Interior Watershed Task Force is hosting a Forests Town Hall on the afternoon of Saturday, April 13 at UBC Okanagan Campus in Kelowna. It can be attended in person at UBCO or online live via Zoom.
Our Forests Town Hall will be highlighting the effects of forest canopy loss due to commercial clear cut logging, and the resulting impacts to our water supplies, wildlife, biodiversity, and communities. We will hear from forest activists, resource managers, academic researchers, a provincial government representative and members of the Southern Interior's Syilx community.
1:00 Indigenous Territorial Welcome, Grouse and Pamela Barnes, Syilx elders
1:15 Land Acknowledgment - Alex Morrison, Chair, Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance
1:20 Welcome Remarks & Introductions
Eveline Wolterson: Casey Como, IWTF Hosts
Taryn Skalbania, IWTF/PWPA, IWTF Address
1:30 Elliot Tonasket, Retired Councillor & Natural Resource Consultant, Penticton Indian Band, Syilx Forestry Standards
2:00 Michelle Connolly, Conservation North, Protecting Primary Forests, Preserving Biodiversity
2:30 Refreshment Break, Arts & Science Foyer & Courtyard
3:00 MLA Mike Morris, Prince George-Mackenzie, Saving BC’s Wildlife – Future for Our Forests
3:40 Dr. Younes Alila, UBC Forest Resource Management, Hydrology of Convenience in BC Forestry
4:20 Jennifer Houghton, Boundary Forest Watershed Stewardship Society, The Power of Trees: Safeguarding Communities by Protecting Forests by Law
4:45 Barry Brandow, Granby Guides & Outfitters, Acknowledgement of Speakers
5:00 Q & A panel
5:30 Dr. John Wagner, UBCO Environmental Anthropologist, Closing Remarks
5:45 Socializing
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. SEATING IS LIMITED
REGISTER for in-person seating here on Eventbrite.
Live Event to be recorded and shared.
LOCATION: UBC Okanagan Campus, 3187 University Way, Kelowna
Theatre - UBC OKANAGAN Arts and Science building, ASC 140 (ground level) – see: https://learningspaces.ok.ubc.ca/classrooms/asc-140.
Adjoining Reception Foyer - https://learningspaces.ok.ubc.ca/classrooms/asc-asc-112.
Parking: https://parking.ok.ubc.ca/visitor-event-parking/short-term/. (Paid parking in effect at all times.)
Get directions: https://ok.ubc.ca/about/maps-directions-tours/
Poster PDF HERE
Sponsorship Letter HERE
The Interior Watershed Task Force is a coalition of more than twenty NGOs, Community Organizations, and Professionals that was initiated in 2023. The IWTF advocates for the legal protection and preservation of water, primary and natural forests, wildlife and critical habitats in the BC interior. We are based in the Okanagan region of BC and respectfully live and work on ancestral territories of several First Nations.