British Columbia Conservation Foundation’s Board of Directors announced five successful recipients for the Community Conservation Fund totaling $25,000.
A diverse range of applications were submitted from across the province, encompassing initiatives focused on community-based environmental education, collaboration, and habitat conservation . The Community Conservation Fund Committee evaluates proposals based on alignment with the BC Conservation Foundation’s mission to support community-based conservation efforts, addressing key needs or knowledge gaps, organizational capacity, and innovation. Collaboration with other groups, particularly with Indigenous communities, and the project’s long-term impact are also important.
Successful proposals include the following:
1. Community Lichen Collection and Education Events for Caribou Recovery – Arrow Lakes Caribou Society
The lichen collection and education events project supports recovery of the Central Selkirk Caribou herd. They are working to recover the herd of southern mountain woodland caribou via the Central Selkirk Caribou Maternity Pen project. The maternity pen project is aimed at increasing calf survival and sustaining the herd population.
Tree lichen is collected, dried, and stored until March when caribou are brought into the pen. 300 kg of dried lichen is needed to transition the caribou to a specialized pellet diet during the penning season (March – July annually).
Lichen collection is done by volunteers and Arrow Lakes Caribou Society members and contractors. They host community lichen collection events to educate the general public about caribou recovery efforts, and the importance of immediate recovery action. They host school lichen collection field trips to teach and engage student groups about caribou recovery in BC.
Award – $5,000
2. Got Bats? BC Community Bat Program – British Columbia Conservation Foundation
“Got Bats?” is a network of community bat projects across BC that promotes bat conservation through (1) education and outreach to raise awareness of threats to bats and to recruit local bat stewards, (2) detection, protection and monitoring of bat roosts, (3) province-wide Citizen Science involvement to engage the public and detect population declines due to White-nose Syndrome and other threats, and (4) enhancement of habitat including installation of bat boxes.
Implemented by local, established stewardship organizations with direct landowner contacts, the importance of this initiative has been widely recognized by the BC Government and BC Bat Action Team, and support for the program is a high priority action item in the current BC Bat Action Plan.
Award – $5,000
3. Dart Creek Ecosystem Restoration Prescribed Fire Project – Golden District Rod and Gun Club
The Golden District Rod and Gun Club is proposing to reintroduce fire into dry ingrown habitats. The prescribed fire for ecosystem restoration and habitat enhancement would cover approximately 600 ha encompassing important habitats for rocky mountain bighorn sheep, mule deer, and mountain goats.
The intent of restoring conifer-encroached habitats is to increase forage availability and sightlines with larger goals of attracting ungulates (particularly sheep) to the treatment area, away from the habitat currently being used along the TransCanada Highway corridor. This will in turn aim to minimize losses from highway collisions and promote habitat connectivity between winter ranges and traditionally used summer habitats.
In addition to creating wildlife habitat, this project will support community security by reducing wildfire risk within the Wildfire Urban Interface (WUI) around Golden.
Award – $5,000
4. Wagg Creek Water Quality Improvement Project – North Shore Streamkeepers Society
Addressing non-point pollution is critical for urban salmon conservation. The funds will be used for laboratory testing phase of a community-based water quality project to inform restoration and water quality remediation. Wagg Creek has good cutthroat and coho salmon habitat. Yet it may receive the North Shore’s most concentrated urban runoff due to intense densification. As a major tributary of Mosquito Creek, a salmon rearing/migration corridor to which salmonids are returning in large numbers, Wagg’s toxicity has profound downstream impacts.
Since August 2024, the organisation has been monitoring Wagg’s stormwater outfalls to prioritize catchment(s) with the highest potential pollutant loading, but characterizing pollutants is essential to implement remediation. 15 local volunteers are engaged, and they are leveraging industry expertise.
Award – $5,000
5. Tsilhqot’in National Government Small Mammals Program – Tsilhqot’in National Government
The Tsilhqot’in National Government Small Mammal Program is commencing with the pilot year of small mammal surveying in three different areas of the Chilcotin to begin collecting baseline information regarding current species presence and distribution. This pilot year will help to inform any expansion of the surveys for long-term monitoring across various habitats and habitat management methodologies including logging, habitat enhancement projects, access management restoration projects, and changes over time.
Small mammals are a significant part of the nature habitat yet are largely ignored. This program will start looking at small mammals to feed Chilcotin specific information into a number of planning processes that are commencing in the area ranging from forestry planning to non-game animal management planning. Without current information on small mammals their ability to properly and adequately manage habitats for both these species and their predators will be limited.
Award – $5,000
Media Contact:
David Hendrickson
Executive Director
604-576-1433 x 315
dhendrickson@bccf.com
About us: The BC Conservation Foundation promotes thriving fish and wildlife populations through education, collaboration and habitat conservation. We do this by managing projects and initiatives on behalf of key stakeholders and running our own signature programs, such as the Community Conservation Fund. For more information, please visit www.bccf.com.