Revelstoke’s North Columbia Environmental Society will officially become a branch of Wildsight.
NCES board of directors voted in favour of the change-over in November with Wildsight board members passing the motion on Jan. 25.
“The transition for the NCES can now begin in earnest,” said a news release from Wildsight.
Revelstoke will be the sixth Wildsight branch, which covers the Columbia and Rocky Mountain regions.
According to the news release, the move has been discussed at length by both organizations over the past few months.
“The NCES has spent more than two decades protecting this landscape from rampant industrial and tourism development. But capacity for the volunteer organization has stretched thin, while proposals that undermine the ecosystem continue to increase,” said the news release.
READ MORE: North Columbia Environmental Society votes in favour of joining Wildsight
The two organizations worked alongside each other for a long time, with Wildsight already having a presence in Revelstoke through environmental education programs, including a Climate Change pilot program at the high school last year and a recent focus on the logging that threatens Argonaut Creek.
Kent Christensen, NCES president, says the timing was right for this move.
“Development here has happened so quickly, and tourism has increased exponentially in the past 10 to 15 years,” said Christensen, in a news release. “We were feeling a bit of a loss of capacity. We found it challenging, and defeating, and didn’t feel like we were giving these issues the justice they deserve.”
By joining Wildsight, Christensen says, Revelstoke will have a bigger voice in speaking up on issues.
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