The Kootenay Lake Partnership will host series of public open houses in August.
The open houses will be an opportunity for the public to learn about the Kootenay Lake Shoreline Guidance Document, which is the result of a comprehensive Sensitive Habitat Inventory Mapping Project that involved an inventory and assessment of ecological, archaeological and Ktunaxa cultural values along the shoreline of Kootenay Lake.
The project began in 2012 as an initiative of the Kootenay Lake Partnership, a multi-agency partnership brought together to support collaborative management approaches for a productive and healthy Kootenay Lake ecosystem.
The Shoreline Guidance Document directs shoreline development activities such as docks, retaining walls, mooring buoys, or dredging activities in an effort to protect high value shoreline habitats.
The intent of the document is to allow common, low-risk shoreline activities to proceed with minimal regulatory oversight. Where risks are higher, specific requirements would be needed to protect and restore important fish and wildlife habitats, and archaeological and Ktunaxa Nation cultural values.
The Shoreline Guidance Docu-ment is intended to achieve key goals such as helping assist in the recovery of fish habitat values lost to past development impacts, and the on-going protection archaeologically significant areas.
The Kootenay Lake Partnership believes that is it possible and desirable to manage our watersheds and their natural surroundings in a sustainable manner and that sustainable management is the shared responsibility of all stakeholders, including proponents, professionals, all levels of government and community members.
The open houses will take place from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with a presentation beginning at 7:00 pm.
• Boswell Hall
12374 Boswell Rd., Boswell, BC
Wednesday, August 2
6:30pm to 8:30pm
• North Shore Hall
675 Whitmore Rd., Nelson, BC
Tuesday, August 8
6:30pm to 8:30pm
• St. Andrew’s United Church
500 Fourth Street, Kaslo, BC
Tuesday, August 156:30pm to 8:30pm
Participants in the Kootenay Lake Partnership include the Regional District of Central Kootenay, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Interior Health Authority, Yakan Nukiy (Lower Kootenay Band), Ktunaxa Lands and Resource Council, Canadian Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission, City of Nelson, and the Village of Kaslo.
