Ktunaxa First Nation has launched three major projects in East Kootenay to help protect the land from wildfire and restore ecosystem diversity.
Ktunaxa Nation Council and the communities of ʔaq̓am and ʔakisq̓nuk are undertaking prescribed burns to help protect against wildfire.
Two burns are planned for the ʔaq̓am area in 2026 on the community's Kootenay IR#1 lands, near the Canadian Rockies International Airport and on Crown land to the north of Cranbrook.
The community is partnering with the City of Cranbrook and B.C Wildfire Service to thin dense sections of forest to create new habitat, and remove dense woodland material on the forest floor that serves as fuel for rapidly spreading fires.
Ktunaxa Nation Council is working with the community of ʔakisq̓nuk and the Nature Conservancy of Canada on a five-year prescribed burn project for 101 hectares of land, located east of Columbia Lake.
The forest is going to be thinned to help protect nearby communities and culturally and archaeologically important sites from wildfire; and help special wildlife and plant species like Rocky Mountain big horn sheep and woodland strawberry, thrive.
The projects tie into a centuries-old Indigenous tradition known as ʔa·kinq̓uku, which makes use of regular controlled burning as fire management. Restoring this cultural practice was a big motivator to get these projects up and running.
"Our community is well acquainted with prescribed burning and the impacts of wildfire," said ʔaq̓am NasuɁkin (Chief) Cheryl Casimer. "We are committed to continuing to collaborate with partners through implementing prescribed burning to restore wildfire resiliency to our lands, protect our community and be proactive to climate change."
The Fernie Rod and Gun Club and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it are overseeing a five-year project to restore at least 250 hectares of habitat at Wigwam Flats, near Elko.
The area is a key resting and feeding ground for a variety of ungulates. Bighorn sheep rear lambs there in the spring, and elk and mule deer forage in the winter. The project plan is to plant native seed mixes to add food for these herds, and reduce tree density to improve animal sightlines to keep them safe from predators like wolves.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Nature Trust of B.C and the provincial government are lending support to the project.
"Wigwam Flats is truly a special place both for wildlife and for community members and First Nations Peoples," said club president Kevin Marasco. "The area has seen significant forest encroachment following a regime of fire suppression, and restoring and enhancing open forest and grasslands will enhance biodiversity values and wildlife habitat for critical ungulate species."
Columbia Basin Trust is supporting all three of these projects, as part of its commitment to fund eight initiatives with over $3.3 million, to restore habitats and strengthen ecosystem resilience across the region. $329,000 will be going to the ʔaq̓am prescribed burn, $405,000 to the Columbia Lake burn, and $750,000 going to Wigwam Flats.
