The Habitat Conservation Trust is pleased to welcome David Hogarth as our new Manager of Biology. David holds a BSc from the University of Victoria. He is a Registered Professional Biologist in BC, and was previously a Professional Biologist in Alberta. David’s background includes working with governments, non-profit and research organizations, and in consulting, with over 10 years of experience working in aquatic, marine, and terrestrial biology. He’s contributed to conservation, responsible resource management, and land stewardship, and helped design and conduct a wide variety of assessments ..read more

The results are in for the 2023 HCTF Photo Contest! This year the contest returned to 3 categories: Wildlife or Freshwater Fish, Landscapes, and Conservation Lands. We received photos from all across our beautiful province, showcasing a broad range of species and habitats. Thank you to everyone who submitted a photo, and congratulations to our winners! Category: Karen Wipond Award (Conservation Lands) More info on Conservation Lands Photographs for the Conservation Lands (Karen Wipond Award) category must have been taken within the boundaries of a provincially administered Conservation La ..read more

Saving Rare Habitats on Galiano Island – Two Major Wins for Environmental Conservation The Galiano Conservancy Association (GCA), an environmental charity founded in 1989 as one of BC’s first community-based land trusts, works to protect, steward and restore Galiano Island ecosystems by creating a network of natural areas where a healthy environment, learning and a love of nature flourish. The recent protection of Quadra Hill, an ecologically significant property on Galiano Island, marks a milestone in the region’s conservation efforts. Key partnerships developed over several years were vital ..read more

Every year HCTF invests millions into fish and wildlife projects to advance conservation in BC. However, that’s not the only way our funds are having an impact. In 2018, HCTF began a process to transition all the funds we had invested in financial markets into Responsible Investing portfolios. Responsible Investing is a practice to incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions. HCTF currently has over $35 million invested in Responsible Investing portfolios. This includes a number of endowments, as well as funds from short- and medium-term programs wh ..read more

HCTF in partnership with the First Nations-B.C. Wildlife & Habitat Conservation Forum and the Province of British Columbia’s Together for Wildlife Initiative (T4W) are proud to announce the recipients for the 2023 Together for Wildlife academic scholarships; Alexia Constantino, Harry Yiduo Zhang, Jamie Clarke, Jeffrey Naishima-Miller, Julia Bizon, Lindsay Whitehead, Megan Winand, Persia Khan, Tyler Jessen, and Westin Cryke. The Together for Wildlife scholarship is awarded annually to 10 master’s and Ph.D. candidates conducting research that will have a positive impact on stewardship, manag ..read more

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation and HCTF Education are pleased to announce this year’s Al Martin Conservation Fellowship recipients: Alessandro Freeman, Oliver Holt, and Zachary Sherker. The Al Martin Conservation Fellowship recognizes Graduate students wishing to pursue a career in fish or wildlife conservation and management in BC. The recipients receive a scholarship of $10,000 to help fund their graduate research. Named for Al Martin, a titan in the conservation community. Al had a long and illustrious career starting back in 1977 as a biologist in Penticton BC. After a decade of ..read more

In 2018 Chu Cho Environmental identified several candidate roadways for restoration within the Chase caribou herd range with input from forest licensees, caribou biologists, and Tsay Keh Dene Nation. In total, Chu Cho Environmental and Tsay Keh Dene Nation have now completed restoration work on 3 roads within the Chase caribou herd boundary since 2019. Collectively, these projects have been a part of the larger Chase Caribou Road Restoration Program (CCRRP), with the Goldway road being the most recent restoration project. Planted Seedling – Chu Cho Environmental LLP Sean Rapai of Chu Cho Env ..read more

Ongoing efforts to help two threatened bird species in B.C. will get a lift this year. The Province of B.C. has dedicated $257,000 towards two threatened bird species, the Northern Goshawk (“NOGO”) and the Marbled Murrelet (“MAMU”), to be administered by HCTF. Proposals are to be submitted through the regular Fish & Wildlife (formerly Enhancement & Restoration) Grant SurveyApply application process. They will then be evaluated according to their alignment with either the NOGO or MAMU Implementation Plans and their respective Implementation Actions – see Actions and Performance Measures ..read more

HCTF’s Community Grants (formerly PCAF) will be providing funding to 18 different projects working to complete volunteer-based conservation projects in BC. The Foundation approved $149,656 in grants this year for projects ranging from creek restoration to bat protection and monitoring. A full list of this year’s grant recipients is below. You can find out more about HCTF’s Community Grants program here. Mill (Harrop) Creek Kokanee Spawning Gravel Weir SPONSOR: WEST ARM OUTDOORS CLUB The West Arm Outdoors Club is undertaking a kokanee spawning habitat project in Mill Creek located at Harro ..read more

HCTF’s Community Grants (formerly PCAF) will be providing funding to 24 different projects working to complete volunteer-based conservation projects in BC. The Foundation approved $149,656 in grants this year for projects ranging from creek restoration to bat protection and monitoring. A full list of this year’s grant recipients is below. You can find out more about HCTF’s Community Grants program here. Mill (Harrop) Creek Kokanee Spawning Gravel Weir SPONSOR: WEST ARM OUTDOORS CLUB The West Arm Outdoors Club is undertaking a kokanee spawning habitat project in Mill Creek located at ..read more