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2012 Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund projects announced
Nine projects will receive funding from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund in 2012.
“The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Board of Directors has approved a total of $216,194 in funding for projects this year,” explained RDEK
Columbia Valley Directors Committee Chair, Gerry Taft. “It is encouraging to see the work that has been done over the past two years with the financial assistance of the Local Conservation Fund and we are looking forward to the progress that will be made in the coming year to help protect or enhance the ecosystems and environmental values in the Valley.”
The Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund is administered by the East Kootenay Conservation Program (EKCP) on behalf of the RDEK. A Technical Review Committee, made up of a number of Columbia Valley residents, reviews the funding applications and makes recommendations to the EKCP and RDEK.
“This Local Conservation Fund is successfully providing a locally-generated source of funding that leverages other investment in our area,” says Dave Hillary, Manager of EKCP. “Now in its third year, it has established a track record of protecting the values we care about, from conserving wetlands and grasslands to protecting water quality and special places.”
This is the third full year for the program. In 2011, over $280,000 was approved for 10 projects. In 2010, a total of $83,550 was approved for eight projects.
For more information on the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund, please visit www.ekcp.ca.
Regional District of East Kootenay – Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund 2012 Approved Projects…
– Lot 48 Columbia Lake – $100,000 – Submitted by Nature Conservancy of Canada. Contribution towards the purchase of 127ha of high value land for conservation located south of Fairmont Hot Springs on the eastern shore of Columbia Lake.
– Dutch-Findlay Private Conservation Land Open Forest Restoration Project – $18,950 – Submitted by Nature Conservancy of Canada. To develop and implement a 5-year Marion Creek Benchlands Vegetation Management Plan and to complete thinning and slashing activities prior to a prescribed burn.
– Reintroducing the Northern Leopard Frog to the Upper Columbia Marshes – $15,620 – Submitted by Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners. To reintroduce the endangered Northern Leopard Frog species into historic and suitable habitat as part of a larger scale recovery effort being implemented by the Northern Leopard Frog Recovery Team (NLFRT) .
– Neighbourhood Invasive Plant Program (Columbia Valley) – $16,000 – Submitted by East Kootenay Invasive Plant Council. Inventory and map locations of invasive weeds. Help educate private landowners and increase awareness on techniques for control and provide them with technical advice, resources, equipment, and treatment services to control and eradicate invasive plants.
– Hoodoo Conservation Property Management – $33,500 – Submitted by The Nature Trust of British Columbia. To protect conservation values of this property, including sensitive soils and grasslands, by installing vehicle access measures to restrict motor vehicle access and conducting invasive plant management.
– Ecological Goods and Services Project – $4,000 – Submitted by Windermere and District Farmers Institute. Maintain, support, promote and expand the EGS project that involves fencing cattle out of a lake riparian area and providing alternate watering for livestock, which will allow farmers to maintain and enhance the natural assets they manage.
– Boulder Creek Diversion Project – $10,000 – Submitted by Toby Benches Society. Improve water quality in two lakes and three streams and increase water quantity for several wetlands to ensure long-term maintenance of biological diversity in an 1800 hectare area.
– Lake Windermere Ambassadors – Water Quality Attainment Monitoring – $10,624 – Lake Windermere Ambassadors Society. Assist the Ambassador’s Society in water quality monitoring, shoreline restoration and water stewardship outreach.
– Strategic Invasive Plant Control of Leafy Spurge – $7,500 – Submitted by East Kootenay Invasive Plant Council. Decrease the infestation of leafy spurge in the Upper Columbia Valley. Leafy spurge is one of the top 100 Worst Invasive Species in the world.
