An impact update for our wonderful supporters... click to go to the updates that interest you:
Caring people like you make everything we do possible. You advance our advocacy work, you empower our work with Indigenous allies, you help us restore wild places... you help us act every day on the understanding we are one with nature.
Time for an update on what has been achieved and what we plan for the future. Our documentary film Snk'mip Dig Deeper (made in collaboration with our Indigenous partner the Autonomous Sinixt) was launched to great acclaim with a dozen community screenings held in towns and cities in Sinixt territory (the Columbia Basin region of British Columbia).
While that endeavour has certainly been the most time-and-resource consuming project the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology has tackled this year, there are other projects we also want to tell you about. We've made some exciting findings at the Snk'mip Marsh Sanctuary, we've made conservation gains at our nature sanctuary in the Chilcotin region, our chairperson published a best-selling book, and we had one disappointing setback... read on to learn more.
And yes, it's that time of year again, the one time per year when we ask you to become a monthly donor to support our work or to make a one-time gift.
Protecting Jaŝ (Chinook Salmon) at our Chilcotin sanctuary
The Valhalla Foundation for Ecology stewards a large nature sanctuary in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia, a vital conservation property for the protection of spawning salmon (as well as wild horses, grizzly bears, cougars, and other apex predators). The Chinook salmon that spawn at our nature sanctuary travel an astounding 800 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean and up the Fraser River watershed and its tributary rivers, to end their life's journey in Elkin creek.
Pacific salmon are anadromous, which means they start their lives in fresh water (streams, lakes, rivers, etc.), migrate to the ocean, then return home to spawn and die. Adult spawners often journey for hundreds of miles to return to the waters their parents spawned in and where they themselves were born. If they make it back, evading all sorts of obstacles—predation, competition, environmental impediments -- the males and females court and ultimately breed. At the crucial moment, the male releases his sperm and the female releases her eggs at precisely the same time. This miracle of nature is what happens in the precious spawning gravels (redds) along Elkin Creek, which runs through our nature sanctuary.
Globally, wild salmon face the rapid pressures of climate change, warming waters, and unpredictable flows due to drought and landslides (a huge landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River this fall definitely affected salmon returns). Highly contagious diseases spread by non-native salmon species that are kept in open net-pen salmon farms along the BC coastline are also a serious threat to wild salmon, as is run-off from agriculture, logging that silts and destroys streams, mining that releases toxic waste into watercourses, and urban development due to toxic runoff and habitat loss.
To protect the amazing resource of salmon -- one that has sustained Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial -- the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology has protected Elkin creek by fencing it in order to keep free-ranging cattle from trammeling the 'redds', the gravel beds where the salmon spawn. Keeping these wooden fences maintained and functional is one of our stewardship challenges in such a remote location, a challenge that requires volunteers to visit the property regularly to do fence maintenance and monitor salmon abundance. In addition to the redds, the 100 acres of wetlands we steward are significant juvenile salmon rearing habitat, very important for the salmon lifecycle before they migrate back downriver and out to sea.
With a view to the future, the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology is looking to collaborate in the management of this nature sanctuary with the local First People, the Xeni Gwet'in. This is complicated given the rules and restrictions imposed on us by the federal government (as a Canadian Registered Charity) but we continue to work with Xeni elders and leadership to find a way forward.
Ecological restoration enhances Snk'mip marsh
Snk’mip marsh is a hot-spot for biodiversity, home to many threatened and endangered species of amphibians, reptiles and mammals, and to more than 100 (some 124* at last count!) species of birds.
In 2024 our restoration focus was on the removal of invasive plant species and replanting with native species. Volunteers and contractors put in more than 220 hours of difficult work in very hot spring/summer/fall conditions to hand-pull and haul out knapweed and other invasive plants (see photo below). While some land managers apply glyphosate (RoundUp) to kill knapweed, we will not use any toxic substances in the wetland — thus the laborious work of hand-pulling a mountain of knapweed, burdock and other invasive plants.
Research and monitoring work at the marsh this year included installing trail cameras to monitor the activities of threatened species such as the Western Painted Turtle, a threatened reptile we are focusing on as a potential target for habitat restoration, including enhancement of turtle breeding and basking habitats, all of which will depend on the results of our monitoring study.
Following the 2022 discovery of the Blue-listed (threatened) Coeur d'Alene Salamander — a species not previously known to inhabit this area — an assessment of the entire Snk'mip Marsh Sanctuary property was completed this year to identify other potential salamander habitat areas.
Biologist Amber Peters, with the help of field technicians Cody Peters and Ohshinnah Kayle, identified a large hibernaculum (a winter hibernating area) with a significant population of Coeur d'Alene Salamanders inhabiting it. Clearly they’ve been there a long time without human notice until our monitoring efforts identified them, part of our ongoing restoration and stewardship work.
Coeur d'Alene Salamanders are a type of lungless salamander that lay their eggs in terrestrial habitats. Figuring out how this sensitive species uses Snk'mip marsh will help us protect their summer and winter habitats from human, and invasive plant, disturbance.
In addition to a focus on these at-risk species, we have continued to monitor wildlife activity throughout the sanctuary using trail cameras to capture the activities of these elusive creatures.
We've also monitored the progression of ecological improvement at the marsh following our restoration work. This includes monitoring tree swallow nest-boxes, natural revegetation, and amphibian use of installed liner-ponds.
As well, we've partnered with Wildlife Conservation Canada to enhance and monitor bat use at the sanctuary following the installation of four special roost structures to shelter bats. Each month biologist Amber Peters collects bat guano which will be analyzed to identify the specific bat species using the structures. For more information on the bat-habitat enhancement project, click here.
