The Coast Funds is seeking applications for its Annual Conservation Funding Program.

Focuses on annual support of multi-year conservation programs such as stewardship offices, regional monitoring (Guardian Watchman), heritage and natural resources, mapping and conservancy management, and more.

The conservation fund is a permanent endowment fund that supports eligible programs and projects focused on sustaining or enhancing the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii (THE PROJECT AREA). Its goals include supporting and enhancing First Nations’:

• Application of traditional ecological and cultural knowledge to the management of ecosystems, protected areas, lands, and resources in the Project Area;
• Participation in the management of protected areas and ecosystems within the Project Area;
• Science, research and monitoring of ecosystem function and processes;
• Collaborative efforts that sustain and enhance the biodiversity, productive capacity and resilience of ecosystems in the Project Area to ensure the sustainability of cultural and traditional resources, such as fish, wildlife, and cedar in perpetuity; and
• Maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of habitats and ecosystem productivity in protected areas to ensure populations of migratory birds are maintained or enhanced, species at risk or of special concern are stabilized and enhanced where possible, and productive riparian areas are maintained and restored; and
• Capacity to maintain a permanent base of jobs – seasonal or full time – to support conservation planning, research, monitoring and interpretation.

Eligible Projects

The conservation fund is a permanent endowment that supports eligible programs and projects focused on sustaining or enhancing the ecological integrity of the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii (THE PROJECT AREA).

Projects that may be eligible for funding:

• Science, research, and monitoring for conservation matters;
• Conservation, Protected Area, and cultural zone resource planning and management consistent with ecosystem-based management;
• First Nation participation in joint conservation management initiatives;
• Protection or interpretation of biophysical or cultural resources in Protected Areas or areas of specific biological or cultural significance;
• Monitoring compliance with conservation management plans
• Habitat restoration activities;
• Capacity building specific to conservation initiatives (i.e. certified training, workforce development); and
• Planning and development of resource department operating strategic plans, operating plans, or funding applications.

Eligible Applicants

• A PARTICIPATING FIRST NATION (one of the 27 First Nations or 3 Regional Organizations specified in Schedule G of the Conservation Investments and Incentives Agreement as represented by the authorized governing body of the Nation that is listed as a qualified donne with the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency; or
• A stewardship office, resource management department, or non-profit society that has delegated responsibility for conservation on behalf of the PARTICIPATING FIRST NATION and is a registered charity.

For more information, visit Coast Funds.