The Columbia River Treaty renegotiation has begun, with the first substantive meetings between Canada and the US at the end of May. More than five decades after the treaty was first signed, we can finally ask ourselves: what should a modern Columbia River Treaty look like? The original treaty has only two priorities: power generation … Continued
Wildsight mourns the loss of a passionate and courageous leader of the environmental community. Juri Peepre, who passed away peacefully on May 13 at his home at the foot of the Rocky Mountains near Windermere, inspired us with his deep understanding and strategic approach to pressing environmental issues. Juri’s actions always reflected a deep humility … Continued
British Columbia has vowed to stop Kinder Morgan from building a bitumen pipeline across our province, over pollution and climate concerns. But on the other side of the province, in the Kootenays, pollution of a different kind is flowing from BC into Montana. From Teck’s five open-pit Elk Valley coal mines, selenium-contaminated water is flowing … Continued
Last Friday, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna declared an “imminent threat” to mountain caribou recovery, ordering the BC government to take immediate action to protect core mountain caribou habitat—or the federal government will step in and do it for them. Mountain caribou populations have been steadily declining since they were first listed as a threatened species … Continued
The results of the spring caribou count are in—there are only four caribou left in the South Purcells herd. This comes less than two weeks after the tragic news that there are just three animals left in the South Selkirks herd. This is a devastating loss for BC’s two southernmost remaining caribou herds and a … Continued
A newly proposed backcountry tenure for heli-skiing, heli-biking and heli-hiking stretches from the mountains just above Kootenay Lake nearly all the way to St. Mary’s Lake near Kimberley. It covers 700 square kilometres in the heart of the southern Purcells wilderness. This area is key for wildlife, linking a core population of grizzly bears in … Continued
Wildsight is mourning the tragic loss of all but three of the South Selkirks caribou herd and is again calling for immediate and full protection for all critical mountain caribou habitat in BC. “It’s devastating that we’ve nearly lost the South Selkirks caribou herd,” says John Bergenske, Wildsight’s Conservation Director, “but what’s worse is that … Continued
Clayton Lamb is a grizzly bear biologist working throughout Southern British Columbia. Lamb and his research team use genetic testing of bear hair to build maps of grizzly bear populations, tracking individual bears over years to figure out population dynamics and tease out the major ecological fact
Our Annual Report is hot off the press. Take a look and read about what we accomplished together last year with our partners, members, donors and supporters. A special thanks to each and every one of you for your commitment to wildlife, wild places and clean water. The Wildsight Team
Earlier this month, Kimberley students in Mrs Strachan-Garrel’s Grade 4/5 class at McKim Middle School put on snowshoes and went out into the snow to harvest lichen for our endangered mountain caribou. Patty Kolisnichenko, a local educator who leads EcoStewards, Wildsight’s stewardship-based education program for kids, visited the class several times to teach the students … Continued
