Wildsight

Two sites recently affected by wildfire in the East Kootenay's Southern Rockies and Purcells were replanted with thousands of endangered whitebark pine seedlings this fall thanks to ecologist Randy Moody with support from our Youth Climate Corps.

Amazing news for Fernie with the announcement that 120,000 acres of private timber lands have been secured for conservation by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Congratulations to the NCC for its leadership in ensuring these lands will be protected for generations!

fernie.com/blog/elk-val...

As the Honourable Murray Sinclair once said: “Education is what got us into this mess and education is key to getting us out of it.”

Today marks the fifth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. We take this time to remember, reflect and honour.

📸 Andy Wright

These fish completed an incredible journey down through a dozen major dams to the ocean, and then back to their ancestral waters.

For more info about the Bringing the Salmon Home Initiative: https://columbiariversalmon.ca/the-salmon-are-coming-home-historic-return-to-the-columbia-river/

"It's the least [they] can do." BC, it's time to follow through on your promises.

Comic by the talented Anneke Rosch

Shaping water stewardship in Canada Studies show that a popular East Kootenay lake now has more disturbed shoreline than natural — a situation not seen in any other surveyed lakes in British Columbia

Studies show that Lake Windermere now has more disturbed shoreline than natural — a situation not seen in any other surveyed lakes in British Columbia's (BC) Columbia Basin.

Read the full blog at: https://wildsight.ca/2025/09/16/shaping-water-stewardship/

This week is National Forest Week in Canada.
B.C. harbours some of the world's most ancient and vibrant forests — home to species not found anywhere else on the planet.

We'd love to celebrate by seeing some of your favourite forest images, or hearing about your favourite forest memories.

Thank you, Andrea, for taking action. You can send your own message for the ITR using Wildsight's online letter writing tool — craft your own, like Andrea's, or send a pre-written letter that we've drafted for you.

https://secure.wildsight.ca/ITR

We're currently raising money to keep our environmental education programs running, and a generous donor has stepped up to match every gift given until September 30, up to $5,000!

vist.ly/46zs6

📸s by Julie-Anne Davies, Jenny Rae Bateman and Bailey Repp

Old forests are the cornerstone of our forested ecosystems, and BC’s government is failing them.
This map highlights how much of the EK landscape is in a very high risk scenario, with all areas in red containing less than 10% old forests.

📸 by Bailey Repp

Excerpts shared with permission from another of the more than 900 messages that have been sent so far calling for the protection of the old and ancient forests being cut down in B.C.'s Inland Temperate Rainforest.

Send your own here: https://secure.wildsight.ca/ITR

📸 by Bailey Repp

Excerpts from a message by Spence, a Kimberley resident who spent almost a decade working in the forestry sector after graduating from Castlegar's Forestry Technologist program.

Spence's letter is one of over 900 that have been sent so far. Send your own here: https://secure.wildsight.ca/ITR

Public Consultation on the Interim Status Report of the International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board | International Joint Commission The International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board (Study Board) is inviting public comment on its draft Interim Status Report.

The International Elk-Kootenay Watershed Study Board's interim report is live and open for public comment until September 14. This report outlines the efforts made to date, and the plan for moving forward.

Provide your feedback here: vist.ly/44wuw

Wildsight renews call for emergency order as B.C. dismisses Record Ridge mine review Wildsight is resuming efforts to obtain an emergency order for the endangered mountain holly fern, after learning last week that B.C. won’t require the proposed Record Ridge mine to undergo an environ...

The controversial Record Ridge magnesium mine proposed for just outside Rossland, B.C., might not be getting an environmental review. But we're not done yet trying to protect the endangered mountain holly fern.

Read more: wildsight.ca/2025/08/27/b...

The proposed Zincton ski resort won’t get an environmental assessment. Where to from here? In late July, after almost 18 months of deliberating, the B.C. government decided to bypass an environmental assessment for a proposed new ski resort in the

Last month, B.C. decided the proposed Zincton ski resort, in the central Selkirks, wouldn't get an environmental assessment. While it's not a green light for 5,500-hectare development, it'll definitely speed things up. So what's the process from here?

