Important Areas to Include in the National Park Reserve
Riparian shrubs and deciduous forests along the Okanagan River are the most endangered habitats in the South Okanagan, and have the greatest diversity of life. Photo by Steve Cannings
Click on map to enlarge.
1. Snowy Mountain / Similkameen Valley
The 26 000 hectare Snowy Mountain Provincial Protected Area is the most ecologically diverse protected area in the province, containing 6 of BC’s 14 major ecosystem types. It includes alpine tundra, spectacular mid-elevation grasslands, and rare interior Douglas fir, white spruce, and limited Ponderosa pine forests. It is home to a wide range of wildlife, including California bighorn sheep, elk, cougars, black bears, and bobcats. Unfortunately, like virtually all provincial protected areas it is still open to cattle grazing and sport hunting. A national park designation would fully protect this sensitive area.
The adjacent, largely unprotected Similkameen Valley is characterized by beautiful sagebrush ecosystems, rare black cottonwood riparian forests and dramatic rocky talus slopes and cliffs. A connecting piece of protected land stretching across the Similkameen Valley should be established to link the Snowy Mountain Protected Area and the Southern Grasslands Protected Areas of the proposed national park reserve.
2. Southern Grasslands (Kilpoola, Chopaka, Mount Kobau)
A patchwork of provincial protected areas just west of Osoyoos, combined with the unprotected Crown lands constitutes the most significant tracts of southern grasslands left in BC. Unfortunately, all of these lands are still being grazed by cattle. The Crown lands here are also under the threat of privatization. National park protection would secure their future.
3. Vaseux Lake/ White Lake Region
This area has more species at risk of any national park proposal in Canada. The Vaseux / White Lake area, a mix of provincial protected areas, Crown lands, and private lands, is located in the valley bottom of the Okanagan River and at lower elevations. It has the most underrepresented and threatened ecosystems in the proposed park. Rare, biologically rich wetlands and small patches of antelope brush “desert” remain, as well as extensive tracts of rolling Ponderosa pine benchlands that don’t exist elsewhere in the park proposal. Again, almost the entire area is currently grazed by cattle, while natural habitats on private lands are at risk of being destroyed by expanding human developments.
4. North-South Connector
In order to ensure that species in the park survive over the long run, because this proposed National Park Reserve is comprised of parcels of lands, it is necessary to link the northern Vaseux / White Lake portion of the proposed park with the Southern Grasslands part of the proposed park. Connectivity ensures that wildlife have enough habitat to survive and allows ecosystems to adapt to climate change.
