The Squamish Environment Society is proud to announce a milestone in our work to promote biodiversity in the Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region (AHSUBR).
Our consultants, CoastRange Environmental, have delivered their final report on the Scoping Phase of our multi-year Wildlife Connectivity Project. The project will include mapping habitat connectivity networks and developing a biodiversity conservation strategy for the northern end of the AHSUBR.
From its community-based beginning, our project has developed into one that reaches across borders, jurisdictions, and disciplines. Increased attention to biodiversity and connectivity at the national and international levels has heightened interest in our project. We are excited by the possibility of developing maps that can be updated annually using satellite-based earth observation data. These maps will potentially incorporate community-level assessments of habitat core areas and connectivity pathways. This will assist with keeping our biodiversity conservation strategy current and will provide tools to assist with land use planning.
This phase has included engagement with many groups concerned with promoting biodiversity, and the relationships we are building will be critical to success.
We are now starting to plan the Connectivity Modelling and Biodiversity Conservation Strategy Development Phase, which we expect will take two years and will be the most expensive part of our project. We hope to receive some federal funding to cover about 1/3 of the costs and we now need to find the rest. If you are interested in helping with project funding, please contact us.
Visit our project web pages to find out more about the project goals, plan, and how we got here.