This summer, the International Elk-Kootenai/y Watershed Study Board (Study Board) visited the watershed and met with the public on several occasions to gather input on the work it is undertaking. As directed by the International Joint Commission (IJC), the Study Board is exploring the sources of, status of, and trends in water pollution in the Elk-Kootenai/y watershed as well as impacts to humans and species.
By convening experts and knowledge holders, the Study Board is conducting transparent and coordinated transboundary data and knowledge sharing to report and make recommendations to the Governance Body to reduce and mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the Kootenai/y watershed.
In June, the Study Board visited ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa (Ktunaxa Territory) and toured sites and points of interest in the northern portion of the Kootenai/y River basin in British Columbia. With guidance from the Ktunaxa First Nation communities, the Board spent time on the land listening, learning and dialoguing with Indigenous knowledge holders, elders and community members who shared their perspectives and insights. This included a visit to the Columbia River source with ʔakisq̓nuk First Nation, an overlook of the Kootenay River with ʔaq̓am First Nation, and the confluence of the Elk and Kootenay rivers as well as the northern portion of the Koocanusa Reservoir with Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡiʾit First Nation.
The Study Board also held the first of a series of three public listening sessions in Fernie, BC the evening of June 3. The listening sessions included group discussions amongst participants about the four main study themes:
- Water Quality Status and Trends
- Impacts to Human Health and Well Being
- Impacts to Ecosystems, Including Cumulative Effects
- Mitigation
A second in-person listening session was held in Bonners Ferry, ID on August 6, and a virtual listening session was held on the evening of July 8.
In August, the Study Board continued its tour of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa, with a visit to the southern portion of the basin. The Study Board was invited to tour restoration sites and a fish hatchery, and it spent time on the Kootenai/y River in ʔaq̓anqmi (near Bonners Ferry, ID) with the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. The Study Board also visited an ongoing wetland restoration project being undertaken by Yaqan nuʔkiy just north of the border.
These meaningful visits and the insightful input from the public at the listening sessions have contributed to the Study Board’s Interim Status Report , which is to be delivered to the IJC in late September 2025. Feedback on the draft interim report was solicited via a public comment period, August 27 through September 14, which included a virtual public meeting.
The Study was launched in September 2024 and this phase of work will conclude in September 2026 with a final report and recommendations made to the International Joint Commission. The Study Board’s Plan of Study outlines the work it will undertake throughout the study period.
You can stay up to date with Study Board activities at www.ijc.org/ekwsb including signing up for its bi-annual newsletter.
Christina Chiasson is a policy analyst for the Canadian Section of the IJC in Ottawa, Ontario.
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