Thu, 13 Jul 2023
Tags: Community / PCAF

18 Community Grant Projects Receive Funding

Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society - Volunteers working on The Kootenay Lake Kokanee Salmon Spawning Habitat Research and Restoration Project

HCTF’s Community Grants (formerly PCAF) will be providing funding to 18 different projects working to complete volunteer-based conservation projects in BC. The Foundation approved $149,656 in grants this year for projects ranging from creek restoration to bat protection and monitoring. A full list of this year’s grant recipients is below.

You can find out more about HCTF’s Community Grants program here.

Mill (Harrop) Creek Kokanee Spawning Gravel Weir

SPONSOR: WEST ARM OUTDOORS CLUB

The West Arm Outdoors Club is undertaking a kokanee spawning habitat project in Mill Creek located at Harrop BC. Two gravel platforms will be constructed at the lower reach of Mill Creek before it flows into the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. Volunteers and local community members will build two engineered gravel platforms that are designed to support quality spawning gravel. Kokanee spawners will utilize the platforms and club members will work with the Ministry of Forests–fisheries to count spawner numbers.

Simpcw Caribou Lichen Collection

SPONSOR: SIMPCW NATURAL RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

Simpcw is undertaking a lichen collection project to aid in a supplemental caribou feeding program. The Project will deploy help from community members, while on a guided interpretive walks, volunteers will aid in lichen collection. The lichen, along with an ungulate grain feed, will supplement caribou diets during the winter to help improve overall health for the herd.

Whitebark Pine Community Cone Cleaning

SPONSOR: SIMPCW NATURAL RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

The Whitebark Pine Community Cone Cleaning Project will help conserve and restore whitebark pine populations, which are keystone species in high elevation forests of Simpcw Territory. Whitebark pine cones contain nutrient-rich seeds that are important food sources for wildlife and are critical to the tree’s reproductive cycle. Community members will help to remove the seeds from the cones, then clean and prepare the seeds to grow new trees for restoration planting. Some of the seed will also be retained by the community for food and medicinal use. The project will provide an opportunity for community members to get involved in conservation efforts, learn more about the importance of whitebark pine trees, and build partnerships between different organizations.

Revitalizing Lost Lagoon

SPONSOR: STANLEY PARK ECOLOGY SOCIETY

This project will revitalize Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park with six connected artificial islands and six floating logs for wildlife. The goal is to improve the natural infrastructure surrounding Stanley Park’s freshwater ecosystem and enhance biodiversity for climate resiliency. The project will engage community volunteers in hands-on habitat enhancement and restoration to foster an appreciation for freshwater ecosystems and build a community of stewards and create a knowledge transfer strategy to encourage sustainable behavior changes for the protection of freshwater in Canada.

Elk Valley Cottonwood Restoration – Phase 2: Conservation Lands

SPONSOR: ELK RIVER ALLIANCE

Elk Valley Cottonwood Restoration – Phase 2: Conservation Lands will restore riparian and floodplain forests on conservation properties in the Elk Valley. Volunteers will plant thousands of native plants to improve and protect aquatic and terrestrial habitat for vulnerable species like Westslope cutthroat trout, elk, grizzly bear, blue heron and other species while improving flood resilience to protect downstream communities.

Silver Star Black Bear Education Trail

SPONSOR: SILVERSTAR PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION

The Silver Star Black Bear Stewardship Group will use art, wonder and play to inspire people to conserve black bears in their habitat. Multiple themed stations along a newly formed black bear education trail will be created, each with its own unique purpose. The stations will guide the public on black bear biology and behaviour as well as provide stories of bears in their habitat throughout history.

S,DÁYES Flycatcher Forest Restoration Project

SPONSOR: RAINCOAST CONSERVATION FOUNDATION

Raincoast’s Forest Conservation Program (FCP) aims to strengthen protection and stewardship of rare Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) forests characteristic to BC’s south coast. A strategy to achieve this goal has been to establish a land trust. Having co-purchased two conservation properties on S,DÁYES (North Pender Island) since 2021 we are working to establish restoration strategies that involve community members, honour W̱SÁNEĆ Knowledge systems, enhance biodiversity, increase carbon sequestration, and maximize climate resilience.