Read more: vist.ly/44mxf

Our YCC crew worked with the Great Divide Trail Association to help them with a 3 year project to redirect the trail route along Mt. Erris. We cut brush, felled trees, set tread, and connected with the wonderful volunteers that care for this landscape.

Watershed Matters is a new WIldsight program, developed in collaboration with Living Lakes Canada, that's connecting high school students with the complexities of watershed management 💧

Read more: vist.ly/43dtp

📸 Jenny Rae Bateman

This year’s five-day Go Wild! trip drew 11 participants from across the Kootenays to hike in the central Purcell's Jumbo Valley near Invermere, BC.

Webinar recording: Old-growth logging & caribou in the Revelstoke area In this webinar recording, join Wildsight Conservation Specialists Eddie Petryshen & Reanne Harvey to learn about old-growth logging in B.C.'s Inland Temperate Rainforest, and what it could mean for our deep-snow caribou.

Did you miss our webinar on the old-growth logging currently happening north of Revelstoke and its impacts on caribou earlier this month? The full recording is now up on our website for your viewing pleasure!

Watch the webinar via the link below: vist.ly/3zrkp

Wetlands: Our unsung water pollution-fighting heroes In southwestern Alberta, one unassuming wetland downstream of an abandoned coal mine has been silently removing dangerous pollution for decades. Could it hold answers for British Columbia’s Elk Valley?

In southwestern Alberta, one 29-hectare wetland downstream of an abandoned coal mine has been removing dangerous pollution from the water for decades.

It begs the question: could wetlands help treat the Elk Valley's own selenium pollution problem?

📸 by Siobhan Williams

vist.ly/3zk7b

Join our team — from anywhere in Canada! We're looking for a Communications & Fundraising Technology Specialist to help us maintain and improve our database and WordPress websites, and make data-driven decisions.

https://wildsight.ca/2025/07/24/techjob/

HELP OUR LOCAL BADGERS: If you come across a badger this summer (dead or alive) report it at vist.ly/3z9s8 !

Passable culverts will be placed where badgers are most likely to be killed by vehicles, but public input is needed to determine the best places to install them in B.C.'s interior.

Little has changed at the heart of the revised project description for an expansion to Elk Valley Resources' Fording River coal mine, which is already the largest coal mine in B.C.

More details: vist.ly/3z7g7

📸s by Siobhan Williams.

Over the past month, our Youth Climate Corps West Kootnay crew has been helping out with planting and maintenance at the Monarch Way Station in Rosemont, created by the @kootenaynativeplants to support monarch butterflies on their incredible migration journey.

Wildsight's Reanne, Harvey recently witnessed old-growth logging in person for the first time, and she found it hit home on a different level. In her most recent blog, Reanne reflects on what she saw, and how, in 2025, this is still permitted to happen.

vist.ly/3yxg9

Thank you to the Sinixt Confederacy for welcoming the West Kootenay Youth Climate Corps to help strip bark for tipi poles in Kp̓iƛ̓l̓s (Castlegar). It was a day of satisfying pulls and hard work, and as always, it was a pleasure to work alongside and learn from these incredible people.

Columbia River Conversations Join us for a journey into the heart of the Columbia River watershed alongside others who care deeply about our shared future.

Step out of your routine and into an immersive learning opportunity this fall with our first-ever public field tour to explore the Columbia River watershed.
🍁 Learn. Reflect. Connect.
🗓️ Early bird registration extended to July 31
🔗 Register today: https://vist.ly/3n8x7ji
📸: David Moskowitz

The West Kootenay Youth Climate crew spent a week getting their hands dirty and their minds inspired at four incredible farms in Creston.
They got to learn from local farmers leading the way in sustainable and innovative practices, while lending support to these passionate and inspirational folks.

Our East and West Kootenay Youth Climate Corps crews had mounds of fun working together recently on a hugelkultur project for the Kimberley Community Garden.
Hugelkultur beds require less frequent watering and low maintenance efforts that avoid soil disturbance.

Tomorrow, 6-8pm MT! Join the International Joint Commission’s Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board for a webinar in which they’ll listen to public concerns about water pollution leaching into waterways from Elk Valley Resources' mines.

Register: vist.ly/3n8s5nx

📸 Alec Underwood / EcoFlight