Thu, 1 Jul 2021
Tags: Caribou / Habitat / Indigenous led / Species-At-Risk

Project Profile: Kotcho Lake Restoration Project

Aerial photo of caribou in Kotch Lake restoration area.

The Kotcho Lake Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund project is focused on restoring legacy seismic lines in core boreal caribou habitat located in the Snake Sahtenah range. Fort Nelson First Nation (FNFN) identified this area as a high priority for restoration due to the cultural importance of the area, the value of the area for caribou and other species, and the very high density of old seismic lines, which were not recovering on their own. Restoration work is conducted in the late summer, using light machinery to access intersections of old seismic lines and transplant “donor” mounds from areas beside the seismic lines. Donor mounds are then transplanted with black spruce seedlings, and trees are felled around the transplanted sites to block the lines until the mounds can establish. By treating in the summer, FNFN believe that restored sites will more closely resemble natural sites than areas treated in the winter. Summer treatments may also prove less expensive than winter work, which is currently the industry standard for restoring these sites. FNFN’s hypothesis is that the donor mounds will quickly establish on seismic lines and accelerate ecological recovery. By treating line intersections, they anticipate seeing reduced use of the untreated areas between the intersections by wolves and other predators. Overall, FNFN hope this approach (treating in the summer; hummock transplants and tree falling; focusing on intersections; and selecting key access routes) can result in effective restoration over a large area of the landscape. Monitoring of the vegetation response, the wildlife use of treated and untreated areas, and the overall cost of the treatments in comparison to winter work is ongoing to determine treatment effectiveness. You can read the full Year 2 technical report about this project here.

Katherine and Susan monitoring restoration works

Katherine and Susan monitoring restoration works

Tree growing like a boss in a transplanted hummock.

Tree growing in a transplanted hummock.

 

Woody vascular species also appear to be growing well on the hummocks.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development for making this project possible.

Fri, 11 Jun 2021
Tags: Caribou / Habitat / Species-At-Risk

Project Profile: Adams Groundhog Road Rehabilitation and Reforestation Project

Goat Creek Road following treatment

This Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund project is designed to benefit the Groundhog caribou herd in the Upper Adams River Valley and is led by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. The project targets forest roads within, adjacent or leading to critical high elevation caribou habitat.

Forest professionals assessed and prescribed treatments on suitable roads that were no longer needed. In 2019-20, a total of 41 km of road was assessed and this led to 14.1 km of treatments being prescribed and completed in 2020. The primary treatment was road rehabilitation using an excavator to decompact the road surface, redistribute woody debris & organic material, and restore natural drainage patterns. Rehabilitation treatments prepared the sites for reforestation (tree planting) in 2021. Support and participation of First Nations was integral to the success of this project. Local First Nations supported restoration at this site and the Adams Lake Indian Band had the capacity and resources to complete all road works and provide professional oversight.

Before:

Goat Creek Road prior to restoration

Goat Creek Road prior to restoration.

 

After:

Goat Creek Road after restoration

Goat Creek Road after restoration

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development for making the Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund possible.

Wed, 14 Apr 2021

Now Accepting PCAF Grant Applications for 2021-22

Removing invasive plant species in Kamloops (photo by Neil Fletcher)

HCTF is now accepting applications for the Public Conservation Assistance Fund (PCAF)! Applications can be submitted through HCTF’s NEW online system before 4:30pm (PST) on Friday, May 14, 2021.

HCTF has launched a new Survey Apply application system this year. The overall application form is similar to previous years, but this new cloud-based system will provide significant improvements by streamlining workflow and adding automated services to increase convenience for applicants.

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 visit our PCAF FAQ to find useful tips and guidance for the new Survey Apply system. To access application resources and the link to apply, visit our PCAF Apply webpage.

Questions? Please contact Lisa Wielinga for further details.

Mon, 22 Mar 2021

60+ Conservation Projects funded through NEW Conservation Economic Stimulus Initiative

B.C.’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MOE) has allocated $10 million in funding for ecosystem and species conservation via the Conservation Economic Stimulus Initiative (CESI). As part of StrongerBC, this new program will support B.C.’s economic recovery by investing in ecosystem and species restoration projects across the province. These projects will employ British Columbians, with a focus on demographics such as young adult, women, and Indigenous People who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, by funding “shovel ready” conservation projects that will also help to protect and improve B.C.’s diverse ecosystems, wildlife, and freshwater fish species.

Conservation and restoration projects will be underway in threatened habitats, such as wetlands, grasslands, forests, rivers, and streams. On southern Vancouver Island, the Koksilah and Chemainus watersheds support large populations of steelhead and salmon species. They have significant historical and cultural values for Cowichan Tribes. However, climate change, along with water and land-use practices, are impacting salmon in the area and their habitats. The Cowichan Watershed Board will assess salmon populations, study the water levels that support salmon habitat and restore habitat along the rivers.

“The Koksilah and Chemainus river ecosystems are being threatened by climate change, which we know will have impacts on salmon and everything that depends on them for decades to come. By bringing together Indigenous knowledge of the past with scientific study of the rivers today, we can understand how to plan for these changes,” said Chief William Seymour of the Cowichan Tribes. “This is critical work for our Nations’ food and culture, but healthy salmon watersheds feed species all up and down the coast and are a benefit to the whole province.”

More than 60 projects dedicated to restoring diverse ecosystems and conserving fish, wildlife, and habitat are planned or underway throughout B.C. The projects, which are being completed through partnerships with Indigenous communities, environmental groups, universities, and local stewardship organizations, help ensure B.C.’s unique species and ecosystems stay healthy, vibrant, and resilient.

