Columbia Lake East Side
June 25, 2022 was a good day.
It was a day that children, elders, Ktunaxa citizens and KNC staff gathered to share and listen to stories, thoughts and feelings about Columbia Lake East Side.
This Call to Gather was a part of the Columbia Lake East Side stewardship planning work.
The east side of Columbia Lake overlooks the headwaters of the Columbia River, and its landforms are rooted in the Ktunaxa Creation Story.
It is a place to harvest plants, medicines and animals and has trails that connect to other parts of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa and the prairies.
The landscape is excellent winter range for Bighorn sheep, elk and deer, and provides habitat for several species at risk. It is part of important north-south and east-west wildlife corridors that connect the Purcell and Rocky Mountains and support wide-ranging carnivores such as Grizzly Bear.
Located along the Pacific Flyway, the Columbia Lake Wetlands and the wetland complex extending to the north provide important nesting and rearing habitat for waterfowl and migratory birds.
Today, recreational use, residential and resort development, forest in-growth and climate change are all impacting the cultural and ecological values on this landscape.
A patchwork of management regimes are currently in place on the east side, including Columbia Lake Provincial Park, the East Side Columbia Lake Wildlife Management Area, Nature Conservancy of Canada and Nature Trust of BC holdings, and Local Governments.
A Ktunaxa stewardship plan for Columbia Lake East Side
is meant to look beyond jurisdictional boundaries,
to present Ktunaxa stewardship interests and
express Ktunaxa stewardship authority.
Part of the conversation on June 25 was about "8200 Bighorn Lane," the residential-zoned property purchased by KNC (with a standing offer to purchase for ʔakisq̓nuk) in order to protect the pictographs accessed from this site.
Some ideas shared by attendees were to purchase more land around the pictographs in the near term, and to install interpretive material on the site.
More conversations are needed in order to develop options for consideration.
After some stories and sharing at the pictographs, the group moved to the north end of Columbia Lake, where we accessed the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Lot 48 property.
After lunch beside Lansdowne Creek, many people made the hike to another set of pictographs.
During the hike Lillian Rose found an arrowhead sitting right on the trail surface!
Several mountain bikes crossed our path, which led to conversations about the current uses and impacts of the uses on the Columbia Lake East Side.
Upon returning to camp, conversations about what needs to be done to take care of Columbia Lake East side continued.
The day ended with a presentation by Cisco, sharing her enthusiasm and knowledge of archaeology with the group.
Many more conversations with Ktunaxa ʔakⱡmaknik need to occur before drafting a stewardship plan for Columbia Lake East Side.
Our hope is to continue to have these conversations on the land and in a way that is informative, fun and meaningful.
Future engagement opportunities could dive deeper on topics such as trails and recreation, the role of fire in this ecosystem, wildlife and how this area connects to the broader landscape.
Stay tuned for an upcoming video being produced to share some of the conversations and knowledge about the Columbia Lake East Side.
