The SWAMP presentation on March 5, 2016 was well described in a report in the Valley Voice newspaper. Here is some excerpts from the article.

“The Bosun Hall in New Denver was packed on March 5 for the ‘Secrets of the SWAMP Science Showcase’ presented by the Slocan Wetland Assessment and Monitoring Project (SWAMP). “SWAMP is a beautiful acronym for what we are doing,” said SWAMP steering committee member Richard Johnson. SWAMP’s field team has explored many wetlands in the Slocan Valley, categorized them, and assessed the flora and fauna in each.

Ryan Durand, Slocan Valley biologist, manages the SWAMP field team and designed the project’s science parameters. He gave a slide show with fascinating photos of Slocan Valley wetlands, and the vegetation, insects, and other wildlife found in them. Darcie Quamme, aquatic ecologist on the SWAMP field team, spoke about her invertebrate and water quality research in Slocan Valley wetlands. The main goal of invertebrate monitoring is to assess wetland health – has the wetland been affected by human activity such as mining, forestry, agriculture? Invertebrates respond to a wide range of human stressors, so are good indicators of wetland health. Quamme has sampled 24 wetlands to date, and has sent the samples to a taxonomist in Montana. The Royal BC Museum has agreed to house the collection in perpetuity.

Margaret Hartley, also a SWAMP steering committee member, described wetlands as “little hotspots of food and breeding places for many species. It’s like a supermarket for the ecosystem.” She said there is no “real protection” for wetlands in laws or regulations. “The Forest Practices Code says you’re supposed to go around them, but they often get logged,” she said. Durand said that all the SWAMP data has been given to the local forest ecologist at the Ministry of Forests office in Nelson, and is being built into their classifications.”

To read the full article see page 7 of the Valley Voice Online at http://www.valleyvoice.ca/_pdf_2014/ValleyVoice160309web.pdf

Our thanks to Walter Popoff, Area H representative, RDCK. We also want to thank our other supporters who funded the studies: National Wetland Conservation Fund, Columbia Basin Trust, Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Regional District of Central Kootenay, BC Wildlife Federation and the Royal BC Museum.