After a successful first year of renewed flooding and returning wildlife, partners are expanding wetland restoration along the Kootenay River.

Less than a year after the first phase of restoration was completed at North Bummers Flats, water, wildlife and workers are returning to the floodplain.

In October 2025, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), in collaboration with ʔaq̓am, The Nature Trust of BC (NTBC) and the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS), began restoring 155 hectares (383 acres) of wetland habitat northeast of Cranbrook in North Bummers flats. Dikes were breached, wetlands excavated and aging infrastructure removed, reconnecting areas of the floodplain with the Kootenay River.

Then came spring: high water from snowmelt and rain moved through the new breaches as intended, spreading across the historic floodplain. Since reflooding, monitoring teams have observed swans, grebes, sandhill cranes, and numerous waterfowl, along with many other wildlife species.

Beginning in late September, Phase 2 continues to restore this area by removing and replacing additional aging infrastructure with natural infrastructure, and excavating more wetland areas, increasing connectivity to the Kootenay River and creating additional water storage and wildlife habitat.

“Last fall, we created the conditions for water to return to this landscape, and this spring we had the opportunity to observe the effects,” said Chris Bosman, NTBC (Nature Trust of British Columbia) Kootenay Conservation Land Manager.

“The floodplain is responding exactly as we intended, and we are already seeing wildlife using these restored areas. These early results are encouraging and support our approach as we move into the next phase.”

The work reflects an evolution in how the site is managed. Infrastructure built in the 1970s and 1980s created stable water levels primarily for nesting waterfowl; however, separating wetlands from natural floodplain processes contributed to habitat degradation and required increasingly costly infrastructure. Today, the team is applying decades of learning to restore a more naturally functioning system for a broader range of species.

Extensive planning for Phase 2 has included hydraulic modelling, monitoring and revegetation plans, with earthworks timed outside sensitive nesting and breeding periods.

Significant financial support for the restoration of Bummers Flats has been provided by Columbia Basin Trust, the Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Elk Valley Resources, the B.C. Watershed Security Fund, W.C. Kitchen Family Foundation, sources from NTBC and WLRS, and U.S. conservation partners, alongside in-kind contributions from project collaborators.

For safety considerations, access to the site by the public has been closed and will remain closed until early November.

Lead image: Construction at Bummers Flats in fall 2025. Further on-the-ground work is happening now.  Ducks Unlimited Canada photo

Ducks Unlimited Canada

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