Brief: Provincial government provides $6.5 million to protect caribou habitat

The BC government is providing $6.5 million over three years for caribou habitat restoration in the province. The funding is administered to qualifying organizations through the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation’s Caribou Habitat Restoration Fund.

The province granted an initial $2 million to HCTF in April 2018 to implement a caribou habitat restoration program, which aims to rehabilitate habitat in areas prioritized for recovery efforts. During its first intake, HCTF provided funding to 11 projects led by First Nations, government, industry and not-for-profit societies. Revelstoke was not among the recipients of the first round of funding, however there are more opportunities available.

HCTF is currently accepting applications to fund the second round of habitat restoration projects. This intake closes Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, at 4:30 p.m. The province has already committed $47 million over three years to build a comprehensive, science-based approach to protect and preserve BC’s 54 caribou herds. This recovery program aims to restore this iconic Canadian species to a sustainable population.