Local Conservation Fund Service

Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund

Updated, February 2018

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KLLCF Background

  • The Local Conservation Fund Service was established in 2014 after eligible voters in Electoral Areas A, D and E went to referendum on the question as to whether or not to create the service. The referendum passed and in late 2014, the RDCK adopted the Regional District of Central Kootenay Local Conservation Fund Service Establishment Bylaw No. 2420, 2014.

  • Residents pay $15 per parcel per year in tax towards conservation

  • The fund enables the RDCK to financially support important projects that conserve valuable natural areas and restore and preserve a healthy environment. Projects that address the following local priorities are eligible for support through the fund: clean water, working family farms, habitat conservation, shoreline restoration, invasive species control, and wildlife and fish species conservation. The RDCK has partnered with the Kootenay Conservation Program in this endeavor.

 KLLCF Accomplishments

  • ~$161,000 invested from 2016 to 2018; Over $349,000 in partner dollars leveraged
  • Supported 14 projects that have focused on: restoration (grassland, creek and wetland); invasive plant management; species at risk recovery; water quality monitoring; climate conservation action and incentives for landowners

 KLLCF Benefits

  • Citizen-science water quality monitoring and osprey monitoring
  • Protected bat colonies that reduce agricultural and forestry pests
  • Recovery of species at risk (western toad)
  • Reduction of human-wildlife conflict and protection of grizzly bears
  • Increased awareness of the Shorelines Guidance Document that protects Kootenay Lake
  • Fewer invasive plants and improved forage for ungulates
  • Restoration activities in riparian areas that support bull trout and kokanee spawners
  • Functioning wetlands, creeks, and grasslands that improve water quality
  • Economic opportunities for jobs, contracts, materials and supplies

Approved Projects

(2016, 2017 & 2018)

Area

A

Area

D

Area

E

Water Quantity Monitoring Project - $40,000 to Kootenay

Centre for Forestry Alternatives to undertake water quantity

monitoring to inform land use planning decisions in preparation

for climate change. 

   
Kootenay Community Bat Project - $43,948 to Wildlife Conservation Society Canada and Kootenay Centre for Forestry Alternatives to promote and conserve the variety of bat species and their associated habitats that exist in the Kootenay Lake area.
Grizzly Bear Co-Existence Solutions - $21,080 to BC Conservation Foundation and Friends of the Lardeau River to provide a 50% cost share with residents for electric fencing equipment to protect their livestock or crops from bears.
Fish/Bear Lake Western Toad Ecology and Hwy 31A Mortality Mitigation Study - $23,500 to Valhalla Wilderness Society to substantially reduce roadkill of wester toads and help maintain a healthy toad population in the area.    
Kootenay Lake Shoreline Guidance Document Outreach - $4,000 to Kootenay Lake Partnership to direct shoreline development in a manner that will protect and restore the ecological, archaeological and cultural values of the foreshore of Kootenay Lake.
Kootenay Lake Osprey Nest Monitoring - $14,394 to Friends of Kootenay Lake to increase information on the status of breeding ospreys on Kootenay Lake and to develop a dedicated team of volunteers with the knowledge and equipment required to conduct long-term monitoring of breeding ospreys.
Darkwoods Ecosystem Restoration at Tye - $14,650 to Nature Conservancy of Canada to restore the most heavily impacted and degraded habitat at the Tye town site by implementing an integrated pest management strategy, introducing biocontrol agents to deal with invasive weed species, and planting native shrubs and trees.    

KLLCF Leadership

  • Kootenay Lake RDCK Directors and their communities seen as innovative leaders
  • Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen adopted Local Conservation Fund in 2016 based on the Columbia Valley and Kootenay Lake examples
  • KLLCF Directors have commissioned a Guidance Document for the KLLCF to identify strategic priorities for conservation in the region. No other local conservation fund has taken this type of strategic approach.

Supporting Local Land Use Goals

The projects supported by the KLLCF have worked towards many of the values and goals outlined in the land use plans for Areas A, D and E including:

  • To preserve water quality in Kootenay Lake and other identifiable lakes.
  • To encourage the maintenance of Provincially identified wildlife winter range.
  • Maintain high water quality of groundwater and surface water sources of domestic water supply.
  • Foster an awareness of the values associated with the natural environment and conserve sensitive and significant natural features and values from negative impacts as a result of development.
  • Encourage the maintenance of biodiversity, important to the biological functioning and ecological integrity of the area.
  • Conserve the natural values in recognition of their importance to the local economy, residents, visitors, as a natural amenity, and for wildlife and ecological functioning.

KLLCF Contact Information:

Juliet Craig, Program Manager, Kootenay Conservation Program

juliet@kootenayconservation.ca

250-352-2260

 

 

The content on this page was last updated March 6 2018 at 7:58 AM