Cattle Exclusion Fencing
Grand Forks Grasslands - Wildlife friendly fencing In 2020, the Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) purchased 144 hectares of grassland habitats just east of Grand Forks, in the Dry Interior of British Columbia. The property is within one of the smallest and rarest ecosystems in BC, the Ponderosa Pine very dry hot biogeoclimatic subzone of the Southern Okanogan Highlands ecosection. You may have seen in some of our recent posts,…
Read More
Ginty’s Wetland Restoration
In 1990, the Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) purchased Ginty’s Pond to protect the pond’s wildlife habitat and recreation values in perpetuity. Ginty’s Pond, known as Nʔaʕx̌ʷt in the syilx language, is a 6.3 hectare oxbow wetland at Cawston, B.C., within the territory of the Smelqmix people. Ron Taylor & Mark Cawston: Ginty's Pond June 1991 Ginty's Pond Cattails: Pre-Restoration, August 2022 When purchased by SILT, the pond was…
Read More
Construction of a Snake Den
The Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) had an opportunity to construct an artificial snake den recently while disposing of some broken concrete and pipe debris on the R.E.Taylor Conservation Property. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to construct an artificial snake den in the southern interior of BC, for no other reason than to potentially enhance den and security habitat for snakes and other reptiles. The site is…
Read More
Love Your Lake
The Southern Interior Land Trust (SILT) has, for over 30 years, worked in the southern interior of British Columbia to protect and preserve habitat for all living things. Natural lake shorelines, with their ribbon of native plants benefit wildlife and animal movement; protect properties from flood and erosion; and support ecological processes essential to clean, drinkable, swimmable, fishable water. Purchasing lakeshore for conservation is prohibitively expensive, so SILT is exploring…
Read More
ECO Restoration
The Southern Interior Land Trust Society has worked closely with The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to administer contracts for ecosystem restoration work throughout the Okanagan Shuswap districts. The ecosystem restoration (ER) projects have been targeted at areas within fire maintained ecosystems that have experienced ecological impacts from fire exclusion or beetle infestation. The general objectives of ER are to restore designated areas to an ecologically appropriate…
Read More
John Holdstock Scholarship
John Holdstock was treasurer for the Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Fund Society (now SILT) from its founding until his sudden death Dec. 25, 2010. He was a leader in guiding the formation and development of the ORWHFS, and was a past-president of the B.C. Wildlife Federation, as well as serving in a variety of positions in related organizations for more than 50 years. In his memory, a number of organizations…
Read More
Okanagan River Restoration
Okanagan River is recognized internationally for its value as a spawning area for salmon and trout. It is also crucial for wildlife since it is the only river in the south Okanagan - one of Canada's most biologically diverse,species rich and endangered ecosystems. In the 1950s the river was straightened and confined between dykes to control flooding and allow for agricultural and urban development. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the riparian…
Read More