Realizing a Vision for Conservation through Collaboration

It is increasingly important for local governments, Indigenous communities, and the province to have tools to better understand and monitor land changes. Land development has heavily impacted Okanagan Valley ecosystems and what remains is at risk of further fragmentation and loss.

The OCCP and Thompson-Nicola Conservation Collaborative (TNCC) are working on a multi-year research project, the goal of which is to combine Indigenous ecological/cultural knowledge and western science to identify priority conservation areas for wetlands and grasslands and establish policy for their protection.

The kłusxnitkʷ (Okanagan Lake) Responsibility Planning Initiative (OKLRPI) was developed as a syilx-led response to the large-scale loss of natural areas reported in the Okanagan Lake Foreshore Inventory and Mapping (FIM) reports from 2005, 2009 and 2016.