Columbia Ridge Country Estates

Do you want to see the East side of Columbia Lake development free? Then Lot 48 needs your help. Read the press release below and help the Nature Conservancy of Canada reach its goal to purchase this piece of land.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is close to succeeding in its bid to conserve a culturally and ecologically important property on the east shore of Columbia Lake. With a fundraising deadline of June 1, the organization is reaching out to the local communities and major funders alike to help raise the last five percent of this multi-million dollar conservation project.

“We’re excited to be so close to reaching our goal,” said Nancy Newhouse, Canadian Rockies Program Manager for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “I’ve heard from many people who support this project and I’m hopeful we can raise at least $25,000 from the local communities.”

With a budget of $7.2 million, fundraising for this project has been no small feat. Now, with just $366,000 to raise a successful outcome for this project is in sight.

“A great many people have worked for many years to get to this point,” said Regional District Director Wendy Booth. “I encourage anyone who cares about the cultural and natural heritage of Columbia Lake to consider lending their support to protecting Lot 48.”

Lot 48 is the last parcel not designated for conservation on the east side of the Columbia Lake and efforts to protect it is supported at both the local and provincial levels.

Major support for Lot 48 has so far come from the Columbia Basin Trust, Regional District of East Kootenay, BC Hydro Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, as well as other corporations and individuals.

“Protecting Lot 48 is essential to maintaining the integrity of the entire east side of the lake forever,” said Newhouse. “This is an opportunity everyone who cares about this amazing property to show their support in ways great or small.”

To donate to the conservation of Lot 48, or to learn more about this project, please contact Nancy Newhouse at 250-342-5521 or nancy.newhouse@natureconservancy.ca.

Facts

- Lot 48 is bounded by Columbia Lake Provincial Park, the Columbia Wetlands Wildlife Management Area and the East Side Columbia Lake Wildlife Management Area.

- The total project budget of $7.2 million includes project development costs, purchase price and a stewardship endowment to ensure the property’s long-term care.

- The Columbia Lake Valley supports some of the most valuable winter range for bighorn sheep, elk and other ungulates, several rare and endangered species and is a sacred landscape to the Ktunaxa Nation.

Here is a picture of all the kids on the Easter egg hunt held Easter Sunday this year. Many thanks to Yi-Nei for coordinating the event.

If you were around this past weekend you were treated to a rare bout of sunshine. It was sure nice to see it for a change. Things are back to normal now with rainy, cold, unsettled weather forecast for the rest of the work week.

Spring like temperatures have continued to elude us but the wild flowers are starting to make their presence known in the wild lands.

It sounds like the weather is supposed to actually get into the twenties this weekend though. Bring the bikes as the trails are dry!

Reminder Notice

Planning Meeting for Garage Sale at Columbia Ridge on

Saturday, April 7th (Easter weekend) at 1:30 at the

Columbia Ridge Community Hall

Come out and help with the planning of the garage sale to be held on Sunday, May 20th (May long weekend) . You can donate your items, rent a table or volunteer some time to help at the garage sale. If you can’t make it to the meeting, please let us know how you would like to help by contacting Mary Clare Coleman at 250.347.2443 (jmccoleman@nanomail.ca) or Donna Rae at 250.345.6673 (donna@columbiaridge.com).

If you look in the photo, you will see about one square km of ice clinging tenaciously to pebble beach. Aside from some WAY down by Columere, the lake is ice free. I think this chunk will be gone by the weekend as well.

You may also notice whitecaps which just gets my juices flowing for some early season windsurfing. Unfortunately the air temperature is still too cold for comfort. My cutoff is around 15 celcius and this past week has been below seasonal. Today I think it maybe reached 9. Where is that sunshine?

Winter will just not let up this March. It dumped all day long, depositing a few more cm on the ground before all was said and done.

This shot is looking across to Armstrong Bay and as you can see, the lake is opening up nicely. The southern advance seems to be taking some time and it will be interesting to see if the lake is ice free by the end of the month as it was last year.

The sun came out right at the end of the today so I bolted down to the water to get a few shots. The ice is breaking up differently this year. Usually it is a gradual retreat from the south to the north but this year it seems to be busting up all over the place. This little bit of open water extends from pebble beach down to the subdivision and there is a huge expanse of open water in front of Armstrong bay.

Well all you water lovers, you will be happy to hear that the ice is coming off the lake at a pretty rapid pace. Already about one quarter of it is ice free. You can't really tell from this shot as the shallows on the west side are still frozen over. I will post pictures of the progression down the lake as it happens.

As you can see from the picture, the weather has not exactly been pleasant from a recreational point of view. There were whitecaps on the lake and I could have gone windsurfing from Canal Flats but the air temperature is just a bit too chilly for me yet. More unsettled weather for the weekend but at least the temps are climbing above zero every day. I think there will be some fine snow in the mountains should you want to make some turns on a board or skis.

