Current Projects

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In partnership with ʔAkisq̓nuk First Nation, 10 GPS collars will be be deployed in the Columbia Lake herd to understand seasonal movement, critical habitats, mortality, and responses to anthropogenic land-use changes.

Along with the Golden District Rod and Gun Club and the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship we are planning a collaring project focusing on the North Trench area of the East Kootenay Region. The project intends to fill data gaps including the sustainability of the population, calf recruitment, disease prevalence, population distribution, and migratory patterns.

As breeding bird specialists, we have developed a spatial analysis tool to assess habitats for risk for the incidental take of migratory birds and their nests in association with ski run development and management. We have developed informational programming to support educating field workers on the location and identification of active bird nests and the identification of Wildlife Habitat Feature inline with FRPA. 

In collaboration with the British Columbia Wildlife Federation we are collecting data on water dynamics in local wetlands, with the goal of building beaver dam analogues to mitigate drought and improve habitat for fish.

In collaboration with Ktunaxa Nation Council, we have been monitoring this herd throughout the TransCanada Highway Expansion Project to ensure their survival for the future. This project has been ongoing since 2019, with three GPS collars currently deployed on sheep and an array of remote cameras throughout their range.

Quality habitat for sheep is limited in this area due to fire suppression and increasing transportation infrastructure. This project aims to enhance existing habitat in order to promote improved forage availability and sightlines for the local bighorn herd.

In collaboration with the Golden District Rod and Gun Club, this project aims to enhance habitat to mimic historical fire regimes near the Yoho National Park boundary. Decades of fire suppression has led to heavily ingrown forests to the exclusion of wildlife. Elk and other ungulates prefer forests where fire has created heterogeneity, snow interception, and open sightlines.

Habitat connectivity is vital to maintaining healthy populations in the face of modern pressures. This project spearheaded by Kootenay Connect, Columbia Wetland Stewardship Partners, and Kootenay Conservation Program in partnership with Environment Canada seeks to conserve crucial movement corridors across the Rocky Mountain Trench.

A joint project with the North Columbia Bull trout Working Group with Trout Unlimited, population and habitat assessments were carried out in the Blaeberry, Waitabit, and Bluewater rivers.

In collaboration with Columbia Wetland Stewardship Partners and Kootenay Connect, we carried out mapping and fieldwork to protect mature cottonwood trees from beaver falling. Beavers are important for wetland and forest health, but in areas where mature nesting trees are scarce, preventing destruction of these trees is critical to nesting bird populations.

Remediation of an area formerly used as a gravel pit to restore hydrological and ecological integrity. Restoration will benefit migratory fish species, as well as create a more dynamic and resilient system.