Current Projects
Vacation Creek Elk Habitat Enhancement Project
Treatment has been completed in the majority of our Ungulate Winter Range Habitat Enhancement Project, totaling 90 hectares improved for wintering elk and deer. High quality winter range is vital for thriving ungulate populations, providing ample forage and enabling natural predator avoidance through open sight line.
Conifer encroachment is a significant threat to wild ungulate populations in the Rocky Mountain Trench, with historically open forests now ingrown after a century of fire suppression. Manual treatment activities improve spacing and create openings to mimic hitorical fire disturbance in these landscapes.
This project has been made possible through financial contributions from the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Columbia Basin Trust (Ecosystem Enhancement Program), the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia.
North Trench Elk Project
The Golden District Rod and Gun Club has partnered the Provincial Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship on a Rocky Mountain Elk (Cervus canadensis) telemetry project focusing on the metapopulation of the Northern Trench Population Management Unit (PMU) of The East Kootenay - Columbia Region. This will be the first elk collaring project in this area and will collect information on population demography and habitat use, which will ultimately contribute to the long-term persistence and conservation of this population.
The need for this project is evident and is imperative for the effective management of elk in this PMU into the future. Collecting and analyzing data on these herds at this juncture of time when land use is expanding and diversifying, is critical for future land use planning and much needed regulatory interventions to combat habitat loss and degradation. The research objectives are:
Identify seasonal ranges and movement corridors of elk in the North Trench
Identify current elk migratory patterns. Determine if they are being influenced or restricted by current land use or transportation corridors.
Determine population estimates, demographics, and recruitment.
Calculate survival and mortality rates for collared elk.
Assess Habitat Quality in high elk use polygons
This study will provide information to better manage this population. Timing and locations of elk movements and migration allow for mapping of key habitats and inform land use decisions around new development and mitigation of current human use. Information about survival rates and causes of mortality allow for informed discussions around population trend, mitigating mortality, and sustainable hunting rates and timing.
Funding for this project is provided by:
The Samuel Hanen Society for Resource Conservation
The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation
Bighorn Sheep Habitat Enhancement
High quality habitat for sheep is limited in the Kicking Horse Canyon corridor due to fire suppression and increasing transportation infrastructure. This project aims to enhance existing habitat in order to promote improved forage availability and sightlines for the local bighorn herd. Improved and expanded foraging habitat will help divert sheep away from the highway and lower the risk of road mortality.
Funding provided by:
Samuel Hanen Society for Resource Conservation
East Kootenay Wildlife Association
Ministry of Transportation and Transit
Columbia Basin Trust
Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program
