A Kamloops-based agency dedicated to grasslands conservation has lost much of its public and private funding, forcing it to cut a critical program and further reduce staffing.

The Grasslands Conservation Council of B.C. (GCC), an independent, nonprofit society, is axing its education and outreach program and cutting staff time by 20 per cent.

Bob Moody, who became executive director of the council earlier this year, said the funding shortfall is similar to what other nonprofit groups in the province are experiencing.

“It became clear as soon as I started that the funding was in pretty bad shape, so what I’ve tried to do is raise the profile of the council and also attend more events,” Moody said.

A little over a decade old, the council received about half of its funding from private sources such as the Vancouver Foundation, Tula Foundation and the Real Estate Foundation of B.C., and more than half from the provincial and federal governments. But foundations have suffered the restraint of recessionary times.

“We were getting funding from a number of provincial ministries and all of that funding is gone as well,” Moody said. “Our feeling is, we can’t keep going back, cap in hand, time and time again.”

The organization already tightened its belt in April, reducing its staffing to four from eight through attrition. Cutbacks are bound to hamper the organization’s efforts to protect a threatened habitat and endangered species.

“We’ve made great strides in grasslands conservation, especially over the last two years. It’s such a pity to go backwards now, but in order to stay afloat, difficult decisions had to be made.”

There is further risk to the council’s federal funding, the absence of which would jeopardize its research work on species at risk and habitat stewardship programs. Confirmation of those funds has been late in arriving.

“It’s late in the process. I’m not an advocate of no news is good news.”

Specifically, the species at risk project would focus on certain species in the Cariboo-Chilcotin region with a view to creating strategies to deal with specific threats. Funding of $50,000 would enable that work to continue for another couple of years.

At this point, though, the latest cuts guarantee only that the council will survive for another nine months. Even the ministries through which it received funding — chiefly the ministries of environment and forest and range — have undergone drastic cuts, including the range branch specifically.

“It is quite serious. We need to build up our membership, and raising our local profile has resulted in increased membership. It’s happening. The thing is, it takes time.”

Moody is hoping that industry and particularly the general public will see the value in conservation work on B.C. grasslands, leading to financial contributions. In some respects, however, the plight of the organization is not unlike that of the grasslands, which are not well known outside of the region.

“That’s quite true. We’re a bit special here in Kamloops. We look in every direction and see grasslands. That’s unusual. They occupy only one per cent of B.C.’s land mass, yet nearly one-third of all endangered species rely on the grasslands.”

By the very nature of grassland ecosystems in a largely mountainous and rugged province, they are attractive for development. Those development pressures tend to increase in resurgent economies.

GCC chairman David Zirnhelt, a rancher and former minister of forests, said the organization fills a much-needed niche in the province.

“While it’s always good to find efficiencies and cut costs as a non-profit, our current situation will really hamper our ability to conserve this important ecosystem,” Zirnhelt said. “This will affect many of our ranching, government and non-profit partners. It’s a real shame.”