The information gleaned from all of our ‘eyes and boots on the ground’ will continue to guide our long-term stewardship activities at the marsh. Next year we hope to add more habitat-enhancement features and we're investigating becoming part of a pollinator pathways program to benefit butterflies, pollinators such as bees, and other insects.
[* If you would like a copy of our Snk'mip marsh bird list, send us a message using the Contact form on this website and we'll be happy to send it to you.]
A film to change hearts and minds: Snk'mip Dig Deeper
Film is an influential medium that transcends barriers and fosters empathy. That's the hoped-for outcome as we release our 71-minute documentary film, Snk'mip Dig Deeper. Filmed throughout seven years of restoration work, with an uplifting message and stunning visuals, our hope is the film will empower others to do similar conservation work. The film also demonstrates how we must heal our human relationships
with the land and transcend the 'dominator culture' values that have damaged our precious planet and now, with the global climate crisis and biodiversity collapse, threaten our human existence as well as that of every living thing on earth.
A key to healing human relationships is acknowledging the truth of what has been done to Indigenous Peoples: the attempted genocides that colonial cultures justified with a 'dominator-culture' worldview. With the truth out in the open, we must also work toward reconciliation for the harms of the past. Snk'mip Dig Deeper demonstrates this through our learning journey while restoring the marsh -- including the stunning discovery that it was an ancient Sinixt village site.
For more on the film and, of particular importance the perspective of our Indigenous partner, Autonomous Sinixt matriarch Marilyn James, please click here to go to the film website. And click here to see our gorgeous film trailer: https://vimeo.com/990743640
One standout feature of the film is how it documents the involvement of the local community. Many volunteers and contractors are included, demonstrating what a true community collaboration the marsh restoration was. Snk'mip Dig Deeper was shown to tremendous acclaim at community screenings in a dozen communities throughout Sinixt territory in the West Kootenay region of BC. Next we will be entering it into film festivals and we hope to have it available online or to have it shown by a public broadcaster. Stay tuned for upcoming viewing opportunities.
Defending a damaged conservation property
Being a land trust isn't always fun. Our responsibility includes the consistent stewardship required to properly protect our conservation properties. Sometimes that is fairly routine but this year we had to deal with a very disappointing situation when one of our properties (we call it Colleen's Beach Park in memory of noted conservationist Colleen McCrory) was illegally logged.
This is a property we've made open to the public as a community park, providing access to Slocan Lake. To see this lovely lakeshore piece of land desecrated in this manner was terribly upsetting to us and everyone who cares about nature. Thanks to eyewitness reports (after the fact, unfortunately) we know who logged it (a neighbour) but all our efforts (phone calls, written letters sent in the post, e-mails, and attempts at personal contact) to communicate with the perpetrator have been spurned. We can only conclude the perpetrator deliberately removed these beautiful, life-giving, shade-providing, old-growth trees on our property in order to open up her view of the lake.
Every tree, every bit of bush and every shrub was removed, to our shock and dismay. This is a very steep lakeside bank -- those trees and bushes were vital for its geophysical stability -- thus this action was shortsighted indeed.
The matter was reported to the RCMP and the Natural Resource Officer Service (a provincial government authority). Logging along a lake shoreline or along the bank of any waterway is against the BC government's provincial Riparian Areas Protection Regulations. But sadly laws on the books do not necessarily translate into corrective action by authorities: no action was taken by any of the agencies we complained to.
We will replant and rehabilitate this property in the spring but to do so will require funds to replace trees and native shrubs. This leaves us with the costly, time-consuming and frustrating recourse of having to launch a private lawsuit against the perpetrator to recoup our restoration costs. We are currently seeking a legal opinion on this matter; regardless we remain firm in our resolve to protect and defend the conservation properties we steward.
And let's not forget The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin
This past year saw the phenomenal success of VFE director Wayne McCrory's book, published by Harbour Publishing. It won numerous awards, the most prestigious being the University of
British Columbia's Basil Stuart-Stubbs Award for most outstanding scholastic book in BC for The Wild Horses of the Chilcotin: Their History and Future. A portion of proceeds from sales of the book were donated to the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology in recognition of our work to protect all wild things and wild habitat in the Chilcotin. Thank you Wayne!
McCrory’s book is a richly illustrated story about his intellectual and emotional journey in the country of the Xeni Gwet’in and other Tŝilhqot’in People. The book is set in the Brittany Triangle area of the Chilcotin Plateau area of British Columbia, near where the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology stewards its Jaŝ Chinook Salmon Nature Sanctuary. McCrory’s research and his many visits to the area used the VFE nature sanctuary (which includes a small cabin) as his base. As well, VFE director Sadie Parr conducted a research project there, studying wolf/wild horse interactions; her research is featured in Wayne’s book. Click here to read more about this engaging and thought-provoking book and this award.
So will you make a commitment to saving wild places for wild things?
Now that you have a sense of the great work we've been able to do this past year, our ask is simple: will you make a gift today to support the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology? We only ask once a year, unlike other organizations that bombard you with fundraising appeals year-round.
Our work proves that people coming together can make a huge difference for nature and for social justice, and you can be part of it! If our work inspires you, please support us by making your gift today... it only takes one click:
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Thank you for your loyal support, we couldn't do it without you.
From: Lorna Visser, the Board of Directors of the Valhalla Foundation for Ecology...
and all the beautiful creatures that rely on us to protect and restore their habitat -- including this terrestrial garter snake (below)(remember: sneks are frens) and this adorable little alligator lizard. [Photos by Amber Peters, taken at Snk'mip marsh.]
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