A restoration project north of Cranbrook is working to reduce wildfire risk while improving forest, grassland and wildlife habitat.
The Indian Springs Restoration Project is underway near ʔaq̓am lands and the Canadian Rockies International Airport, where crews are thinning trees, managing invasive plants and preparing the landscape for a future prescribed burn.
The Forest Enhancement Society of BC, Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society and East Kootenay Invasive Species Council are among the groups involved.
The work is intended to restore more open forests and grasslands that were historically maintained by frequent, low-intensity fires.
“This project will contribute to a landscape-level fuel break, which means creating a larger, connected area where forest fuels are reduced to help slow the spread and intensity of wildfire across the landscape,” said Travis Emsland, a registered professional forester and operations manager with FESBC. “It ties into other ecosystem restoration treatment areas, as well as a nearby area that burned in a 2023 wildfire. The result will be a more open forest and grasslands that are better able to withstand wildfire while also providing improved habitats for wildlife. The project is also helping to address invasive plants to help support the overall health of the entire ecosystem.”
Crews are thinning and pruning trees to reduce surface and ladder fuels, burning piles, managing invasive plants and monitoring vegetation.
Once that work is complete, project partners plan to work with the BC Wildfire Service on a detailed prescribed burn plan.
A burn could take place as early as spring 2027, depending on approvals, funding, weather and operational conditions.
Marc Trudeau, a registered forest technologist and executive director of the Trench Society, said decades of fire suppression have allowed trees to grow closer together in areas historically shaped by fire.
“In ecosystems like Indian Springs, frequent low-intensity fires historically maintained open forests and grasslands. However, over many decades of fire suppression, trees have had the opportunity to grow closer together, which has increased what we call ‘fuel loading’ and reduced habitat quality for wildlife such as deer, elk, owls, and many other species,” Trudeau said. “Our work is designed to mimic those natural processes of fire in a more controlled way.”
Wildlife research is also being used to guide the restoration work.
With support from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canada Nature Fund, the Trench Society has conducted inventories for American badgers, Lewis’s woodpeckers and flammulated owls.
The information is being used to help guide forestry planning and habitat restoration.
“At the end of the project, I hope people will see a healthy, open landscape that more closely resembles what this ecosystem looked like before decades of fire suppression,” Trudeau shared. “Instead of crowded, dense stands of young trees, there will be more open forests with large, more mature trees, healthy grasslands, abundant wildlife trees, patches of shrubs that provide cover for wildlife, and productive winter forage for deer and elk.”
Managing invasive plants is another part of the project.
The East Kootenay Invasive Species Council is working with project partners to identify and manage invasive species that can compete with native vegetation, reduce biodiversity and affect forage for wildlife and livestock.
“By identifying and managing invasive species as part of restoration projects like Indian Springs, we are helping better protect native plant communities, improve wildlife habitat quality, and support healthier, more resilient ecosystems,” said Megan MacPhee, program assistant and communications with EKISC.
Other participants include ʔaq̓am, the BC Wildfire Service, government agencies, range tenure holders, contractors and community partners.
The project has received financial support from FESBC, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canada Nature Fund, Columbia Basin Trust and the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program.
“It is incredible to see so many different areas of expertise come together to support meaningful restoration outcomes,” noted MacPhee. “Projects like Indian Springs demonstrate the importance of working together, combining restoration efforts and invasive species management, while utilizing local expertise to create lasting benefits for the East Kootenay landscape.”
The project builds on decades of ecosystem restoration work carried out by the Trench Society across southeastern B.C.
“The Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society has a long history of delivering Ecosystem Restoration projects throughout the Rocky Mountain Trench, and we are grateful to have worked with many dedicated First Nation partners, government staff, stakeholders, and community organizations for decades,” shared Trudeau. “We are also very thankful for the funding support from FESBC and many others, which have allowed us to implement this important restoration work across southeastern British Columbia.”
Project partners said the long-term goal is to maintain open forests and grasslands, improve wildlife habitat, support forage production and establish strategic fuel breaks around communities and infrastructure.
“The Forest Enhancement Society of BC looks forward to continuing its work with the Trench Society to advance the shared goals of wildlife habitat enhancement, wildfire fuel mitigation, and more strategic community protection,” added Emsland. “All of these goals combined are part of the same effort to leave the landscape healthier and more resilient than it was before.”
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