Ecosystem Enhancement Program

The Trust will identify project opportunities focused on ecosystem enhancement, restoration and conservation by seeking input from community groups, First Nations representatives and government experts, and reviewing regional plans and research.

The Trust’s Program Advisory Committee will evaluate project opportunities and provide recommendations to the Trust, and the Trust will select projects for implementation.

Over the course of five years, the program aims to implement approximately 10 to 15 projects across the Basin, focusing on two or more sub-regions during each year of the program. The Trust is currently identifying ecological priorities and corresponding project opportunities in the Rocky Mountain Trench and Kootenay Lake areas.

If you have a suggestion about ecological priorities you would like to see the program address, send your suggestion to ecosystems@cbt.org.

Projects are anticipated to focus on a variety of ecosystems such as wetlands, fish habitat, forests and grasslands.

The program is focused on initiating and/or supporting implementation of large-scale projects that will have a meaningful and measurable impact on improving ecosystem health and biodiversity in the Basin, and that Basin residents and experts would like to see the Trust commission.

If you have a project in mind that your organization would like to carry out, consider applying to our Environment Grants program and/or other organizations that offer ecosystem project funding. This program is looking for input on ecosystem priorities that Basin residents want the Trust to commission.

The Trust will only seek to initiative and/or support projects on lands where the land owner and/or land manager wants the project to take place. In these cases, the Trust will collaborate with the land owner or land manager through all phases of project implementation.

Proponents can propose a phased multi-year approach to project implementation if that is the best method for implementing a project.

Yes, the program will include support for monitoring and maintenance where necessary to ensure projects achieve desired outcomes for ecosystems.

Yes. The program primarily uses an ecosystem lens to identify opportunities for supporting ecosystem health in the Basin; however, projects will only be implemented on lands where the land manager or property owner wants the project to take place and where there will be a significant benefit to ecosystem health.

Basin residents or organizations that want to implement their own projects to improve ecosystem health (e.g., fish and wildlife habitat) are invited to apply to the Trust’s Environment Grants program. Learn more about this program at Environment Grants.

Other organizations also offer funding for ecosystem projects including the BC Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund and the Kootenay Lake Local Conservation Fund.

The Trust supports environmental education through our Environmental Education initiatives and Environment Grants program. This program is focused on implementing on-the-ground projects that help maintain and improve ecological health and species in a variety of ecosystems, such as wetlands, fish habitat, forests and grasslands.