The kinq̓uq̓anki Restoration Project, Columbia Lake East Side
April, 2025: Allan Nicholas (Seven Feathers Contracting & Consulting) thinning a ʔa·kuk̓pǂuǂaǂ thicket in preparation for next year’s prescribed burning. Photo courtesy Virginia Hermanson, NCC
Darrell Luke and Jeff Williams, Ktunaxa ʔa·knusti, setting up fire effects monitoring plots in the area in 2024.
April 17, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ktunaxa Nation partners with Nature Conservancy of Canada to restore important grasslands
Columbia Lake, B.C.: Work has begun on a five-year project to restore the grasslands of Columbia Lake—Lot 48 Conservation Area on the east side of Columbia Lake. Crews have started thinning trees in preparation for a low intensity burn treatment in 2026.
This project can be referred to by its Ktunaxa name: kinq̓uq̓anki. The word (pronounced kin-kook-an-key) was identified through many conversations with ʔakisq̓nuk elders, the Traditional Knowledge and Language Advisory Committee and the Lands Advisory Working Group, and has been historically used to describe Armstrong’s Range.
Collaboration
The Ktunaxa Nation Council, ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) are collaborating on the ecosystem restoration project on the conservation lands, which are held and managed by NCC. This restoration project has substantial funding support from Columbia Basin Trust.
“This work brings traditional Ktunaxa burning practices back to the landscape,” said Kathryn Teneese, Ktunaxa Nation Council Chair. “The east side of Columbia Lake has always been important to us, so it’s a good place to collaborate on projects like this.”
Ecosystem restoration
For thousands of years, Ktunaxa ʔakⱡsmaknik (people) used seasonal, low-intensity ʔa·kinq̓uku (fires) in the Rocky Mountain Trench to maintain healthy grassland vegetation and wildlife populations.
The ecosystem was ‘fire-maintained,’ with fire sweeping through every 10 to 15 years. After burning practices were banned in the 1890s by the colonial government, many areas (like Lot 48) started to become ingrown with trees, creating unhealthy, suppressed forest stands and reducing grassland habitat.
Alfred Joseph, an elder of ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation, recalls when the east side of Columbia Lake. Kinq̓uq̓anki, was a vital part of community life. “I remember when you could gallop a horse through these lands. It’s time to restore that balance, for the sake of the grasslands and future generations.”
The steps involved
Thinning operations are being led by local contractors, including Seven Feathers Contracting, which is owned and staffed by ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation members.
Ktunaxa ʔa·knusti (land guardians) have established fire effects plots, and will revisit them after the burn (which is planned for spring, 2026), then every year until 2029.
Guided by an ecosystem restoration plan developed in collaboration with fire ecologist and burn boss Colleen Ross, the process will rejuvenate native grasses, create better grazing habitat, and reduce wildfire risks.
“We are excited to see the continuation of this important restoration work,” said Richard Klafki, Nature Conservancy of Canada program director. “Since conserving Lot 48 in 2011, we have been working towards this type of partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation to bring managed fire back to the landscape.”
“This project demonstrates the Ktunaxa Nation’s commitment to protecting our ancestral lands,” Teneese said. “But it also serves as a template for future restoration work, including potential efforts within the adjacent Columbia Lake Provincial Park. We are glad to be working with such dedicated partners.”