In 2024, BC Wildlife Federation, in collaboration with local First Nations and other partners, installed 71 Beaver Dam Analogues on six stream reaches in British Columbia.   Beaver based restoration is gaining interest and momentum among the conservation community as a practical and low-cost alternative for repairing streams health, storing water, battling drought, and mitigating the impact of forest fires. At the forefront of this initiative, conservationists are asking: how do we win over the public perception that beaver are a nuisance? How can we support a network of practicioners? How can we navigate the regulatory requirements?  Where’s the science? …and is it working?  Join this webinar to get the latest on the application of Beaver Dam Analogues and how it’s rolling out in BC.  This talk will also highlight a FWCP funded BDA project that was completed in collaboration with McLeod Lake Indian Band to restore a degrading peatland near McIntyre Lake, near Mackenzie. 

Neil Fletcher is the Director of Conservation Stewardship with BC Wildlife Federation.  He oversees a team of up to 20 staff supporting watershed projects across BC. He has 15 years of experience working with communities to raise awareness about the importance of wetlands, and build capacity of individuals to better conserve these important ecosystems.  Neil has delivered well over 100 educational workshops and coordinated over 50 wetland restoration projects.  Recently, he’s overseen a team initiating beaver-based restoration as a relatively new tool within British Columbia.  He is Chair of the Wetlands Stewardship Partnership of BC; a steering committee member on the Canadian Wetland Roundtable and on BC's Water Leaders Network.  He is the lead author for the Province’s Forest Range Evaluation Program Wetland Health Assessment Protocol.   In 2016, Neil was awarded Canadian Outdoors Person of the Year by the Canadian Wildlife Federation for his contributions to conservation. He lives in New Westminster, on unceded territory of the Halkomelem speaking peoples by the Fraser River.  

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Zoom Webinar. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.