The nature conservancy canada (NCC) will complete perpetual securement and ongoing management of high-quality habitat in the cijv and pbhjv for priority waterfowl and priority non-waterfowl.securement…

This federal Project Grant award of $1,654,154.00 was provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service under the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.623) program. The grant recipient, The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), will use the funding to permanently secure and manage high-quality wetland and upland habitats in the Canadian Intermountain Joint Venture (CIJV) and Prairie Habitat Joint Venture (PBHJV) regions. Specifically, NCC will acquire approximately 209.4 acres of land, including 19.4 acres of wetlands and 190 acres of associated uplands, to protect priority waterfowl and non-waterfowl habitat. Additionally, NCC will manage over 46,222 acres of previously secured wetland and upland habitats across the CIJV and PBHJV to sustain healthy and viable ecosystems for migratory birds and other wildlife. The grant period runs from December 13, 2024 to November 30, 2027.

The nature conservancy canada (NCC) will complete perpetual securement and ongoing management of high-quality habitat in the cijv and pbhjv for priority waterfowl and priority non-waterfowl.securement activities will target wetland habitat proposed by the pbhjv and cijv technical teams as regionally significant waterfowl areas. Two securement projects in the cijv are anticipated to be secured with this grant, totaling 209.4 acres. NCC anticipates securing 159 nawca-eligible acres located within a regionally significant wetland area in the heritage grasslands natural area. This includes 5 acres of high-value freshwater wetlands and 154 acres of associated uplands, supporting associated feeding, breeding, and nesting habitat for a variety of priority waterfowl such as american wigeon, barrows goldeneye, and bufflehead. NCC also anticipates securing 50.4 acres located within the fraser west natural area, adjacent to nccs gates creek conservation area (secured under the nawca 2020-2 grant). This includes 14.4 acres of wetlands and 36 acres of associated uplands, protecting important wetland and riparian habitat from agricultural conversion. These lands support priority waterfowl species including mallard, barrows goldeneye, and bufflehead, as well as several priority non-waterfowl species such as short-eared OWL, common nighthawk, olive-sided flycatcher, bank swallow, and barn swallow. This project also protects a critical valley bottom corridor that provides linkage habitat for a threatened population of grizzly bear in an area otherwise devoid of ecological protection.management activities will focus on sustaining the health and viability of wetlands and wetland-associated upland habitat across NCC projects secured under this and prior nawca grants. These ongoing activities are vital to the breeding, feeding and nesting success of waterfowl and wetland-associated migratory birds and other wetland-associated species. In the cijv and pbhjv over 46,222 acres, secured under prior nawca agreements, will be managed to ensure high quality wetland habitats are maintained.nccs proposed work is guided by the planning processes and joint priorities of nccs joint venture partners as well as by nccs internal natural area conservation plans (nacps). NCC works closely with joint venture (JV) partners and sits on both the joint venture board and 2024-2 nature conservancy of canada british columbia wetland-associated migratory bird habitat conservation technical team. This collaborative effort ensures priority wetland and riparian actions are implemented and tracked at a landscape scale.