Stewardship Initiatives for Invasive Plant Management on Public/Crown Lands

SPONSOR: EAST KOOTENAY INVASIVE SPECIES COUNCIL

The East Kootenay Invasive Species Council is utilizing HCTF Community Grant funding to mobilize individuals for invasive species management across the East Kootenays. Through this community-driven initiative, resources for tackling invasive species are being made accessible to the public. The project aims to assist in identifying invasive species, actively removing them, and restoring sensitive ecosystems by replanting native species. Tangible outcomes are being achieved as a result of this collaborative effort.

Education and Restoration at Dallas Creek

SPONSOR: WILDCOAST ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Wildcoast Ecological Society will restore a portion of Dallas Creek in James Park with the help of community volunteers and 400 students from Ecole Moody Middle School of the Arts. Everyone will learn how to protect their neighbourhood creek so that it may provide habitat for salmon and other wildlife for generations.

Bat Habitat Protection and Community Education

SPONSOR: NORTH OYSTER AND AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The North Oyster Hall located in Yellow Point area in Ladysmith, has discovered hundreds of bats roosting in the attic of the hall. This is the largest roosting site in mid Vancouver Island. Our goals are to provide a safe and secure nesting area for the bats, and to be engaged in providing community education on bats and bat conservation. We will set up a live webcam for public viewing and learning about bats and produce informational material that will be available to the public and engage volunteers taking part in bat counts.

Fish Habitat & Riparian Restoration Stewardship Workshops

SPONSOR: B.C. WILDLIFE FEDERATION

The B.C. Wildlife Federation’s Fish Habitat Stewardship Workshops will restore streams and green spaces in Metro Vancouver and Invermere and train participants to become stewards of their local streams. BC is home to many native fish species that are under threat from anthropogenic-caused habitat loss and fragmentation. In many of BC’s urban streams, the quality of available habitat and resident fish populations have been dramatically declining due to pollution and development. Many fish species are extremely vulnerable to climate change, often as a result of struggling to adapt to rapidly changing environments. Our workshops address these issues by improving habitat conditions for native species through habitat enhancements and streamkeeper training.

Lois Creek Stream and Wetland Enhancement Project

SPONSOR: WILDSIGHT

The Lois Creek stream and wetland enhancement is a small-scale ecosystem restoration focused project. It will enhance stream and wetland function along Lois Creek, in Kimberley BC, while engaging many grassroots community groups and local citizens.

Riparian Habitat Restoration and Reed Canarygrass Removal in Mallard Creek

SPONSOR: COMOX VALLEY PROJECT WATERSHED SOCIETY

Robust and healthy riparian corridors through agricultural land are important landscape assets for salmon, amphibians, and birds, providing rearing, spawning, and nesting habitat and filtering pollutants from nearby farming activities. Project Watershed will remove an aggressive invasive forage grass, Reed canarygrass, from Mallard Creek and reestablish a native riparian species that will enhance habitat quality within this stream for fish, amphibians, and birds.

Firehall, Lily and Bilston Creek Riparian Restoration Projects

SPONSOR: BILSTON WATERSHED HABITAT PROTECTION ASSOCIATION

Funding from this grant will be used for educational signage and for restoration of riparian areas along Firehall, Lily and Bilston Creeks in the Luxton neighborhood of Langford. The creeks in that part of Bilston Watershed have been and continue to be heavily impacted. Many new residents of the area are not aware of the restoration potential and ecological value of the creeks. Thanks to the high volume of pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic in Luxton, signage and restoration activities in the Luxton neighbourhood will effectively raise awareness of the interconnectedness and vulnerability of the entire Bilston Watershed.

Ecosystem Restoration via Cultural and Prescribed Fire in the Dry Interior

SPONSOR: B.C. WILDLIFE FEDERATION

The B.C. Wildlife Federation is partnering with First Nations, NGOs, and the government to undertake cultural and prescribed fire treatments in three sites in the Interior, along with other restoration techniques, to restore wildlife and vegetation habitat. Subsequent research will monitor wildlife and vegetation activity to demonstrate the effects of prescribed burns on wildlife and vegetation, which will be used to support future prescribed burn projects. The Community Grant will be used to train volunteers setup and maintain cameras used for data collection and vegetation monitoring.

