Wed, 15 Mar 2023
Tags: Caribou / Fish & Wildlife / News

Preliminary Approved Project List 2023-24

A preliminary list of HCTF approved projects for 2023-24 is now available.

Preliminary Approved Project List 2023-24

Projects included on this preliminary list have been approved in principle but may have reduced budgets or funding conditions. All applicants will receive official notification emails including HCTF Board and technical committee comments. For approved projects, these emails will include the grant amount and funding conditions (if applicable). Please note that HCTF staff cannot provide further information to you before the Notifications are issued.

Proponents of approved projects will receive a Conditional Grant Agreement. Please be aware that until both you and HCTF have reviewed, accepted and signed the Conditional Grant Agreement, there is no confirmation of funding and no legal commitment in place.

Congratulations to all successful proponents! To those applicants who were not funded this time, thank you for your interest. The next opportunity to apply for an HCTF Enhancement and Restoration, Stewardship or Caribou Habitat Restoration Grant will be Fall of 2023 (Deadline: Friday November 3, 2023).

How are Grant Applications Reviewed?

Each proposal undergoes a multi-level, objective technical review prior to final Board decisions. For more information on what reviewers look for when evaluating a proposal, see our Grant Apply page.

Tue, 14 Mar 2023
Tags: Caribou

Climate Change & Caribou Workshop

 

On February 15 and 16, 2023 Sophia Cuthbert, Wildlife Program Manager and Jack Olson, Indigenous Inclusion Coordinator, attended the Climate Change and Caribou Workshop in Prince George, BC.

The workshop was well attended by nearly 80 participants where we discussed how climate change impacts could be incorporated into caribou recovery planning in BC. We heard from experts in climate science and research as well as from Nations, biologists, and consultants undertaking caribou recovery efforts currently. Break-out sessions proved to uncover engaging conversation and debate around caribou recovery efforts in the face of climate change with much concern emerging around continued timber harvest in caribou habitat and the inevitable changes to bio geoclimatic zones in southern mountain and boreal caribou habitat. One thing became clear as the workshop progressed: climate change is a complex and ever-changing phenomenon with a large degree of uncertainty around how it will impact the landscape of BC, or rather, how we as part of those ecosystems will respond to it.

Within weeks of starting Jack’s new position as Indigenous Inclusion Coordinator he was off to attend this workshop and found an engaging and productive two days. Jack found the workshop provided a valuable learning experience along with the opportunity to meet several colleagues working in the environmental field.

HCTF staff have exchanged thoughts and ideas following the workshop including how to integrate climate change into the management of intact caribou habitat as well as resistance and resiliency of the caribou habitat restoration projects we support. We look forward to continued conversations around climate change and look to the work and innovation of our proponents and the restoration community of practice. Please share your thoughts or ideas with us at chrf@hctf.ca.

 

Wed, 22 Feb 2023
Tags: Habitat Acquisition

2023 Habitat Acquisition Grant Applications Now Open!

Perserverance Creek by Sara Kepner

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) is now accepting applications for the Habitat Acquisition Grant. Applications must be submitted through HCTF’s online application system by 4:30pm on Monday, April 17, 2023 (PST).

Each year, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation provides approximately $500,000 in Habitat Acquisition grants to help fund acquisition projects that secure and manage conservation properties in British Columbia. One such project is Project Perseverance a 90.5-hectare (224 acre) watershed and habitat protection project near the Village of Cumberland on Vancouver Island. This property was secured in 2020 via the purchase of privately owned forest lands and now protects an ecologically rich habitat corridor that is home to a host of species including Western toads, Little Brown bats, and Roosevelt elk. The waterways support Coho salmon as well as Rainbow and Cutthroat Trout. Project Perseverance is now part of the Cumberland Community Forest Park, a 225-hectare park which includes three other areas purchased and protected by the Cumberland Community Forest Society since 2006. These areas are all protected through a Section 219 Conservation Covenant. To find out more visit www.cumberlandforest.com.

For 2023, HCTF will continue to prioritize acquisition applications that seek to increase conservation outcomes for fish, wildlife, and their habitats, provide access for a variety of uses such as hunting, fishing, and non-motorized recreation and fit one or more of the following criteria:

  • Contribute to the conservation of wetland or grassland habitats.
  • Increase connectivity to adjacent protected lands or important habitats to further build complexes of intact habitat.
  • Contribute to the conservation of habitats near urban settings to increase opportunities to connect people to nature.
  • Demonstrate resiliency to climate change and/or address stressors linked to climate change impacts.

Apply Here

Learn More

Please visit our FAQ Page to find useful tips and guidance for the online Survey Apply system. Please note that HCTF cannot accept applications submitted by email.

For questions related to the Habitat Acquisition Grant, please contact Barb von Sacken at bvonsacken@hctf.ca or 250-940-3013.

 

Fri, 2 Dec 2022
Tags: Conservation Lands O&M / Photography / Wildlife

Winners of the 2022 Conservation Lands Photo Contest

The results are in for the winners of the 2022 HCTF Conservation Lands Photo Contest!

The 2022 Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation’s Photo Contest encouraged photographers and BC residents to get out to Conservation Lands across the Province to enjoy the natural beauty British Columbia has to offer.

