Free 1 Hour Virtual Workshop! Thurs, Feb 5 at 12pm PST

In partnership with the Columbia Mountains Institute of Applied Ecology (CMI), Kootenay Conservation Program (KCP) presents their Annual Winter Webinar Series on the theme of Lessons for the next chapter of Restoration & Stewardship in the Columbia Basin.

Join forester, Randy Harris, as he outlines how grassland and fire resilience science aligns with traditional First Nation land stewardship activities and how learnings from this local initiative are being disseminated province-wide. Randy will discuss this work in the context of the Rocky Mountain Trench Ecosystem Restoration program which was created in 1995 as part of the Kootenay Boundary Higher Level Plan as a partial solution to a thirty-year conflict over a forage/grass shortage in the Trench. Ecosystem Restoration (ER) is the process of directing a damaged ecosystem back to a state of health.

Facilitator

• Randy Harris is a Registered Professional Forester based in Cranbrook. He has a Diploma in Fish and Wildlife Management from BCIT and a bachelor’s degree in forestry from University of Alberta. For 32 years, Randy worked for BC’s Ministry of Forests and also served 6 years as a Habitat Biologist for BC’s Ministry of Environment. Randy spent the last decade of his government career as the Team Leader of the Ecosystem Restoration (ER) program in the Rocky Mountain Trench Randy is now working as a forestry consultant for local First Nations, The First Nations Emergency Services Society, the Trench Society and Provincial ER program assisting with planning, prescriptions, vegetation monitoring, post burn evaluations and curating an online library on Ecosystem Restoration topics.

This year’s webinar series is designed to honour the legacy and capture the extensive knowledge of senior restoration and stewardship professionals in the Columbia Basin. As many of these experts approach retirement, this series provides a timely platform for intergenerational knowledge exchange—ensuring that decades of applied research, field experience, and collaborative learning are effectively transferred to the next generation. Presenters will reflect on key lessons from their careers in ecological restoration, land stewardship, and ecosystem monitoring, emphasizing important insights that can and should inform future restoration efforts.

As we explore these stories, we recognize and honour Indigenous peoples as the original and enduring stewards of these lands, and reflect on how Indigenous values, knowledge, and practices can be meaningfully integrated into current and future restoration planning and implementation. By fostering this continuity, the series supports the long-term resilience of conservation efforts in the Kootenays—a region of exceptional biodiversity increasingly affected by climate change and human disturbance

Register Here

Randy Harris, RPF, Rocky Mountain Trench Ecosystem Restoration Program