South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Program (SOSCP)

Founded: mid-1980s
Partners: The Nature Trust, Environment Canada, BC Ministry of Environment, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Nature Conservancy of Canada, The Land Conservancy and other partners.

Focus: to conserve South Okanagan and Similkameen grasslands, shrub-steppe, riparian and open pine forest habitats that are home to more than 20 rare, endangered or threatened species of plants and animals. These habitats also provide a critical corridor for the migratory species that move between the Great Basin desert of the western United States and the dry interior of British Columbia.

Background: this initiative followed earlier partnership-based efforts to protect the grasslands of the South Okanagan led by The Nature Trust that began in the 1970s. In the early years of The Nature Trust’s effort to secure land in the South Okanagan, the Board of Directors recognized the importance of shifting from acquisition of individual parcels to a more strategic landscape level approach to habitat conservation.

Website: www.soscp.org

Pacific Estuary Conservation Program (PECP)

Founded: 1987
Partners: The Nature Trust, Ducks Unlimited Canada, the Province of British Columbia, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and several other partners.

Focus: acquired over 1,400 hectares of key habitat along the coast of British Columbia and initiated the conservation designation of another 25,000 hectares of adjacent inter-tidal Crown lands. This program has been successful in securing funding from the United States government and other international organizations to conserve estuarine sites critical to waterfowl dependent upon the Pacific Coast flyway.

Background: estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. In British Columbia, estuaries occupy only three per cent of the coast, yet are used by over 80 per cent of all coastal wildlife, including millions of migratory waterfowl. The Pacific Estuary Conservation Program and its affiliate, the Vancouver Island Wetlands Management Program, have been instrumental in conserving and managing key areas of coastal wetland habitat required by thousands of species of plants and animals.
Award: winner of the prestigious International Ramsar Conservation Award in 1999.

Vancouver Island Conservation Land Management Program

Partners: The Nature Trust, BC Ministry of Environment, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, and Canadian Wildlife Service.

Focus: protect, manage, and rehabilitate key estuarine, wetland, coastal headlands, and riparian habitats on Vancouver Island.

Background: involves the management of over 50 conservation areas – mostly coastal wetlands and estuaries owned by The Nature Trust and managed by the BC Ministry of Environment. Projects are implemented by the program’s Vancouver Island Conservation Land Manager through planning and funding support with our program partners.

East Kootenay Conservation Program (EKCP)

Founded: November 2001
Partners: The Nature Trust and over 25 conservation partners

Focus: coordinate and facilitate habitat conservation efforts, set conservation goals and objectives, and generate support and resources to maintain this effort in the East Kootenay.

Background: since 1972, The Nature Trust and conservation partners have secured critical habitat throughout the Columbia Basin. Particular emphasis has been placed on securing areas of low elevation grasslands and pine forests that represent critical winter wildlife habitat. Significant areas of wetland habitat along the Columbia and St. Mary’s rivers have been secured to protect biodiversity and other key habitat values.

Website: www.ekcp.ca

Partnerships & Plans

The Nature Trust is involved in a number of partnerships and plans that range from provincial to international in scope. Below are some of them:

Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV)

The Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture is a partnership of government agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, universities and industry working together to ensure that the Intermountain region continues to be a landscape that supports healthy populations of birds, maintains biodiversity and fosters sustainable resource use. The CIJV is linked to national and international efforts under the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. This habitat-based conservation approach guides the CIJV in managing a landscape that can support entire communities of birds and other organisms.

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is an international action plan to conserve migratory birds throughout the continent. The goal is to return waterfowl populations to their 1970s levels by conserving wetland and upland habitat. Canada and the United States signed the Plan in 1986 in reaction to critically low numbers of waterfowl. Mexico joined in 1994. The Plan is a partnership of federal, provincial/state and municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, private companies and many individuals, all working towards achieving better wetland habitat for the benefit of migratory birds, other wetland-associated species and people. The Plan's unique combination of biology, landscape conservation and partnerships comprise its exemplary conservation legacy. Plan projects are international in scope, but implemented at regional levels. These projects contribute to the protection of habitat and wildlife species across the North American landscape.

Pacific Coast Joint Venture (PCJV)

The Pacific Coast Joint Venture is one of thirteen Joint Ventures established under the authority of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. It brings together public and private agencies, conservation groups, development interests, and others to restore wetlands and wildlife habitat in the coastal areas of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Northern California. The goal of PCJV is to protect, restore, increase and enhance all types of wetlands, riparian habitat and associated uplands throughout the Pacific Coast region to benefit birds, fish and other wildlife. The PCJV is the first international joint venture established under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Wetland Stewardship Partnership (WSP)

The Wetland Stewardship Partnership is a multi-agency group dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and other sensitive ecosystems in British Columbia. The WSP vision is to work together in an effort to ensure that British Columbia is a province where the functions and values of wetlands and the larger watersheds of which they are a part are appreciated, conserved, restored and appropriately managed for present and future generations.

Website: bcwetlands.ca