,

Farming with Wildlife

Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society

Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society has been working with local community members for over 20 years. OSSS helps people care for important natural areas by providing information and ways to coexist with wildlife, and assisting landowners to steward natural areas on their properties while maintaining their farms, ranches, vineyards or other land uses.

Within the South Okanagan valley, two notable changes in the area over the last 30 years are the decline in cattle ranching and the boom of the wine industry. In addition, there is a trend to maximizing the economic potential of every type of land. Together, this results in more intensive and sterile-to-wildlife agriculture, which causes to wide-scale habitat loss. Edge-to-edge agriculture has become the norm and has fewer opportunities and more barriers to wildlife than traditional orchards. Farmers may be reluctant to engage in implementation of nature-based solutions that do not also benefit their bottom line. Further, time is a non-renewable resource; relevant, specific training opportunities are more effective in achieving on-the-ground outcomes for conservation.

This project is the first year of a 3-year request. Approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $20,000 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

,

nluxʷluxʷɬcwix- Lower Trout Creek Re-naturalization Stage 1, Phase II

Okanagan Nation Alliance in partnership with the Penticton Indian Band

Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) formed in 1981 as the inaugural First Nations government in the Okanagan and among other functions, works to provide technical fisheries assistance for the Nation and its eight member communities, including the Penticton Indian Band, and acting as a liaison between federal and provincial fisheries agencies and other non-government organizations.

SnPink’tn (The Penticton Indian Band) represents one of the communities of the Okanagan Nation. SnPink’tn (The Penticton Indian Band) is located on beautiful bench land comprised of three reserves. “We are Syilx who receive our strength from timixw and encompass what is good for our livelihood. We are committed to our language and the teachings of our captiklxw and respect that everyone has value and purpose to come together as one.” (taken from the PIB website).

Trout Creek is the primary water source for the District of Summerland and is the largest community watershed in the Okanagan. The lower reach of Trout Creek was channelized and diked in 1949 and then further in 1973 for flood control. Channelization has rendered the creek less than ideal for fish (especially rainbow trout and sockeye salmon) and has disconnected the creek from the floodplain and degraded riparian habitat.

The overarching goal of nluxʷluxʷɬcwix (Lower Trout) Creek Re-naturalization is to restore the natural form and function of the lower 2km, from canyon to Okanagan Lake:
– restore important functions including flood and drought attenuation, water quality improvement (via sediment capture), habitat structure and nutrient input,
– compliment slide mitigation efforts,
– increase overall habitat quality and quantity for aquatic and terrestrial species, especially salmonids and species at risk,
– use a collaborative, ecosystem-based approach guided by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and
– enhance public enjoyment of this natural area.

The project in the second year of a 3-year project that was approved by the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $100,370 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The South Okanagan Conservation Fund dollars match funding from other sources including from other private grants and foundations. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

Road Mortality of a Threatened Snake Population in the South Okanagan

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in partnership with the Province of BC

TRU is a comprehensive, learner-centred, sustainable university that serves its regional, national, and international learners and their communities through high quality and flexible education, training, research and scholarship. The principal investigator on this project will be Karl Larsen, who is professor in wildlife ecology and management in the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at Thompson Rivers University. Larsen has been conducting ecological and conservation work on small, terrestrial vertebrates for over 30 years, he has had six MSc students conduct thesis work on conservation threats facing rattlesnakes in the Okanagan, including two focusing on the White Lake situation.

Snakes and other reptiles are susceptible to being killed on roads. In fact, road mortality is one of the most significant threats facing many species at risk in the South Okanagan. Under-road tunnels (‘ecopassages’) are seen as an important solution, yet these structures are expensive and their effectiveness for many species is unknown. This is a particularly critical issue in the South Okanagan where road expansion and traffic volumes will continue as the region attracts more residents and visitors. This project will assess the response of rattlesnakes (a species at risk) 4 other at-risk reptile and amphibian species to underpassages that are currently deployed in the White Lake Basin. The project will provide recommendations for improvements for underpasses to increase their effectiveness for reducing roadkill for species that are at risk and susceptible.

