By Megan Jamison

Kootenay Conservation Program

Braydi Rice, a lifelong Columbia Valley resident, has been working with Shuswap Band since 2020 and stepped into the role of Territorial Stewardship Director earlier this year. As the Band’s first-ever staff biologist, she’s seen the department grow to a team of nine.

Now leading a range of stewardship projects across Shuswap Band territory, Braydi says collaboration has been key to that growth.

“Without collaboration, it’s very difficult to do our work efficiently,” she said. “We rely on partnerships, whether it’s for shared funding, technical input, or project support. It’s essential.”

That spirit of partnership is evident in her involvement with Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP), where she’s served on the Board of Directors since 2020. She says the collaboration between KCP and Shuswap Band has opened many doors.

“One big win was getting our Guardian Program off the ground,” she explained. “Funding from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund allowed us to get people out on the land and see stewardship in action. From there, we could learn from others and develop our own approach.”

Though new to her director role, Braydi says she’s settling in and excited about what’s ahead. “It’s inspiring to see all the different areas within the territory where we’re working. I’m also grateful to my predecessor, Manon Moreau, for her continued mentorship.”

From wildlife and habitat monitoring to major infrastructure projects, Braydi supports a wide range of initiatives—many of which she helped launch in her previous role.

“Our wildlife team is doing important work on species at risk, something Shuswap Band has been involved with for years,” she said. “Now, we’re managing more of those projects in-house, which shows how much our capacity has grown.”

One major focus is work with ungulates, including bighorn sheep, and the Radium Wildlife Overpass project—an effort to reduce vehicle collisions and reconnect wildlife corridors.

Braydi also plays a leadership role in fisheries work, which she’s deeply passionate about. With two senior fisheries biologists now on staf f— Scott Cope and Nate Medinski — she’s been able to focus on high-level support and strategy.

One key initiative is the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative (CRSRI), a collaboration among five governments, including three First Nations.

“The Syilx Okanagan, Secwépemc, and Ktunaxa Nations each lead different components but work together on the technical side,” she explains. “It’s amazing to be part of something so big.”

Another major project is the Upper Columbia Native Species Population Assessment and Telemetry Project. “It’s exciting to have Nate’s expertise on board. I’m really looking forward to the data that will come out of it.”

One of Braydi’s proudest accomplishments is helping bring the Fish in Schools program to East Kootenay communities. Inspired by a long-running Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) program, the initiative teaches students about salmon and their role in Indigenous culture and the local ecosystem.

“We started two years ago with Windermere Elementary and McKim Middle School in Kimberley,” she said. “It went so well that we expanded to high schools in Invermere and Golden this past year. The feedback from teachers, students, and parents has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Students work with fisheries biologists, Shuswap Band guardians, and members of the cultural department to raise salmon eggs and take part in release ceremonies. “We’re so grateful to ONA for sharing their knowledge and providing the fish,” Braydi adds.

Her personal connection to the work runs deep. As a child, she remembers visiting Abel Creek to learn about Kokanee salmon. However, her path to becoming a biologist wasn’t linear, as she began her post-secondary studies at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, planning to go into medicine. But after taking a field biology course, everything changed.

“I realized I felt better outside in nature than in a lab. It suited my mental health—and my interests—so much more. I ended up changing my whole course focus by my third year.”

She transferred to Memorial University in Newfoundland, where she found a strong sense of community and discovered more opportunities in fisheries biology. A summer internship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) back home solidified her direction.

“NCC gave me my first chance to try this kind of work, and it confirmed I’d made the right choice.”

Today, Braydi finds purpose in seeing young people engage with the land and water around them.

“I think that’s why I’m so passionate about the salmon releases and Fish in Schools—you get to watch that moment of amazement when a kid sees a salmon for the first time. That’s such a key part of Shuswap culture. The second line in our Vision is, ‘Our children are the future,’ and that really says it all.”

Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) is a partnership of over 85 organizations that work together for connected habitats and landscapes in the Kootenays that sustain biodiversity and naturally functioning resilient ecosystems that, in turn, support community well-being. Learn more at www.kootenayconservation.ca.

Lead image: Braydi Rice is Shuswap Band’s Territorial Stewardship Director. Photo submitted

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