Quadra Hill Wetland Restoration and Carbon Enhancement Project

SPONSOR: GALIANO CONSERVANCY ASSOCIATION

The Galiano Conservancy Association is restoring 3 ha of degraded pasture and farmland into a forested wetland ecosystem to improve ecological connectivity across its 660+ ha Mid-Island Protected Areas Network. The goal of this project is to restore and enhance the landscape and increase its ability to absorb freshwater and sequester carbon through native vegetation and wetland creation. Central to this goal is establishing climate-resilient western redcedar forest.

Turtles and Toads: Engaging Volunteers To Protect Two At-Risk Species

SPONSOR: COASTAL PARTNERS IN CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Western Painted Turtles and Western Toads are two at-risk species that face many threats in the South Coast region of BC. To protect these iconic species, the Coastal Partners in Conservation Society will engage volunteers and the public to restore habitat and collect important breeding and migration data that can be used to mitigate threats and preserve populations of these species, and their habitats, for years to come.

Lower Craigflower Creek Riparian Restoration

SPONSOR: COASTAL COLLABORATIVE SCIENCES (A DIVISION OF WORLD FISHERIES TRUST)

Coastal Collaborative Sciences (a division of World Fisheries Trust) is working with CRD Parks, the Town of View Royal, the Songhees Nation Marine Team, the Gorge Waterway Action Society, New Roads Recovery, and other community members and stewards to restore the degraded reaches of lower Craigflower Creek. This restoration project will remove invasive plants that have taken over the floodplains and replace them with native riparian vegetation to support birds, amphibians, and endangered salmonids within Craigflower Creek. This multi-year project will improve the stream’s resilience to the impacts of climate change by increasing shade, flood and erosion control, and biodiversity, while providing environmental education, outreach, and natural beauty to our local community.

Tue, 27 Jun 2023
Tags: Caribou / caribou habitat restoration fund / chrf

Project Profile & Lessons Learned: Tweedsmuir Caribou Winter Range – Chelaslie Road Restoration

Group of caribou detected on Reconyx remote camera.

Directly east of Tweedsmuir Park, there is an area caribou utilize as their core low-elevation winter habitat and as a migration route between winter and summer habitat. It is currently heavily impacted by human-caused disturbance such as forest harvesting and associated roads. The BC Ministries of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and of Forests have been working on a project that aims to benefit the Tweedsmuir-Entiako caribou (TEC) herd through restoration of linear disturbances in the Chelaslie migration corridor (CMC). The project includes many partners, including Cheslatta Carrier Nation and the Society for Ecosystem Restoration in Northern BC (SERN BC), working on the restoration of roads and fire guards that are no longer required. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, ecological and functional restoration treatments were applied to over 54 km of road and fire guard. An additional 22 km of road has been effectively deactivated through the treatment of access roads. Restoration efforts will continue in 2023, through machine work on legacy roads, planting of roads and wildfire guard, and monitoring.

Restoration activities incorporate ecological restoration, which includes site preparation and conifer planting to recover habitat suitable for caribou; and, functional restoration, which includes activities such as woody debris spread, tree felling, mounding, and berm creation. These barriers are intended to reduce line of sight and make roads more difficult to travel along, which is important to eliminate human access and reduce predator mobility. The project utilized vegetation surveys, assessments for mobility, trail cameras, drone imagery, and GPS collars to monitor the short- and long-term outcomes of restoration treatments on access, vegetation, caribou use, and use by other wildlife.

Reconyx photo of caribou bull on road 1A (treated in 2022)

Anne-Marie Roberts, Tweedsmuir Caribou Herd Program lead with the BC Ministry of Water, Lands and Resource Stewardship (WLRS) and Joanna Lee, BC Conservation Foundation (BCCF) contractor with WLRS share some lessons learned on the project so far.

Review of work to date: During the first year, the project was scoped out based on previous work and from projects in other areas of British Columbia and Western Canada. This allowed for beneficial streamlining of some of the work around restoration treatments and implementation development. Learnings from the initial year of the project also helped scope subsequent workplans, training, and reporting.

