Nearly every municipality, regional district, and First Nation across the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds has signed on to a syilx-led initiative to restore and protect the region’s waters for the next seven generations.
But the multi-government effort is missing two key players: the cities of Kelowna (kiʔláwnaʔ) and West Kelowna, representing a combined population of nearly 210,000 people, according to B.C. Stats.
Located in the Regional District of Central Okanagan, it’s the most populated urban area in syilx territories.
Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments warn ecosystem degradation, collapsing aquatic species populations, and climate change’s impacts — including threats to water quality, worsening droughts, and warming waters — have raised the urgency of protecting local watersheds.
