Photo by Kayla Tillapaugh
Call for 2024 RDCK Local Conservation Fund projects now open.
Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP), which works in partnership with the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) to administer the RDCK Local Conservation Fund, is now accepting applications for 2024 projects.
“The RDCK Local Conservation Fund supports projects that help conserve local fish and wildlife, habitat, and other conservation values,” says Juliet Craig, KCP Program Director. “For $15 per parcel per year, landowners are helping conserve and restore areas around Kootenay Lake and in the Slocan Valley.”
The RDCK Local Conservation Fund is a tax-based service that each year provides dedicated financial support to local projects ranging from ecosystem restoration and wildlife conservation to human-wildlife conflict mitigation, water quality monitoring, and more. From 2010 to 2022, the fund disbursed 44 grants totalling $535,000, and has helped raise over four times that amount in external grants and in-kind support – a substantial return on investment. In October 2022, residents of RDCK Area H voted by referendum to join the service, expanding the service area to the Slocan Valley, and demonstrating residents’ commitment to healthy wildlife, habitat and water for now and future generations.
Applications can be submitted by non-profit organizations and Indigenous Nations for projects within RDCK Electoral Areas A, D, E and H* (*new for 2024). Community groups and individuals can partner with an eligible organization to apply. The deadline for applications is 4:30 p.m. on October 31, 2023. If you have a new project idea, it is highly recommended that you contact KCP prior to submitting an application to discuss your project idea.
In 2023, six projects successfully received RDCK LCF funding: habitat restoration for beavers along the Duncan Lardeau River floodplains by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation; expansion of Harrop Wetland Restoration by Friends of Kootenay Lake Stewardship Society; protecting Indigenous cultural values and fish and wildlife habitat on Kootenay Lake by Ktunaxa Nation Council; human-wildlife conflict mitigation through an electric fence cost-share program by Lardeau Valley Opportunity LINKS; Kootenay Lake Watershed monitoring by Living Lakes Canada; and bat habitat enhancement and roost monitoring by Wildlife Conservation Society Canada.
To learn more about the RDCK Local Conservation Fund and how to apply please visit https://kootenayconservation.ca/rdck-local-conservation-fund/. For phone or email inquiries, please contact KCP Local Conservation Fund Coordinator Kendal Benesh at 1-844-775-2722 (Ext. 203) or kendal@kootenayconservation.ca
Kootenay Conservation Program