Hello FoKLSS member,

For over a decade now the Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society has provided a platform for a broad array of stakeholders to collaboratively learn about Kootenay Lake and its many values. We have identified potential threats to the lake, conducted scientific inquiry into these issues, and proposed solutions. We have encouraged a broader and deeper understanding of the lake’s ecosystems and strived to build cooperative relationships among Kootenay Lake communities.

There's a useful summary of our activities HERE

Throughout all of this, members, like you, have supported us. We are most grateful and fully recognize that without your support we could not have done this.

However, as you will be aware from our last newsletter, the Friends of Kootenay Lake Society has been in hiatus for some months.

The reasons for this were set out in our announcement HERE

Looking to the Future

During this hiatus, with no new projects undertaken, much has been accomplished - meeting financial commitments and completing projects and reporting. As a result, we are now in a position to begin to consider possible next steps and we are opening up this exploration to our membership, starting with a range of questions that we need to address:

1.    Purpose:

The current situation for FoKLSS, including a need for leadership and governance, plus the funding adjustment has resulted in this need to meet.

What is currently at stake and why is it important?

How do we redefine our role and activities in order to move forward?

2.    Review:

Things have changed over the past decade since the foundation of FoKLSS and a review of our purpose and vision is needed. Why does FoKLSS exist?

How do our accomplishments connect to our vision and purpose?

What are the problems FOKLSS should address?

What is still valid and of interest and concern to people?

Should we continue with restoration, rehabilitation and clean-up projects?

A significant theme of our current strategy is outreach and there has been an educational component to many of our projects.

Should this be a major focus?

What form might it take?

3.    Practicalities:

Can we come up with a new model for funding?

How do our vision and purpose connect to funding?

We are planning to meet in Nelson. The venue is yet to be announced but we know the meeting will start after 4pm on Thursday, 20 June. We would like to gather together a group of people whose interest in Kootenay Lake is close to their hearts. We see the diligence of local people who care about the values of lakes as vital at this time of climate change, development pressures, cumulative impacts from shoreline development, increasing recreational demands, logging, and impacts from industrial and/or hydro-electric development. With this in mind, we are extending an invitation to this meeting to those willing to contribute to the discussion and open up options for the future.

We are reaching out to you now to find out if you feel you would like to contribute to this discussion and join us on 20 June.

If so, please respond by Tuesday 4 June 2024 with your name and email to: ExecutiveDirector@friendsofkootenaylake.ca

We will can then send you a formal invitation once the details have been finalized.