The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has awarded $95,000 for a habitat enhancement project near Golden.
The Golden District Rod and Gun Club will be managing the project, which will enhance 112 hectares of ungulate winter range.
“The south-facing slopes being treated represent some of the best UWR on this landscape and are suggested to be important for the maintenance of elk populations,” says project leader Brian Gustafson.
“Improving these habitats will ensure greater access to forage throughout the year, not only for elk but other ungulate species as well.”
HCTF CEO Dan Buffett said the work includes thinning trees on the land, which will improve ground vegetation and make it easier for animals to move around.
“This type of thinning allows the trees to continue to help intercept the snow, so the different species can move between the trees.”
He said projects like this are crucial in B.C. and the foundation likes to award funds to local groups that know the area the best.
“When you look at B.C. as a whole we’re losing a lot of our population of fish and wildlife,” Buffett added.
“We are seeing a lot of our habitat fragmented and lost. Our funding is going to fund project leaders who are out on the ground doing a lot of the habitat enhancement.”
The foundation collects money from hunting, trapping, fishing and guide outfitting licences.
A number of other Kootenay projects have received funding this year.
The foundation gave $84,000 to replace aging infrastructure at the Redfish Creek Spawning Channel, $130,500 for a River Guardian presence in eight Kootenay Region watersheds including the Bull, St. Mary and Elk Rivers and $73,894 for three organizations to monitor for potential invasive mussels at 77 sites in Kootenay waterbodies.
