The International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board (Study Board) will host three public listening sessions this summer. Two will be in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed and one will be online. The listening sessions are intended for the Study Board to gather information from those knowledgeable about and residing within the watershed.
The Study Board reports directly to the binational International Joint Commission (IJC), but it maintains independence in conducting its work. It is comprised of experts and knowledge holders collaborating to develop a common understanding of water pollution within the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed and the impacts of that pollution on people and species. The study was launched in September 2024 and will conclude in September 2026.
“The Study Board values the perspectives, knowledge and interests of the people living and working in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed,” said Oliver Brandes, Canadian Study Board co-chair. “We look forward to hearing from them through these listening sessions and in future opportunities to engage.”
The Study Board will host two in-person and one virtual listening session.
The first session will be in person at the Best Western Plus Fernie Mountain Lodge in Fernie, on June 3, 2025 from 6 to 8 p.m. MT
The second session will be online on Tuesday, July 8 running from 6 -7:30 p.m.
A third in-person session is scheduled on Aug. 8, from 6-8 p.m. with a location to be determined.
The Study Board recently released its Plan of Study outlining its work, which will focus on the following four areas that include water quality status and trends, impacts to human health and well-being, impacts to ecosystems, including cumulative effects, and mitigation
“Public input is essential for this study to proceed and succeed,” added Tom Bansak, US Study Board co-chair. “These listening sessions are a critical way for the Study Board to gather information from those knowledgeable about and residing within the watershed. Input from the public will help shape the work of the Technical Working Groups in the coming months.”
The public can stay up to date with Study Board activities at www.ijc.org/ekwsb
The IJC established the Study Board in response to a March 2024 request to the IJC from the governments of Canada and the United States, in partnership with the Ktunaxa Nation.
This request (“the Elk Reference”) represented an historic moment in United States-Canada transboundary relations, because it is the first time that Indigenous Peoples have played a key role in the development of a Reference to the IJC.
The Elk Reference was the result of many conversations and cooperative initiatives involving United States and Canadian federal agencies, provincial, state, and Indigenous governments, and stakeholders regarding the impacts of water pollution in the watershed.
