Climate Resiliency Resources
Climate Resiliency Resources
Climate Resiliency Resource categories:
Farms in the Kootenay-Boundary region are already experiencing hotter, drier summers, shifting precipitation patterns, and increased climate risk.
This page brings together practical tools, guides, and local resources to help you prepare for drought, wildfire, and flooding and protect your farm & land.
Drought & Water Conservation Wildfire Preparedness Flooding & Recovery
Drought & On-Farm Water Conservation
Drought conditions in British Columbia are typically caused by a combination of low snowpack, prolonged hot and dry weather, and delayed rainfall. In the Kootenay-Boundary region, these conditions can reduce water availability during peak growing season and place added pressure on irrigation systems, livestock operations, and soil health.
This section brings together key tools and resources to support water conservation and drought preparedness on farm.
Conditions, Policy & Monitoring
BC Ministry of Agriculture
- Drought Information: Effects of drought, water management during drought, and water conservation.
- British Columbia Drought and Water Scarcity Plan: this plan is reviewed annually to review the drought and water scarcity response plan for the province of BC.
- Water Use During Scarcity: During times of scarcity or drought, the BC government can apply a number of regulatory options, alone or in combination to protect the rights of water users, essential household needs and aquatic ecosystems.
- British Columbia Drought Information Portal: Updated and monitored annually, the British Columbia Drought Information Portal offers an interactive drought map and stream watch for the region.
Drought Preparedness & Farm Management
Practical strategies and research to help manage drought conditions on farm:
- Drought in Agriculture: Livestock management during droughts, drought impacts on soil, effective water and irrigation management
- Beef Cattle Research Council Drought Management Strategies: Find many resources from the BCRC including managing through a drought, preparation, economic factors, and more.
- Irrigation Decisions to Make with Limited Water: Factsheet
Irrigation Optimization
With less water available during peak season, it is important for producers to optimize their irrigation setups to save time and save money on the farm.
KBFA Resources
- Irrigate Better is a multi-part webinar series produced by Andrew Bennett in association with the Kootenay & Boundary Farm Advisors and the Climate & Agriculture Initiative to help farms use water more effectively to save time and money and grow more.
- Farm Water Fix is a 12-part video series designed to make irrigation concepts as clear as possible to help you tune up your systems and schedules to get the right amount of water to your crops at the right time. Filmed in 2020 and 2021 when irrigation designers Andrew Bennett and Bruce Naka toured farms across the Kootenay and Boundary region, this video series and the related 4-part webinar series, “Irrigate Better” looks for ways to save farms time, money, and grow better crops that are more resilient to extreme weather conditions.
Wildfire
The average summer temperature in the Kootenay-Boundary region is on the rise, and with it the risk of wildfire. Producers can find resources here to prepare for the changes in weather and temperature.
Wildfire Conditions & Alerts
Stay informed on active wildfire conditions and official updates:
- BC Wildfire Dashboard: View the status and location of current wildfires in the province.
- Alertable (App and Desktop) – set your region (e.g. Columbia-Shuswap A, East Kootenay A, etc.) rather than your address to receive the most accurate and current evacuation information. Users are also able to set up multiple check-in points to recieve alerts.
Wildfire Information & Preparedness Planning
Tools to help you develop a proactive wildfire plan for your farm or ranch:
- Wildfire planning & preparedness: Find resources to build a preparedness and mitigation plan for your farm.
- FireSmartBC: Resources for Farm and Ranch Wildfire Peparedness
- PreparedBCWildfire Preparedness Guide: Comprehensive guide from PreparedBC
- Emergency Management for Agriculture
- Premises ID for livestock
- Livestock Relocation
- Build an Emergency Grab-and-Go Bag
- Wildfire Evacuation Planning
- Evacuation Guidance
- Evacuation and Emergency Support
- Prepare Agriculture Operations for Wildfire
Livestock & Agricultural Response
Support systems and coordination resources during active wildfire events:
- BC Livestock Truckers’ List
- Livestock Relocation
- What to do if your farm or ranch is affected by wildfire
- EmergencyInfoBC: Dashboard
- Rancher Liaison Program: Conduit for Communication between the BC Wildfire Service and ranchers in active wildfire area.
- Gordon Burns, 250-489-9380, gordburns7@gmail.com
- BCCA Emergency Response Programs
- Range Rider Program: This program helps ranchers roundup animals on Crown rangeland affected by wildfire. Call 1-877-688-2333 or email Lisa Acres at lisa@cattlemen.bc.ca.
- Emergency Livestock Response Trailers: Proper equipment and trained personnel are available to assist during highway and traffic accidents involving livestock.
- Kootenay Livestock Association
- E: KLA@kootenaylivestock.ca, P: 250-426-4315
KBFA & Local Resources
KBFA Field Days
- KBFA Targeted Grazing Field Day: Range field day with Rangeland ecologist Amanda Miller shared findings from year one of a pilot project with the BC Cattlemen’s Association using targeted grazing to reduce fine fuels and wildfire risk in BC’s wildland/urban interface.
BC Climate Change Adaptation
- Farm/Ranch Wildfire Guide and Workbook: Develop a customized wildfire plan using the Farm/Ranch wildfire guide and workbook.
- Wildfire Preparedness for Producers: This two-part workshop series for farmers and ranchers highlights potential wildfire risks to agricultural operations and the measures producers can take to prepare for and mitigate those risks.
- Reduce Wildfire Threat to Farm Assets: Understand the three types of ignition that can cause wildfire to spread into and through the farm or ranch, and learn about practical actions for reducing risk to farm and ranch assets.
- Fuel Management in the Agricultural-Wildland Interface: Collaborative fuel management in the agricultural-wildland interface will help reduce wildfire threat for operations in these areas, particularly those bordering Crown land.
Flooding
Farm Flood Readiness
BC Climate Change Adaptation Program
- Farm Flood Readiness Toolkit: This toolkit will help producers prepare for and recover from flooding. The toolkit includes eight fact sheets that provide information about topics ranging from determining flood risk level to protecting livestock.
Funding Opportunities
Beneficial Management Practices Funding
- BMP Funding: Upon completion of an Environmental Farm Plan, project funding to increase your agricultural sustainability and contribute to a cleaner, healthier environment may be available through the Beneficial Management Practices Program (BMP). Eligible projects include waste management, air quality control, emissions control, soil and riparian integrity, water quality, and environmental impacts.
Other Sources of Funding
Funding programs can help offset the cost of climate adaptation projects, from irrigation upgrades to environmental improvements.
The best way to stay informed on new initiatives is to subscribe to the Kootenay Farmer Newsletter, sent out bimonthly.
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