Significant Boost for Basin Ecosystems

Ecosystems around the Columbia Basin will receive a major boost thanks to a new Ecosystem Enhancement Program announced by Columbia Basin Trust. The program will run for five years with a budget of $10 million.

The goal is to help maintain and improve ecological health and native biodiversityin a variety of ecosystems, such as wetlands, fish habitat, forests and grasslands. While the Trust has otherprograms that support ecosystem health - including its Environment Grants program - this new initiativeis unique because it will carry outlarge-scale,on-the-ground projects with significantbenefits.

“The intent of this new Ecosystem Enhancement Programis to have a meaningful and measurableimpact in supporting and strengthening ecosystem health in the Basin,” said Johnny Strilaeff, Columbia Basin Trust President and Chief Executive Officer. “Based on input from Basin residents, one of our strategic priorities is to support healthy, diverse and functioning ecosystems. This program will bring benefits to fish, wildlifeand their habitatsthat endure into the future.”

The Trust will identify projects focused on enhancement, restoration and conservation by seeking input from community groups,First Nations representatives and government experts, and reviewing existing regional plans and research. Through request for proposal processes, the Trust will work with organizations to implement the selected projects over the next five years.

Learn more at ourtrust.org/ecosystems.

The Trust also helps Basin residents and groups address environmental priorities through programs like Environment Grants, the Grassland and Rangeland Enhancement Program, the Invasive Species Partnership, the Land Conservation and Stewardship Initiative, and the Upper Kootenay Ecosystem Enhancement Plan Grants. Learn more at ourtrust.org/environment.

Columbia Basin Trustsupports the ideas and efforts of the people in the Columbia Basin. To learn more about the Trust’s programs and initiatives, and how it helps deliver social, economic and environmental benefits to the Basin, visit ourtrust.org or call 1.800.505.8998.