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Trust funds environmental wellbeing in valleys
Forty-nine projects were approved for funding in 2016 with a combined total of $1.07 million from Columbia Basin Trust’s Environment Grants program. The projects address one or more of the program’s four goals: Ecosystems, Climate, Water and Environmental Education.
“We know residents value a healthy environment,” said Tim Hicks, Columbia Basin Trust Manager, Water and Environment. “We are pleased to support so many worthwhile projects that will contribute to environmental well-being.”
Projects in the Columbia Valley
Canal Flats
– Columbia Lake Watershed Education Program – Develop and deliver a watershed education program for elementary school students in Canal Flats.
Columbia Valley
– Columbia Headwaters Watershed Ambassadors Project – Implement water stewardship education, citizen science monitoring, and community-based ecosystem restoration projects to support watershed health in the Columbia Headwaters region.
– Columbia Wetlands Conservation – Create a strategic framework to guide conservation efforts at the Columbia Wetlands.
– Wetlands Institute 2017: East Kootenay – Host a Wetlands Institute that will both provide local residents (from Canal Flats to Golden) with knowledge and skills to complete wetland restoration and enhancement projects, and also enhance wetland habitat at a minimum of two sites.
– Columbia Wetlands Waterbird Survey – Support citizen scientists to learn about and gather data on migratory birds at the Columbia Wetlands.
– Connecting With Nature – Connect Columbia Valley residents with their local ecosystems through an environmental education program that includes guided nature walks, wildlife workshops, and hands-on stewardship activities.
Invermere
– Storm Water Capture Pilot Project – Construct a capture area to retain storm water and enhance water quality through bio-filtration thereby reducing the amount of roadway run-off that is directed into Lake Windermere.
Lake Windermere
– The Ambassadors Video Engagement Project – Create a short educational video to promote lake and watershed stewardship and raise public awareness on the effects of upland and stream activities on Lake Windermere.
Projects in the Elk Valley
Elk Valley
– Flathead River Biomonitoring Program – Support water quality monitoring in the Flathead River valley.
– Elk River Map and Guide – Produce and share geocache sites and a map of the Elk River that promote understanding and conservation of ecological and cultural values.
– Understanding Grizzly-Human Conflicts – Work with Conservation Officers to radio collar grizzly bears and increase knowledge of grizzly bear movement, mortality rates, and causes of human-bear conflicts in the Elk Valley.
– Grassland Restoration and Enhancement – Enhance and restore grasslands at the Tobacco Plains Indian Reserve and adjoining lands.
– Alexander Creek Stream-side Restoration – Turn a 30 meter section of Alexander Creek’s deteriorated riparian zone into a functioning riparian ecosystem using bioengineering techniques and native plant vegetation. Construct an interpretive sign and kiosks.
– Elk Watershed Discovery Camp – Host an experiential summer day camp for youth aged 10-14 to teach a range of topics including water quality monitoring, assessing aquatic and riparian health, fish biology and conservation, and the skills required to become watershed stewards.
– Limber Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada – Enhance the population of the red-listed limber pine in the Mount Broadwood region near Elko to restore limber pine populations and raise public awareness of the conservation issues surrounding whitebark and limber pine.
For more information about the program and to read about the 2016 approved projects, visit ourtrust.org/eg. To learn all the ways the Trust supports environmental well-being in the Basin visit, ourtrust.org/environment.
Columbia Basin Trust supports efforts to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. To learn more about the Trust’s programs and initiatives, visit ourtrust.org or call 1-800-505-8998.
Columbia Basin Trust
