Columbia Valley Wetland Mapping Project: Combining digital technologies and wetland ecology

KCP acknowledges the traditional territories of the Ktunaxa, Shuswap, Sinixt, and Syilx peoples who have lived in this region and stewarded the land for many generations.

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: Thursday, February 25, 2021, 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. MT

Webinar description: In 2019, the Kootenay Connect and the Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners initiated a project to map the Columbia Valley Wetlands — a large internationally recognized RAMSAR wetland complex. The Columbia Wetlands, which encompass 180km of valley bottom from Canal Flats to north of Golden, are largely undeveloped and difficult to access and study. Using a combination of digital imagery, LiDAR, and drone technology, the entire complex was mapped and each wetland type classified using the provincial Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification system. The mapping is being used to help manage the wetlands and protect species at risk. Join Ryan Durand for a presentation on this project. Ryan Durand is an ecologist and project manager with EcoLogic Consultants. He has spent the last 20 years working throughout western Canada and the arctic on a wide range of ecosystem mapping and inventory projects, with a focus on wetlands and species-at-risk.