As the 2012 AGM fast approaches (May 19th, time), your Board of Directors is working to prepare the budget and communications packages. We’re also thinking about succession and ensuring we continue to have a strong team of community representatives going forward. We are extremely thankful for the services of all our Board members as well as those who have volunteered on various committees and for various events…this is the true spirit of community!

We know we have several members of our Board who have indicated they will be concluding their terms this year. Thankfully, a number of representatives have offered to stay on and to continue to serve. I can personally share with you that serving on the Columbia Ridge Board is a rewarding, fun and ‘community-connecting’ experience. I’ve met many new friends and I’m continuing to learn more about this great community and valley.

We are actively recruiting interest at this time. If you’d like to find out more information about either joining the Board, or helping out on a committee, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps the first step is to indicate interest and find out more. Please feel free to contact any of our community Board members and we’d be happy to share our experiences. This is important as we face a number of dynamic issues in the coming years that will continue to shape the direction of our community. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sean Halliday – President

Garage Sale for Life

Sunday, May 20th
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Columbia Ridge Community Hall

The “Columbia Lake” Relay for Life team is hosting a large, multi-family garage sale to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society.
The proceeds from the garage sale will be donated on behalf of the “Columbia Lake” team to the Columbia Valley “Relay for Life” cancer fundraising event which will be held on Saturday, June 16th from 3:00 pm to 6:00 am at the David Thompson Secondary School in Invermere.

How can you help?

1) Visit the garage sale. “Someone’s stuff may be your new treasure!”
2) Buy a grilled smokie and drink at the garage sale!
3) Donate items to the “Columbia Lake” team to sell at the garage sale.
4) Rent a table for $20 (money donated to Relay for Life) and sell your own garage sale items.
5) Join the Columbia Lake team. Just a few hours participating on a team will change your life and help people with cancer. See Note 1 below.
6) Sponsor the team by making a donation. See Note 2 below.
7) Volunteer your time to help with the garage sale.

We need you. Join us for a team planning get-together on Saturday, April 7th at 1:30 at the Columbia Ridge community hall. Please come out and make a difference!
To receive more information on how you can help, please call Mary Clare Coleman at 250.347.2443 (jmccoleman at nanomail dot ca) or Donna Rae at 250.345.6673 (donna at columbiaridge dot com).

Note 1: Visit www.relaybc.ca/columbiavalley/ to join the “Columbia Lake” team. When on the ”Relay for Life 2012 Columbia Valley” page click on the “Columbia Lake” team under “Team Rank” and then click on “Join Our Team”. Welcome to the team! At the Relay for Life event you will celebrate the courage and strength of people fighting cancer, remember cherished loved ones who have passed and fight back against cancer in our community.

Note 2: Visit www.relaybc.ca/columbiavalley/ to make a donation to the “Columbia Lake” team. When on the “Relay for Life 2012 Columbia Valley” page click on the “Columbia Lake” team under “Team Rank” and the click on the tab “General Team Donation”. Thank you for your financial support!

With the weather getting so mild this weekend I thought I would take advantage of the backed up ditch lines in the neighbourhood and go for a paddle on the paddleboard.

If you look up into the evening sky for the next month or so, you will see a few unusually bright objects to the west. The planets and moon are aligning. The lower, brightest object is Venus and the dimmer one above it is Jupiter. They are both in line with the moon which, for the time being is pulling away from them. As the month of March progresses Venus and Jupiter will get closer together until they almost become a set of headlights in the western sky. Towards the end of March, the moon will sneak underneath them again for another dramatic meeting. For more info, check out link below.

Link Text

Sure enough, Monday delivered blue skies and stunning scenery. Images by Tom Symington.

Ugh. Just when I thought that spring was just around the corner, wham. We get slammed with a winter snowstorm that dumped a good 15 cm in the valley. Granted, compared to Fernie where we spent the weekend, this was but a light snowfall but it still makes thinking of getting on the bicycle a bit of a fantasy. Weirdly enough, when we left Fernie it was full on winter where at least 50 cm of snow had fallen but when we got to Cranbrook, the sun was shining and the little bit of snow that they had was melting away. It wasn't until we got past Skookumchuck that all hell broke loose again with nasty driving conditions and snow all across the landscape. The neighbourhood was covered with a blanket of snow with only a few deep tire tracks on the road. On a positive note, when the sun comes out, it sure is going to be pretty.

Ah well. It is still only February I guess. No doubt we can expect a few more days like this out of the blue.

It has been a pretty nice week in the valley with nothing but sunshine heading our way. The lake is once again snow free and might be good for skating. Honestly, I haven't checked it out since last weekend.

And if you haven't noticed (I am sure you have), the days are getting longer again! This was shot heading home after work and the sun is still on the mountains.