1st Prize: Karen Wipond Award

2nd Prize

3rd Prize

Honourable Mention

Conservation Lands

The winning photographs were taken within the boundaries of provincially administered Conservation Lands in the province of British Columbia (see map below). While HCTF encourages photographers and all nature-minded individuals to explore BC’s Conservation Lands we recommend that you research the Conservation Land you intend to visit beforehand, obey all safety requirements, public access best practices, and ethical guidelines when taking pictures of wildlife (for recommended ethical wildlife photography see the Audubon Society’s Guide). Conservation Lands are protected and managed for the purposes of conserving important habitat and ecosystem functions, and it is important that visitors do their part to maintain these sites for generations to come.

The primary purpose of conservation lands is to conserve and manage important habitat for the benefit of regionally or internationally significant fish and wildlife species. This includes habitat that is vital for:

  • Sensitive, vulnerable, or at-risk species.
  • Critical species life-cycle phases such as spawning, rearing, nesting, or winter feeding.
  • Species migration routes or other movement corridors.
  • Supporting unusually high species productivity or diversity.

Conservation lands often concurrently provide for a range of opportunities for public access, including day hiking, hunting and fishing, wildlife viewing, scientific research and education, and traditional activities of First Nations.

Map of BC Conservation Lands

Wed, 21 Sep 2022
Tags: Caribou / F&W / Fish & Wildlife / News

Now Accepting Conservation Grant Proposals for 2023-2024

Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation is now accepting applications for Enhancement/Restoration & Stewardship (ERS) grants, and Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund (CHRF) grants. Applications must be submitted through HCTF’s online application system by 4:30pm on November 4th, 2022 (PST).

HCTF is not accepting New Stewardship proposals in Fall 2022 (Continuing and New Phase proposals will still be accepted). Our Stewardship grant is undergoing an update to better integrate with other HCTF grant programs. This will improve clarity and criteria for proponents as well as streamline the application process.

Please visit our FAQ page to find useful tips for the online Survey Apply system. Our updated 2023-24 ERS and CHRF Guidance documents are also available on the website.

Before beginning your application on the Survey Apply system, we strongly recommend that you complete your application on the Word worksheets posted on our website. Once completed you can copy-and-paste your answers into the online form. The worksheets also provide a useful overview of the questions and information requirements. Please note that HCTF cannot accept applications submitted by email.

Each year, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation provides approximately $6 million dollars in Enhancement and Restoration grants to help fund projects that support the conservation of British Columbia’s native freshwater fish, wildlife, and their habitats. Since the inception of our work in 1981, the Foundation and its predecessors have invested over $189 million in more than 2980 projects across BC.

HCTF continues to partner with the Forest Enhancement Society of BC (FESBC) to meet shared conservation objectives through co-investments in conservation projects administered through HCTF. The CHRF program is made possible by contributions from both the BC Ministry of Land Water and Resource Stewardship and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

For questions related to Enhancement/Restoration and Stewardship grants, please contact Lisa Wielinga at Lisa.Wielinga@hctf.ca or 250-940-9781.

For questions related to CHRF, please contact Sophia Cuthbert at Sophia.Cuthbert@hctf.ca or 250-940-9789.

Tue, 20 Sep 2022
Tags: birds of prey / cougar / Education / fellowship / owls / scholarship

2022 Al Martin HCTF Conservation Fellowship Recipients Announced

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and HCTF Education are pleased to announce our 2022 recipients of the Al Martin HCTF Conservation Fellowship (AMCF): Siobhan Darlington & Megan Buers.

The AMCF awards $10,000 annually to two graduate students who are wishing to pursue a career in fish or wildlife management and conservation in British Columbia.

The award is named in honor of Al Martin, a lifelong conservation giant who passed away suddenly in 2019. Al had an influential career with the BC provincial government that spanned three decades in fish and wildlife management and habitat conservation. After his retirement in 2010, Al continued to be a leader in the conservation community as a Board Director with HCTF and Director of Strategic Initiatives with the BC Wildlife Federation.

More About Al

2022 Recipients:

Siobhan Darlington

Siobhan Darlington (she/her) is a PhD student in Biology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan working under the supervision of Dr. Adam Ford and Dr. Karen Hodges. AMCF funds will be used to support research for her thesis “The spatial ecology and foraging dynamics of cougar in the southern interior of British Columbia” as part of the Southern BC Cougar Project. In the future, Siobhan hopes to continue working with cougars and other wild felids to understand the dual impacts of climate change and human activity on their distributions and mitigate potential threats through policy, public outreach, and conservation work.

More About Siobhan

 

Megan Buers

Megan Buers is an MSc student at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus under the supervision of Dr. Karen Hodges. AMCF funds will be used to support her thesis “Are riparian areas thermal refugia for nocturnal forest birds in south central British Columbia?” which explores how habitat characteristics of riparian areas may act to provide shelter for wildlife during periods of high heat. In the future, Megan hopes to continue working with species at risk in British Columbia and, in particular, birds of prey. She will continue to advocate for more public outreach and education on habitats and how we can work to protect these habitats through the coming decades.

More About Megan

If you or someone you know may be interested in applying for the Al Martin HCTF Conservation Scholarship, check out the following links:

Applicant Info Apply Online

 

HCTF Scholarship Program