This project builds on previous years of research in the White Lake Basin. This the third year of a 3-year request that was approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $29,600 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The South Okanagan Conservation Fund dollars are matching significant confirmed funding from other sources. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

Antelope-brush Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration

Osoyoos Desert Society

The Osoyoos Desert Society is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1991 to conserve the rich, biologically diverse habitats of British Columbia’s southern interior.  Through its conservation, restoration and education efforts, the Osoyoos Desert Centre strives to generate public knowledge, respect and active concern for these fragile and endangered ecosystems.

Antelope-brush ecosystems support habitat for over 42 species that are listed at risk nationally, and these ecosystems themselves are globally imperiled and at risk. In Canada, almost all of Antelope-brush plant communities occur in the Regional District Okanagan Similkameen. Over 68% of antelope-brush habitat has been destroyed by urban and agricultural development and only 13% of what remains has been formally protected.

This project will develop a conservation and restoration action plan and establish a coordinated action team for implementation. This project is the third year of a 3-year request. Approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $59,900 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

Valley Bottom Habitat Restoration at Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Osoyoos Oxbows

Nature Conservancy of Canada

NCC is Canada’s leading land conservation organization, working to protect Canada’s most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect 2.8 million acres, coast to coast with 1 million acres conserved in British Columbia since 1974. NCC has been active in the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen since 2002. Since that time, NCC has secured 4350 acres of high priority habitat by working with private landowners and has provided funding to other land trusts and the province to enable them to secure 6800 acres of high priority ecosystems.

This project increases restoration efforts on NCC’s Osoyoos Oxbows Conservation Area (OOCA), a crucial piece of South Okanagan valley bottom habitat. OOCA includes critical habitat for the federally listed Great Basin spadefoot, western tiger salamander, Great Basin gophersnake, desert nightsnake and pallid bat. Other federally listed species observed on the property include bobolink, long-billed curlew and western painted turtle.

This project is the second year of a 3-year request. Approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $27,675 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

Biodiversity Under Siege: Teaching Okanagan Students About Invasive Species

Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society (OASISS)

The Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society (OASISS) has been actively participating in prevention, detection and management of invasive plants in the Okanagan-Similkameen since 1996. OASISS addresses invasive species and their pathways of spread by prioritizing management areas and species through multi-stakeholder cooperative coordination, and is actively involved in public education and outreach initiatives and community stewardship programs that involve on-the-ground action.

In the Okanagan-Similkameen, there is a lack of educational programming for youth regarding invasive species. Most climate change and environmental related literature indicate that education is paramount as the first step in addressing environmental issues. Youth play a pivotal role in developing solutions. As such, this proposal attempts to address the problem of a lack of locally developed curriculum content around invasive species in the South Okanagan. This is of interest to local teachers, as demonstrated by feedback received by proponents at a Pro-D event held at Skaha Bluffs (Sept.27, 2021).

This project is the second year of a 2-year request. Approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $19,670 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.

Community based approach to yellow flag management and riparian restoration in Summerland

Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society

Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society has been working with local community members for over 20 years. OSSS helps people care for important natural areas by providing information and ways to coexist with wildlife, and assisting landowners to steward natural areas on their properties while maintaining their farms, ranches, vineyards or other land uses.

Yellow flag iris invades riparian areas and wetlands throughout the south Okanagan. This plant spreads through seeds, horizontal roots, and pieces of roots can break off and form new plants. The seeds float on the water in spring and fall, causing them to spread quickly, and downstream in creeks and rivers. These plants form a thick, monoculture mat that reduces biodiversity, damages wildlife habitat, causes flooding and displaces native trees and shrubs. Further, an estimated 85% of wetland and riparian areas have already been destroyed by urban and agricultural development.

Residents face many barriers to undertaking conservation action on their properties that can be boiled down to time, money, and skill. Without support, landowners are very unlikely to apply for the notifications required to manage invasive plants in their riparian areas. Further, large patches of yellow-flag iris are best controlled with benthic barrier, which requires specialized knowledge to install properly. This project also engages the community as the creek is a vector for invasive plants and as such, managing from upstream to down in a community-coordinated manner is more strategic and will have more success.

This project is the second year of a 2-year request. Approved by Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Board and $25,000 was allocated from the South Okanagan Conservation Fund in 2023. The project is expected to complete by January 31, 2024.