key resource for citizens, planners, and local governments that helps to protect and restore ecological systems. The 2021 Toolkit updates reflect changes in legislation and include more case studies and topics of interest, as well as deeper consideration of ecosystem connectivity and the importance of restoring and linking ecological functions. Organized by the Stewardship Centre for BC, the webinar will take place on Zoom 12-1pm PT and feature three speakers plus time for a Q&A.

The Lake Windermere Ambassadors, Living Lakes Canada and the Friends of Windermere Creek are co-hosting this free webinar for interested stakeholders in the Windermere Creek area of the Columbia Valley. Ongoing Windermere Creek flood events result in evacuation alerts and State of Local Emergency declarations. This webinar will feature five guest speakers who have been working on Windermere Creek in various capacities and will present the groundwater water level data collected to date and the preliminary hydrogeological assessment to interested parties so it can inform future restoration work. From 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. MT.

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.

The BC Wildlife Federation's Wetlands Education Program presents Wetland Stewardship Virtual Workshop, a free public workshop hosted through Zoom. This 1-day virtual workshop will focus on wetland stewardship, with interviews of landowners in the Kootenays who have created wetland habitat on their personal properties, and guest speakers Neil Fletcher and Tom Biebighauser or Robin Annschild to talk about wetland stewardship funding opportunities and practicalities.

In this talk Dr. Brian Menounos will consider the importance of snow and ice, observed changes over the satellite era (mid 1980-present) and projected changes to snow and ice. He will also use a few examples like the heat dome from this past summer to illustrate important interactions between extreme heat events and wildfire that serve to accelerate glacier loss. Presenter: Dr. Brian Menounos, Canadian Research Chair in Glacier Change and University of Northern British Columbia. Starts at 12pm PT. Hosted by the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology.

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 Branch Manager provides leadership and management to ensure Wildsight Revelstoke is achieving the organization’s mandate. This goal is achieved by working directly with the Wildsight Revelstoke Board of Directors, who set policy and strategic direction. This position requires a dynamic individual who will be responsible for program development and management, communications, outreach, fundraising, and administration. Preference will be given to an individual with prior experience in a non-profit environment. Deadline to apply is December 1 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

The RDCK is seeking applications for the position of Wildfire Mitigation Supervisor, based in Nelson BC. This is an exciting opportunity to join the RDCK Community Sustainability department’s Emergency Services team and run a province-leading regional wildfire mitigation program. The ideal candidate will possess experience or qualifications in Forestry, Ecosystems or Wildfire. This is a full-time benefited position and requires the successful candidate to participate in the RDCK On-Call program. Deadline to apply is Monday, December 6.

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. 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.

Becoming a Board Member is an impactful way to turn your concerns for Kootenay Lake into action. As a board member, you volunteer your time to provide guidance and feedback at FOKLSS meetings, help out at events and workshops, and offer your expertise in all aspects of project planning and implementation. You support staff with making important decisions regarding the organization and play a significant role in moving projects and programs forward.

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.

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”.

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.

The Kootenay Conservation Program helps partners to coordinate and facilitate conservation efforts on private land, and in an effort to support this, KCP has developed a webpage that compiles some of the best conservation and stewardship resources available for our region.