With contributions from the provincial government totaling $175,000 the following activities were completed.
Administration: Includes book keeping, SERNbc comprehensive liability, directors, and wildfire fighting insurance, website maintenance and volunteer directors travel expenses. |
$22,000 |
Proposal development: We competitively awarded a proposal writing contract for submission to various funding envelopes on behalf of SERNbc. Funding proposals were developed as follows:
|
$15,000 |
Monitoring: Three areas monitored including 8–year post-burn monitoring in the Red Hills, North of Francoise Lake; 2-year post-burn monitoring along the Stuart River; and Whitebark Pine health monitoring and cone monitoring in the Mount Sydney Williams area. |
$21,500 |
Environment and Climate Change Canada Funds: 2016 saw significant support from ECCC. Both of our proposal submissions in January were successful resulting in funds directed towards coordinating and delivering a provincial level Whitebark pine recovery plan through cone collections, seedling planting and competition removal and a project designed to restore shallow water wetlands through planting of aspen seedlings within appropriate riparian areas. The wetlands project is funded for two years. |
$74,000 |
Threatments: Approximately 10 ha of ungulate winter range were treated in Savory Ridge to promote stand structural conditions favourable to ungulates. And, new this year, we helped support a project led by the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance to conduct in-stream rehabilitation activities in the Chilako River. |
$60,000 |
Prescriptions: We are updating a prescription in the Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICHvk2) ecosystem. The goals of the prescription are to:
|
$3,000 |
Extension: We’re supporting extension activities associated with a caribou habitat restoration program. The goal of this program is to restore terrestrial lichen populations in the area of the chase herd that was burned by the Tenakihi/Mesilinka wild fire in 2014. |
$7,000 |
Total |
$202,500 |
Prescribed Burning Operations
No prescribed burning activities were delivered this year, and, in fact, there’ve been discussions internal and external to SERNbc about the nature of our burning activities, especially in the context of a working forest with significant salvage operations either completed, planned, or currently underway. More formal discussion and planning for a potential workshop are under consideration.
Peace/Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation program
We did not deliver any projects under this program in 2016.
Provincial Government
The provincial ER program continues to be a consistent source of funds the basis of support for the SERNbc programs. We will continue to do our best to support the goals of the provincial program. Grant funding was received that will work towards building society capacity.
Regular Communications
A directors meeting and annual general meeting was held May 17, 2016 at the University of Northern British Columbia. Two directors meetings sorting out policies and budgets have been held since. A stronger-functioning board and building a better framework for delivery is intended with positive results so far.