Facilitating locally led habitat and wildlife stewardshiP
The Partnerships for Applied Research Centre bridges scientific knowledge with local and Indigenous knowledge to enable on-the-ground action to benefit habitat and wildlife. Working collaboratively with Indigenous Communities, government, and industry, PARC mobilizes research, monitoring, and implementation work in support of biodiversity and responsible land stewardship, connecting the science produced across Biodiversity Pathways’ centres to the partners and communities where it matters most.
What we do
Our work focuses on three core areas:
Research and Monitoring Implementation
Support with study design, capacity support and training for habitat and wildlife monitoring
Capacity Support
Provide strategic planning, project management, and collaboration support across partners to support research and habitat stewardship
Engagement Support
Facilitate knowledge exchange of western science and Local and Indigenous Knowledge
Why it matters
The most important research supports decision-making to make tangible changes for habitat and wildlife and builds on the past experience, knowledge, and values of Local and Indigenous Communities.
Mapping Ecological Corridors
Mapping Ecological Corridors: Braiding Knowledge for Conservation in Secwepemcúĺecw
The Mapping Ecological Corridors Project is a collaborative initiative focused on identifying and conserving key wildlife movement corridors within Secwepemcúĺecw.
By integrating Local and Indigenous Knowledge with western science, the project is taking a “walking-on-two-legs” approach to conservation, recognizing the strengths of both knowledge systems and working together for long-term ecosystem resilience.
Initial connectivity models were co-developed by PARC and First Nation partners, combining current habitat and wildlife data with future climate predictions to highlight key potential areas for wildlife. Through workshops and discussions, Communities helped refine the models and outline a set of thirteen corridors to support wildlife movement, species recovery, habitat restoration, and ecosystem connectivity. Final outputs drew on recent and historical understanding of seasonal cycles, species behaviour, and ecosystem relationships.
Project outputs are owned by First Nation partners and can be used for multiple practical purposes:
- Responding to referral applications
- Land and resource management planning
- Wildlife conservation and management
- Cultural heritage protection
- Addressing cumulative effects
- Informing policy and industry practices
Community Based Habitat Restoration
Community Based Habitat Restoration: Bringing a Culturally Important Landscape Back into Balance
The Wigwam Flats Ecosystem Enhancement Project brings together a broad set of partners to help restore an ecologically and culturally important landscape.
The project is a partnership between the Fernie Rod and Gun Club, Yaq̓it ʔaꞏknuqⱡi ‘it First Nation, the Province of BC, Biodiversity Pathways, Nature Trust of BC, Nature Conservancy of Canada and the East Kootenay Invasive Species Council. Funding is provided by Columbia Basin Trust, Elk Valley Resources, the Wild Sheep Society of BC and many others!
A century of fire suppression has created thick, fuel-loaded forests in large areas of the East Kootenay which are reducing wildlife habitat quality and increasing wildfire risks. The WFEEP is focused on restoring hundreds of hectares of land on the Wigwam Flats over five years through habitat treatments including slashing, vegetation planting, forest health mitigation, wildlife tree enhancement, targeted herbicide application, and seeding. The planting and re-establishing of native grasses will add food for ungulates and improve habitat health, while the slashing will reduce tree density to improve understory plant growth and sightlines when it comes to staying safe from predators.
Wildlife and habitat studies will monitor the project effectiveness, evaluating habitat quality and relative ungulate abundance. The main objective is to improve critical habitat for ungulate species (i.e., elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, whitetail, moose) through improving the quantity and quality of forage and at the same time improving sightlines for predator avoidance.
Biodiversity Pathways playing two roles with Project Management, Engagement, and Research being led by the PARC and Wildlife Science Centre.
Adams Lake Indian Band Camera Project
Adams Lake Indian Band Camera Project
In 2025, Biodiversity Pathways partnered with the Adams Lake Indian Band (ALIB) to launch a long-term wildlife monitoring program to support the recovery of Southern Mountain Caribou, whose Columbia North and Groundhog subpopulations overlap ALIB traditional territory.
Following training of ALIB Guardians in standardized field protocols, crews deployed 60 remote cameras across a 5,500 km² grid, combining ground and helicopter access.
The resulting network aims to track the relative abundance and distribution of key predator species (cougar, grizzly bear, grey wolf) and primary prey species (mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose), and compliment neighbouring camera programs run by BP, Parks Canada, and Splatsin First Nation, bringing the total number of cameras in the broader regional network to 287.
For ALIB, this project is about building lasting capacity for Indigenous-led wildlife stewardship on their territory. Training Guardians in camera deployment, maintenance, site selection, and data management equips ALIB to lead ongoing monitoring themselves, rather than relying on outside partners. The data generated will directly inform ALIB’s own management decisions around caribou recovery, supporting their long-term goal of restoring a self-sustaining landscape for caribou and other wildlife, and reinvigorating traditional practices tied to a healthy, functioning ecosystem on their territory.
Wildland Foundations: Fire Risk Mitigation in Indigenous Communities
Wildland Foundations: Fire Risk Mitigation in Indigenous Communities
Large, high severity wildfires are occurring more frequently and negatively impacting forests and communities across Canada due to climate change and a century of fire suppression. These extreme fires have catastrophic, lasting impacts on Indigenous communities and their lands, affecting livelihoods, food security, and cultural and spiritual practices.
Biodiversity Pathways and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) are working with the Fort Smith Métis Council, Lakeland Métis Nation, Foothills Ojibway First Nation, and Yaqit ʔa·knuqli‘it (Tobacco Plains) First Nation to co-develop knowledge on wildfire impacts and fire mitigation practices. A three-year, $4.5 million agreement with Natural Resources Canada under the Wildfire Resilient Futures Initiative has enabled the collection of foundational knowledge to support future restoration practices at four “demonstration sites” in western Canada.
For more information see Wildland Foundations.
Our Team
The PARC team includes a diverse team with backgrounds in western science, strategy planning, project management, and Indigenous land stewardship. Our team seeks to reflect the community partners we support.
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Todd Penke
Director, Partnerships for Applied Research Centre
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Peter Baker
Community Science Project Lead
Resources and updates
Community Newsletter
Connections: issue 2
Explore a new way to navigate the funding landscape through identifying the right resources—from habitat restoration to species at risk recovery to improving community infrastructure—a vital part of our shared role as caretakers and stewards of the land.
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Community Newsletter
Connections: issue 1
We highlight some of the exciting initiatives underway, share upcoming opportunities, and celebrate the strength of the relationships that guide our work.
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News
Volunteers improve wildlife habitat at Wigwam Flats
A team of volunteers worked to clear land near Elko to improve sitelines for grazing herds of animals to better protect them from predators, and make the land more resilient to wildfire by reducing burnable material.
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We proudly partner with
