Majestic trees and fragile mountain meadows need national park protection too!
Mt. Monica meadows are a beautiful example of a biodiverse wilderness landscape. Photo by Michael Wheatley
A hiker enjoys a wilderness trek through the forest. Photo credit: Joe Foy
Canada was the first country to sign the UN Convention on Biodiversity in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In signing this declaration, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney committed the federal government to protecting critical habitat to help sustain wildlife populations. The present federal government has additionally pledged to preserve the legacy of western Canada's national parks, recognizing the contribution our parks make to regional economies and human health, and their links to future prosperity. Creating the Bugaboo Rainforest National Park provides an exceptional opportunity for the federal government to meet its commitment to safeguard biodiversity and strengthen BC's network of world re- nowned, national parks.
Hiking and wilderness recreation
New economic growth in the towns surrounding the Bugaboo, like Revelstoke, Golden and Nelson is based on wilderness recreation and ecotourism, not resource extraction. Combining a healthy environment with the best economic interests of future generations means that regional planning needs to concentrate on maintaining or restoring the ecological integrity of the region. Photo left, a hiker enjoys a wilderness trek through the rainforest.
B.C.'s shrinking parks
That is, the land base is the same size but because of development and logging close to park borders (and in some cases right up to park boundaries), animals like caribou that frequently range across park borders in search of food are often cut off from vital habitat or other members of their species.
Such fragmentation is leading to declining wildlife populations throughout southern BC, including inside parks. To help sustain park wildlife populations, leading biologists are advocating increased habitat protection around parks. This sign in Glacier National Park speaks of the damage by industrial development on the park bound- aries.
Photo credit: Joe Foy
Chemical-free wilderness
Due to the exceptionally rugged terrain of the Bugaboo, much of the region is naturally isolated. As a result of this - as well as a vigilent citizenry who are strongly opposed to pesticide use - wildlife populations are likely to be relatively free of high pesticide and contaminant levels found in the rest of the province because of applica- tions routinely used in forestry, oil and gas developments and right-of-ways. Low contaminant levels could enhance recovery of endangered species and improve the overall health of biotic communities.
