The Regional District of Central Kootenay will ask the province to consider designating the watersheds of Rosebud and Lomond Creek as ecological reserves and protected areas.
The board of directors approved the motion last Thursday. Area G Director Hans Cunningham brought it forward following a request from the Rosebud Community Watershed Protection Group.
The watersheds, both near Nelway, support wildlife, forests, and local residents and farmers with life-sustaining water. They also supply critical water sources for Rosebud Regional Wildlife Park and Lomond Lake.
Cunningham said residents have pushed for stronger protections, particularly after a wildfire affected local water supplies.
“Residents are all concerned about protection of watershed because when they had a fire in the area across the highway some years ago, it turned out that the water supply for the whole area was drained and wells up dry and everything,” he said.
He said the protected area designation would help ensure the water table stays at appropriate levels.
The designation would also provide a higher level of protection than current land-use rules by limiting development and prioritizing conservation of the watershed.
It would not create public access or override private property but would instead ask the province to use its tools, possibly under the Water Sustainability Act, to protect the watersheds.
Cunningham added that the move reflects ongoing community concerns about water security in general, particularly as climate change puts added pressure on local supply.
“The community wants to do this. The entire community wants to do this. And it seems like a reasonable kind of thing to do because if no kind of action is taken, you will continue to see difficulties, especially with climate change, in their water supply.”
Area B Director Roger Tiereny noted how ecological reserves are a provincial classification managed by the Ministry of Environment and Parks, with staff assessing whether areas meet the criteria for protection.
“This is the advocacy piece that would basically go to the regional director who would assign it to a staff member, a planner, to go and see whether this fits the criteria of ecological reserve to be considered by the ministry,” he said.
Board members approved the motion unanimously. It will now be forwarded to the province for consideration.
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