On Site Discussion: While this project utilized an experienced Project/Site manager on the machine work, a team site visit was held early before the machine work began to review implementation. Representatives from the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (Nadina Forest District + Skeena Region), Forest Carbon Initiative, Cheslatta Carrier Nation, and HCTF were in attendance and visited roads completed in previous years as well as roads to be completed in 2022 and had in-depth on-site discussions about restoration treatments and goals. This was an effective use of time to ensure that prescriptions were communicated and understood well by all involved. It also resulted in a better understanding from the machine operators that were newer to this type of project to know what the project was intending to achieve (i.e., plant-able spots, functional treatments aimed to reduce sightlines and minimize access and ease of movement).

Remote Cameras: On a more logistical note, cameras deployed in remote areas were a significant investment in time and money to deploy, check and process. Ensuring that cameras are protected as much as possible (bear boxes and possibly locks) is important to protecting the investment in that data.

Partners and Stakeholders: Working with First Nations and stakeholders is unique to each region and caribou herd, and it is essential to include inputs from different groups to this type of project. Adequate time must be set aside for meaningful input and to develop real partnerships for ongoing restoration. This will be important in the long-term implementation of restoration treatments. Through deep commitment to working together there has been significant contribution from First Nation partners to this project, caribou recovery, and in building capacity to support and lead components of this work.

Tue, 6 Jun 2023
Tags: Caribou / chrf

World Caribou Day 2023: Discover the Canadian Caribou Subspecies

Klinse-Za Caribou Herd – Mount Rochfort

Here in British Columbia on World Caribou Day we are thankful that our forests and mountains are still home to the Woodland subspecies of caribou, including Boreal, Northern and Southern mountain caribou.

For those living in the regions where caribou roam, these creatures are a lens into the health and connectivity of the overall ecosystem. They are both an umbrella species (their health indicates the health of the ecosystem as a whole) and indicator species (easily impacted by changes to their habitat). Caribou are also considered a cultural keystone species due to their immense importance to Indigenous peoples across Canada. This video by Chu Cho Environmental illustrates the deep cultural relationship between the Tsay Keh Dene people and Wedzih, the caribou:

All caribou in British Columbia are under threat of population declines from habitat loss and the altering and fragmentation of habitat. For many subpopulations habitat degradation has already taken a toll on individual herds as First Nations, environmental non-profits, teams from the Province of British Columbia and Government of Canada, and some industry partners work together to help restore or maintain populations that are threatened or endangered.

Arguably the most important part of recovering caribou populations is habitat protection and restoration. The Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund (CHRF) is proud to support the continued restoration of roads, seismic lines and other linear disturbances to help limit human and predator access into habitat of threatened herds. Click here to learn more about the projects we’re funding this year and here to subscribe to our newsletter (select “Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund grants”) for more information.

Wed, 22 Mar 2023
Tags: Caribou / News / Wildlife

Additions to our Caribou Program

As our Caribou Program expands, we have added two new roles to support growth and initiatives.

First, we are happy to welcome Jack Olson, Indigenous Inclusion Coordinator!

“My name is Jack Olson and I live in Kelowna. My original homeland territory is the Norway House Kino Sipi Cree Nation which is in the central region of Manitoba. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg with an Indigenous Studies major, along with an Indigenous Community Counseling Certificate from the University of Manitoba. My work experience includes several roles within Indigenous communities as education counselor, social worker, and environmental consultant. As I learn and familiarize myself with my role as Indigenous Inclusion Coordinator with HCTF, I’m grateful to be working closely with a dedicated group of professionals.

During the summer I like to spend weekends fishing and camping with family and friends. Although I do not engage in the sport of hunting waterfowl as when I lived in Norway House some years ago, I respect and support the choice of those who engage in and enjoy these time-honored outdoor activities.

Ekosani, Meegwetch … All my relations!”

Secondly, we are excited to have Lisa Wielinga join our Caribou Program! Lisa moves from HCTF Grants Officer to Caribou Program Officer and will be supporting Sophia and Jack on a number of initiatives and exciting plans for the program. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria, with a double major in Environmental Studies and Anthropology, as well as a Project Management Certificate from Mount Royal University. Her background includes experience within government, consulting, and non-profit organizations where she provided environmental outreach and project management support. Lisa is excited about this opportunity to support the conservation of caribou in British Columbia.

 

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.