Habitat Conservation Trust hands out grants to support caribou habitat

VICTORIA, B.C. – Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has approved grants to support caribou habitat in B.C. worth almost $1.1 million.

With funding from the B.C. government, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has approved seven more projects that will help restore caribou habitat in British Columbia, through the organization’s Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund.

The Province initially provided $2 million to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation in April 2018 for a caribou habitat restoration program. It then committed another $6.5 million over three years as part of a multi-year agreement with the foundation. 

The goal is to rehabilitate areas that have been prioritized for caribou recovery efforts. The Province’s support of this grant program is part of an ongoing and multi-faceted approach to caribou recovery in British Columbia.

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation will be accepting applications for caribou habitat restoration projects again in September 2020. The 2020 intake will close on Nov. 6 at 4:30 p.m. (Pacific time). Further details are available on the foundation’s website: https://hctf.ca/grants/caribou-habitat-restoration-grants/

See a list of approved projects in Northeast B.C. below.

Amoco Road Restoration (Project #7-528)

* led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society

* Northeast region (56 kilometres west of Chetwynd)

* designed to benefit the Moberly (Klinse-Za) and Scott East caribou herds by planting trees and creating barriers along a road built for oil and gas exploration

* grant of $53,150 approved for 2020-21

Kotcho Lake Restoration Area (Project #7-529)

* led by the Fort Nelson First Nation Lands Department

* Northeast region (about 80 kilometres northeast of Fort Nelson)

* designed to benefit the Snake-Sahtahneh caribou herd, by limiting predator use of legacy seismic lines (corridors cleared of vegetation for oil and gas exploration) and replanting areas to increase habitat suitability for caribou

* grant of $164,780 approved for 2020-21

Peck Creek-Upper Carbon (Project #7-543)

* led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society

* Northeast region (54 kilometres northeast of Mackenzie)

* aims to functionally and ecologically restore 14 kilometres of a road to a more natural state by planting trees and using other techniques to reduce its use by people and predators, which will benefit the Klinse-za and Scott East caribou herds

* grant of $123,865 approved for 2020-21

Doonan Creek (Project #7-544)

* led by the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society

* Northeast region (35 kilometres northeast of Mackenzie)

* aims to functionally and ecologically restore 1.6 kilometres of a road to a more natural state by planting trees and using other techniques to reduce its use by people and predators, which will benefit the Klinse-za and Scott East caribou herds

* grant of $15,164 approved for 2020-21