The Town of Smithers aims to identify, track, and maintain the natural resources and assets within the town boundaries as well as anticipate how climate change may affect the quality of ecosystem services the Town provides.
According to town staff, management of these critical assets will support the Town’s long-term climate adaptation goals and aid in addressing issues such as food and water security.
Smithers Council has given town staff the green light to submit a grant application to Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding, administered by the Ministry of Environmental Management and Climate Readiness. The Town of Smithers will be applying for 100 per cent of eligible costs up to $150,000 for the project dubbed Natural Assets Inventory and Climate Risk Assessment.
“This is becoming a more important item for the town, especially when we are applying for grant applications, like capital projects, including the one we are currently working on, the river bank erosion protection project,” explained Director of Development Services Mark Allen.
“Staff have are seeing more areas [in new grant applications] that are requiring the municipality to report or state what the town is doing with natural resource management.
The Official Community Plan emphasizes the importance of natural assets to the community, noting that these features have shaped the community’s heritage and identity, as well as provide the basis for many local economic activities.
The OCP identifies key environmentally sensitive areas, including natural drainage watercourses such as Chicken Creek, Kathlyn Creek, Dahlie Creek, Bigelow Creek, and Seymour Creek, all of which eventually feed into the Bulkley River.
Town staff will now engage with the Office of the Wet’suwet’en for support and participation. Next, staff, with support from a consultant, will submit the full proposal to the grant program officer. The proposal development process has already commenced due to the tight deadline. Staff will issue an RFP for the completion of the full project if the proposal is approved.
