{"id":99833,"date":"2025-12-01T13:55:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T18:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=99833"},"modified":"2025-12-01T13:55:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T18:55:34","slug":"as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews y\u0313ilmix\u02b7m (Chief) kal\u0294l\u00f9pa\u024b\u02b9n Keith Crow says the Similkameen River is being failed by those tasked to care for it, and more must be done to protect the waterway for future generations. The river \u201chas been black for the last month,\u201d he told a room full of regional officials in sm\u01ddlqm\u00edx and syilx homelands on Nov. 21. \u201c(The Similkameen River) is where our name comes from. It\u2019s who we are,\u201d Crow added. \u201cAnd we\u2019re failing it.\u201d Crow \u2014 the chief of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) \u2014 made the comments during a meeting of the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table. The group consists of more than 20 elected syilx leaders, mayors and other regional government officials from throughout the region. It was&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F12%2F01%2Fas-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews y\u0313ilmix\u02b7m (Chief) kal\u0294l\u00f9pa\u024b\u02b9n Keith Crow says the Similkameen River is being failed by those tasked to care for it, and more must be done to protect the waterway for future generations. The river \u201chas been black for the last month,\u201d he told a room full of regional officials in sm\u01ddlqm\u00edx and syilx homelands on Nov. 21. \u201c(The Similkameen River) is where our name comes from. It\u2019s who we are,\u201d Crow added. \u201cAnd we\u2019re failing it.\u201d Crow \u2014 the chief of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) \u2014 made the comments during a meeting of the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table. The group consists of more than 20 elected syilx leaders, mayors and other regional government officials from throughout the region. It was... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2025%2F12%2F01%2Fas-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews y\u0313ilmix\u02b7m (Chief) kal\u0294l\u00f9pa\u024b\u02b9n Keith Crow says the Similkameen River is being failed by those tasked to care for it, and more must be done to protect the waterway for future generations. The river \u201chas been black for the last month,\u201d he told a room full of regional officials in sm\u01ddlqm\u00edx and syilx homelands on Nov. 21. \u201c(The Similkameen River) is where our name comes from. It\u2019s who we are,\u201d Crow added. \u201cAnd we\u2019re failing it.\u201d Crow \u2014 the chief of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) \u2014 made the comments during a meeting of the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table. The group consists of more than 20 elected syilx leaders, mayors and other regional government officials from throughout the region. It was\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1724,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/\",\"name\":\"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/01\\\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Turtle Island News\",\"description\":\"Your Source for Local News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Turtle Island News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"width\":140,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Turtle Island News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/TurtleIslandNews\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/newsattheturtle\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\",\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynda Powless\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/lynda\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News","og_description":"By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews y\u0313ilmix\u02b7m (Chief) kal\u0294l\u00f9pa\u024b\u02b9n Keith Crow says the Similkameen River is being failed by those tasked to care for it, and more must be done to protect the waterway for future generations. The river \u201chas been black for the last month,\u201d he told a room full of regional officials in sm\u01ddlqm\u00edx and syilx homelands on Nov. 21. \u201c(The Similkameen River) is where our name comes from. It\u2019s who we are,\u201d Crow added. \u201cAnd we\u2019re failing it.\u201d Crow \u2014 the chief of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band (LSIB) \u2014 made the comments during a meeting of the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table. The group consists of more than 20 elected syilx leaders, mayors and other regional government officials from throughout the region. It was","og_url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/","og_site_name":"The Turtle Island News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":725,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynda Powless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_site":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynda Powless","Est. reading time":"8 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynda Powless","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458"},"headline":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection","datePublished":"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/"},"wordCount":1724,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["National News","ticker"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/","name":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection - The Turtle Island News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-12-01T18:55:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/01\/as-the-similkameen-river-runs-black-regional-leaders-plan-future-of-watershed-protection\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As the Similkameen River runs \u2018black,\u2019 regional leaders plan future of watershed protection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","name":"The Turtle Island News","description":"Your Source for Local News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization","name":"Turtle Island News","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","width":140,"height":150,"caption":"Turtle Island News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/newsattheturtle","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458","name":"Lynda Powless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lynda Powless"},"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/author\/lynda\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99834,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99833\/revisions\/99834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}