Conserving wildlife corridors in the face of climate change

Twelve wildlife corridors in our Columbia Region have been identified as part of the Kootenay Connect: Riparian Wildlife Corridors for Climate Change project. It aims to establish landscape-scale ecological connectivity in all three of the Columbia’s sub-regions to conserve biodiversity, integrate conservation efforts across ecosystems, and promote climate change resilience.

Since 2019, eight corridors have been analyzed and mapped, and work in 2021–2022 will focus on four more corridors: South Country-Koocanusa, the Elk River Valley, Central Selkirk’s Retallack Corridor, and the Salmo River Valley. In total, 12 corridors in the region will be completed. An extensive GIS database has been developed to map carnivores and other wildlife, species at risk, riparian ecosystems, and conservation opportunities for riparian and wetland habitat on private land. On-the-ground conservation actions have been initiated in several corridors.

More: COL-F21-W-3307