Foreshore Integrated Management Planning

Foreshore Integrated Management Planning

FIMP Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework

We acknowledge this project is taking place on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Nlaka’pamux and Syilx people.

In 2021, Living Lakes Canada launched the FIMP Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework pilot project in partnership with the Upper Nicola Band in the South Central Interior of British Columbia and Sustainability Scholars from the University of British Columbia and with primary funding being provided by the Real Estate Foundation of BC. The goal of this project is to identify opportunities within the lake survey protocol to better acknowledge Indigenous Knowledge and cultural values, informing decision making and promoting more balanced, sustainable, and ethical development as the growing climate crisis continues to threaten the health of freshwater.

The FIMP Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework is being applied and assessed for its effectiveness during a FIMP re-survey of Nicola Lake in the summer of 2023. The results of this test will be shared with partners and community members, and if successful, Living Lakes Canada will begin looking at ways to use this Framework as a template for future surveyed lakes. The final Framework will present a formal set of guiding principles and a structured strategy for meaningful and ongoing Indigenous inclusion, within future FIMP projects.

Living Lakes Canada looks to our Indigenous partners — whose values and knowledge of water and the interconnection between land and species have formed over generations of living symbiotically — to help guide the current FIMP surveys. The FIMP Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework will provide practical, actionable direction to structure this process. The ultimate intention is to gain a better understanding of foreshore-related impacts and the importance of holistic lake management while building on our connection to local communities. 

This project will serve as an example of how applied Indigenous Knowledge may be revered as an essential aspect of environmental conservation initiatives. Highlighting the importance of recognizing Indigenous Knowledge and values is also a progressive step towards Reconciliation with B.C. First Nations as supported by the BC United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People Act (2019).

Nicola Lake re-FIMP

Nicola Lake is located in Merritt, BC, Canada, and is a popular travel destination for sightseeing, swimming, and fishing. According to the 2012 Nicola Lake FIMP report, most of the Nicola Lake shoreline was impacted by community development, where only 9.1% of the shoreline has no impact. These impacts were mainly caused by agricultural activities and transportation, while lakeshore modifications such as groynes and docks also contributed to shoreline degradation. Nicola Lake is a valuable heritage for the Upper Nicola Band (UNB), an inclusive Syilx community. Nicola Lake has extremely important ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural values for UNB, however, the development pressure along the shoreline has threatened the foreshore habitats, raising concerns about fish population loss, shoreline erosion, and water quality degradation among others. 

Funded by the Union of BC Municipalities, and in collaboration with Upper Nicola Band, Living Lakes Canada will re-survey Nicola Lake to update the foreshore inventory and assess the development conditions through the application of the updated FIMP methodology along with the Local Indigenous Knowledge and Values Framework. Currently, this project is at the field reconnaissance and planning stage, and the FIM survey for Nicola Lake will happen in August 2023.

Fraser Lake re-FIMP

Fraser Lake is located in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, west of Prince George, which is known for fishing and outdoor activities. Fraser Lake has a shoreline of 70.9 km and was previously surveyed in 2011. According to the 2011 Fraser Lake FIMP report, approximately 34% of the shoreline was reported to be highly impacted by active construction and shoreline modification. Fraser Lake has high ecological values, providing habitat for a diversity of fish and wildlife such as Nechako white sturgeon, rainbow trout, and chinook salmon. It is also an important site for migratory birds including the Trumpeter Swan and the American Wigeon. 

Funding has been provided in part by CN Rail, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, and the Nechako Environment and Water Stewardship Society (NEWSS). This is a one year project, from March 2023 to May 2024, aiming to apply the updated FIMP methodology to improve the quality and quantity of the foreshore information in Fraser Lake. Currently, this project is at the field reconnaissance and planning stage, and the FIM survey for Fraser Lake will happen in August 2023.

RECENT PROJECT

FIMP for Aquatic Species at Risk in the Columbia Basin

In 2019, Living Lakes Canada entered a four-year Contribution Agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and their Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk Program. The overarching goal of this Living Lakes Canada Project was to improve the quality and quantity of information about lake foreshore habitat integrity and species at risk in the Upper Columbia Basin. Species at Risk targeted throughout this project include, Kootenay River White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), and Shorthead Sculpin (Cottus confusus).

The Project reviewed and revised the FIMP methodology, and mapped (or re-mapped) lakes in the Columbia Basin to assess the rate of change in ecological and urban development parameters. For this project, surveyed lakes included:

• Lake Windermere
• Moyie Lake
• Whitetail Lake
• Whiteswan Lake
• Kootenay Lake
• Columbia Lake
• Slocan Lake
• Arrow Lakes
• Trout Lake (funded by the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program)
• St. Mary's Lake

Information collected over the project timeline has and will continue to be shared with government, First Nations, consultants, developers, and other stakeholders to support evidence-based, land-use decision making.

Living Lakes Canada also gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Real Estate Foundation of BC, and Alberta Ecotrust for their contribution to the Foreshore Integrated Management Planning Program.

Key Findings and Recommendations

During the past four years of lake surveys and re-surveys in the Columbia Basin, some key findings emerged. Observations indicated that disturbed foreshores tended to be concentrated in private land use areas and that lakes with the least pressure on natural foreshores tended to have the most protected conservation areas. The foreshore rate of change/trends were similar in the Central Okanagan Regional District, East Kootenay Regional District, and Central Kootenay Regional District despite differing land use planning efforts and policies.

Overall, it was found that in order to protect foreshore values, the environmental ethics and values of many lakeshore property owners must change. Because site specific impacts can and do affect our common resources, in order to have healthy lakes better cooperation on land use plans and policies, a higher standard for development, better monitoring and compliance, increased conservation lands, and the protection and restoration of sensitive habitats is necessary.

FIMP and Climate Change

Climate change is a global concern as increasing temperatures and shifted precipitation patterns has resulted in many hazardous events such as drought, flooding, and wildfire. In November 2021, an atmospheric river caused flooding that resulted in unprecedented damage to infrastructure, homes, agricultural lands, and fish and wildlife habitats throughout the Lower Mainland and the southern interior of B.C. 

Following four years of updating and field-testing the FIMP methodology, LLC has recognized a knowledge gap in connecting foreshore values with climate change impacts. With climate change and increasing foreshore development pressure, the foreshore ecological, social, cultural, and economic values will be threatened. FIMP provides a snapshot of the current lake foreshore conditions, which helps to understand the foreshore values. However, in response to the threat of both tangible and intangible losses caused by climate change in the future, long-term monitoring, better foreshore development and management strategies, and more public engagement are essential.

MORE BACKGROUND

FIMP has been applied to 15 lakes across the Columbia Basin since 2006:

• Lake Windermere
• Columbia Lake
• Wasa Lake
• Moyie Lake
• Monroe Lake
• Jimsmith Lake
• Tie Lake
• Rosen Lake
• St Mary Lake
• Lake Koocanusa (transboundary reservoir)
• Kootenay Lake
• Slocan Lake
• Brilliant Headpond
• Whitetail Lake
• Whiteswan Lake

You can access the lake reports for all the above-listed lakes on the Columbia Basin Water Hub.

Living Lakes Canada has also expanded FIMP work beyond British Columbia, leading projects for Lac la Biche in Alberta and the South Basin of Lake Winnipeg.

CONTACT

Living Lakes Canada FIMP Program Manager, Georgia Peck: georgia@livinglakescanada.ca

See Georgia's profile.