Our annual intake of grant applications is now open. All completed online grant applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, October 28, 2016.

Our Columbia Region board is looking for grant applications that address one or more of these priorities: 1) stream habitat and restoration; 2) riparian and wetland restoration and conservation; and 3) projects in the North Columbia. Grant applications that address these priorities will receive bonus points when we evaluate the applications.

If you applied last year, we’ve made it easier for you: you can copy content from your previous grant application into your new one. And we’re always here to help.

Read our Grant Application Information Kit.

We have identified conservation priorities for fish and wildlife in each of our three regions: Coastal, Columbia and Peace. The priority issues and recommended actions are reflected in a series of Basin, Action and Watershed Plans that vary by region.

Our core Fisheries Program Five-Year Plan 2014-2018 details our priorities for fisheries in the Columbia Region.

These plans recommend specific projects and priorities, and are used to guide our grant decisions. We fund projects that align with these Action Plans, so be sure your proposed project is in alignment with local conservation priorities. Contact us if you have questions.

In 2016-17, the FWCP Columbia Board has approved funding for 55 projects that will help conserve and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by BC Hydro dams. Read our Columbia Region 2016-17 Project Summary and view our 2016-17 Project Overview Map.

A diversity of species-at-risk, including Northern Leopard Frogs, Lewis’s Woodpecker and caribou, and their habitats, will benefit from the projects funded by FWCP. Projects will be delivered by First Nations, non-government agencies, and others across the Columbia Region.

Some projects–such as hands-on restoration work–may result in immediate benefits to fish or wildlife. Other projects–such as research and information-gathering–may help improve the scientific understanding of species or ecosystems, and contribute to long-term decision-making and planning management actions.

A local Board made up of BC Hydro, the Province of B.C., First Nations and Public Stakeholders, guides the work of the FWCP and is responsible for approving all FWCP projects in the Columbia Region. Map of our Columbia Region.

Core or annual, ongoing projects are delivered by the Province of B.C. on behalf of the FWCP through a long-term agreement between FWCP and the Province. These projects include nutrient restoration programs, spawning channel operation, species’ recovery and ecosystem enhancement projects.

Most fish and wildlife projects in FWCP’s Columbia Region are funded through FWCP grants, but our Board may choose to direct projects and approve funding to address regional priorities.

The FWCP and Columbia Basin Trust (the Trust) partnered in 2013 to develop and implement the Upper Kootenay Ecosystem Enhancement Plan in the upper Kootenay River Watershed. The Trust provides funding, and FWCP provides and manages project delivery.