Groups seal environmental collaboration

By Jordan Nicurity http://vernon.ok.bc.ca/stories.php?id=44229

As the exponential population growth of the Okanagan region continues, municipal and environmental groups have agreed to join forces to help sustain the unique environment. Over 30 groups have signed on to create the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program (OCCP). The official signing of a statement of cooperation was held yesterday at the Allan Brooks Nature Centre. Using the South Okanagan-Similkameen and East Kootenays conservation programs as a guide, the OCCP will endeavour to further the shared environmental goals of the singing groups. “These organizations recognize that we all live in a region where the pressures on the environment are increasing,” said Buffy Baumbrough, who was representing the City of Vernon. “(The signing) acknowledges the importance of the biodiversity in the Okanagan,” she said. Baumbrough said efforts were already underway to find areas of land that are sensitive to environmental strain and limit possible developments in those areas. Other initiatives that may be undertaken by OCCP are yet to be determined, she said. According to Patrick Allen, who represented the Allan Brooks Nature Centre, the new umbrella group will make environmental efforts in the Okanagan more efficient. “These individual groups all have their own mandates, so were looking at pursuing our shared goals by sharing time and resources as well as not overlapping our efforts,” said Allen. “Okanagan has the fastest growing population in a Canadian watershed and is one of the top three endangered ecosystems,” said Allen, pointing out that the fragmented development of the Okanagan hinders the movement of wildlife migrating up and down the valley. “Growth isn‘t bad, but it‘s how we grow that affects the environment,” he said. Allen has said that the groups have taken a year to reach a founding agreement that everyone was willing to sign. He said the next step for the OCCP will be developing a steering committee and deciding on how the group can best serve the principles of sustainability it was founded on.