What’s the Future of Grasslands and Rangelands in the East Kootenay?
- Start Date: October 16, 2025
- End Date: October 18, 2025
- City: Kimberley BC
- Venue: Kimberley Conference Centre and various field sites
- Proceedings and recommendations summary posted below
Event description:
In the East Kootenay region of southeastern BC, there are about 46,415 ha of grasslands that occupy the valley bottom, benches and steep, south-facing slopes above the main rivers and some of their tributaries.[i], [ii] Grasslands – land dominated by a variety native grass species where tree cover is low to absent – also include other grass-like plants, forbs, shrubs, and open forest. They stretch from the Canada/United States border, an area known as Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it (Tobacco Plains) north to Radium.[iii] The majority (63%) of the grasslands in the East Kootenay are on provincial public land. Of these, almost 90% are under a grazing tenure.[iv] These areas are often referred to as rangelands – uncultivated lands that support grazing and habitat for hundreds of species of native wildlife and plant communities.[v] In addition to a broad array of ecosystem services and culturally significant relationships with native plant and wildlife communities, these habitats provide grazing for domestic livestock.
Humans have evolved in connection with grasslands and rangelands. Healthy grasslands are tied to Indigenous food sovereignty and food security which is particularly relevant to hunting, harvesting, ranching and farming. However, these grassland environments are threatened worldwide, with the loss of an estimated 50% of rangelands in the East Kootenay region since the 1950s.[vi] Grassland ecosystems also sequester large amounts of carbon, yet are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
In Oct 2025 we gathered in Kimberley BC for a series of carefully considered discussions that built upon one another over three days. This event explored key intersections and related implications of changing range and grasslands in the East Kootenay for wildlife and livestock forage, vulnerable grassland-dependent species, Indigenous and regional food security, wildfire risk reduction, and invasive species. It was (and still is) a pivotal time for the future of range and grasslands that requires collective thinking by a multidisciplinary group of scientists, First Nations, natural resource professionals, land managers, and ranchers to discuss current land management challenges and solutions, new initiatives, knowledge gaps, and the cumulative impacts to ecosystem health. The underlying assumption guiding this event was that if you improve grassland health through restoration, protection, and stewardship, then you improve conditions for wildlife, grassland ecosystems, and communities whose cultures and livelihoods are tied to these spaces.
See here for a copy of the event agenda.
Proceedings and recommendations for the future of range and grasslands health in the East Kootenay
Our event partners and sponsors
Event partners: CMI is pleased to have worked with these agencies in hosting this event:
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers; BC Range Branch; BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship; EcoMosaic Environmental Consulting; Grasslands Conservation Council of BC; Ktunaxa Nation Council, Phyla Consulting, Shuswap Band, VAST Resource Solutions, and Zehnder Consulting.
Event sponsors: CMI is grateful to the following organizations for their financial support of this event:
Grassland & Rangeland Enhancement Program administered by the Kootenay Livestock Association, Columbia Basin Trust, Wild Sheep Society BC, Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society, VAST Resource Solutions, Keefer Ecological Services, Fortis BC, Kootenay Conservation Program, and the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Program funded through the Sustainable Agricultural Partnership.
i. Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia. 2017. British Columbia’s Grassland Regions. Kamloops, BC URL: https://bcgrasslands.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/gcc_e-book_bcs-grassland-regions.pdf
ii. Wikeem B. and S. Wikeem. 2004. The Grasslands of British Columbia. Grassland Conservation Council. Kamloops, B.C. 282 pp. + appendices. URL: https://bcgrasslands.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/bcgrasslandsfinal2004ver3.pdf
iii. Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia. 2017. British Columbia’s Grassland Regions. Kamloops, BC URL: https://bcgrasslands.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/gcc_e-book_bcs-grassland-regions.pdf
iv. Grassland Conservation Council. 2004. BC Grasslands Mapping Project: A Conservation Risk Assessment – Final Report. URL: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/documents/r54174/BCGrasslandsFinalReport_RyanHolmes_1675194232347_9B0941A112.pdf
v. Rangeland Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Springer, Cham. URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-34037-6_1
vii. Blueprint for Action (2006); Rocky Mountain Trench Ecosystem Restoration Steering Committee: http://www.trenchsociety.com/setup/content/Blueprint_for_Action_2006.pdf
IMAGE: Glen Wainman
