Picture of an elk

Since 2018, InnoTech Alberta (a subsidiary of Alberta Innovates) has been part of the Canadian Conservation and Land Management (CCLM) Knowledge Network, alongside Ducks Unlimited Canada, National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium coordinated by Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Resources Canada's Canadian Forest Service, and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology's Centre for Boreal Research. Together, these five organizations are supporting Canadian efforts in conservation and land management.

CCLM has launched a new online platform, the CCLM Portal. The Portal enables a coordinated exchange of knowledge between researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, indigenous organizations, non-profits and others working in the areas related to conservation or land management.

"When people launch land management, reclamation, orconservation projects, they search for resources from other parties to helpinform their decisions," says Bev Gingras, Head of Boreal Conservation Programsat Ducks Unlimited Canada and a key initiator of the CCLM. "There's a vastamount of work being done in these areas, but the information is often toowidespread or exists in silos, making it difficult to find."

The CCLM Portal aims to solve these problems by becoming a one-stop, centralized, go-to website for reliable land management and conservation resources. The website's current portals - wetland knowledge, boreal caribou, and land management - allow users to access hundreds of high-quality, relevant resources, including an interactive map of caribou projects. More than just a hub for data, the Portal provides the many organizations and individuals working in these areas with the opportunity to connect and collaborate.

"The Portal leverages the collective strengths of multiple organizations with a common goal to advance conservation and land management in Canada," says Bonnie Drozdowski, InnoTech's Director of Environmental services. "We will have a greater impact together than we would if we were to pursue something individually."