BC Government News Release CESI Preliminary Project List More Info & FAQs

Sun, 21 Feb 2021
Tags: Caribou / Indigenous led

Video: Chase Caribou Habitat Restoration Project

Caribou were once plentiful in BC, but now the majority of herds are at risk of extinction. Roads and corridors built for industrial development allow predators such as wolves easy access to the areas where caribou live. To help reduce caribou mortality, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and the Province of BC are funding projects that make it more difficult for predators to use human-made corridors by piling woody debris and creating soil mounds at key junctions leading to caribou habitat. Trees are also planted to help return these areas to a more natural state. Many of these caribou habitat restoration projects are led by First Nations, including the Caribou Flats restoration project.

Caribou Flats roadway lies within the population boundary of the Chase caribou herd, part of the Southern Mountain population of Woodland caribou. This herd is listed as threatened on Schedule 1 of the Species At Risk Act (SARA). In 2018, Chu Cho Environmental identified several forest roads within chase caribou herd range boundary which had potential for habitat restoration. These roads were identified with input from forest licensees, caribou biologists familiar with this herd, and Tsay Keh Dene Nation. In 2019, Chu Cho Environmental and Tsay Keh Dene Nation undertook habitat restoration activities to restore the roadway at Caribou Flats. A combination of functional and ecological restoration techniques were used. Functional restoration involved access control, slash rollback, and tree felling and hinging across the roadway, to make the road less-suitable for predator travel and human use. The intent of the functional restoration was to reduce predator-prey interactions on the roadway. Ecological restoration involved soil ripping and decompaction of the road surface, and tree planting. The goal of tree planting was to accelerate the return of the area to a mature forest environment.

The project was completed in summer 2020 and the team at Chu Cho Environmental put together the following video to tell the story of the restoration process and how this work is contributing to conserving caribou in BC.


You can access the report for this project here.

Wed, 20 Jan 2021
Tags: invasive mussels

Invasive Mussels Monitors Adapt to The New Normal

Robyn Hooper of CSISS - Invasive Mussel Sampling

Despite the challenges posed by the global pandemic, conservation organizations from across BC were out in full force this summer to ensure that BC’s lakes remain free of invasive mussel species.

2020 marked the third season that Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) has partnered with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) to support invasive mussel monitoring in BC’s lakes.

Although 2020 posed new and unique challenges for conservation practitioners, it has not stopped our conservation partners from carrying out important monitoring work for invasive zebra and quagga mussels (ZQM) across the province. This year, it was essential to adapt practices in the field to ensure that all the appropriate COVID-19 precautions were taken to keep both the conservation groups and the communities they were visiting safe. Despite the additional challenges, we are proud to report that nearly $150,000 in funding from the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (ENV) and the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), was provided to 12 groups across the province this year to support lake monitoring efforts as part of the provincial Invasive Mussel Defence Program.

The goal is to prevent the introduction of invasive zebra and quagga mussels (ZQM) into B.C. The program’s prevention efforts are focused on inspecting boats, monitoring lakes, educating the public and coordinating action with neighbouring jurisdictions. Invasive ZQM have been steadily moving westward across North America since the late 1980s, it is critical to identify them as early as possible so they can be controlled before they have a chance to spread throughout our waterways. Native to Eastern Europe, these invasive mussels can have a severe effect on native freshwater ecosystems, disrupting food chains, impacting fish populations, and even pose a danger to swimmers who may cut themselves of the mussel’s razor-sharp shells.

Given the threat that these invasive species pose to BC’s aquatic ecosystems, fishing recreational industries, aquatic infrastructure and other economic factors it is key that conservation groups monitor our waterways on a yearly basis. 2020 threw our conservation partners the added challenge of conducting sampling while maintaining safe COVID-19 precautions. Conservation groups such as the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society, and East Kootenay Invasive Species Council, rose to the occasion.

“Due to the global pandemic, the East Kootenay Invasive Species Council (EKISC) moved from small motorboat sampling while partnering with government staff to shoreline and/or dock sampling utilizing the in-house crew only. This increased our capacity to visit 15 waterbodies throughout June to September.” said Danny Smart, Field Operations Coordinator for the EKISC.

Other organizations such as the Lillooet Regional Invasive Species Society (LRISS) partnered with local communities and First Nations to ensure that, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, their vital monitoring activities could continue. Jacquie Rasmussen, Executive Director for LRISS reports that “LRISS works very closely with the P’egp’ig’lha-T’it’q’et community and was able to get a permit to access the lake to do our sampling this summer even when the lake was essentially “closed”. This allowed T’i’t’q’et staff monitoring gates to let us through to take our samples. We are extremely grateful for our partnerships with the St’át’imc, HCTF and ENV to make this sampling possible.”

Conservation work and invasive species monitoring is vital to maintaining the biodiversity, health and resilience of BC’s unique and varied ecosystems. It is heartening to know that despite the presence of unforeseen and significant challenges, conservation organizations are adaptable and dedicated to safeguarding BC’s natural places.

How you can help:

  • Report any suspected invasive species via the Provincial “Report Invasives BC” smartphone application (available for download from gov.bc.ca/invasive-species) and any suspected invasive zebra or quagga mussels to the Report All Poachers and Polluters hotline 1-877-952-7277.
  • Clean Drain Dry when moving gear and watercrafts from one waterbody to another. Remove all plants and mud before moving to a new water body. Properly drain all compartments, pull the drain plug and allow to dry before moving to another waterbody.

HCTF’s Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant program will continue in 2021, if you are interested in participating HCTF is accepting grant applications for the Invasive Mussel Monitoring Grant Program now until February 3rd, 2021.