The East Kootenay is world renowned for its scenic beauty and biological diversity. Forest, shrub, grassland and wetland ecosystems provide habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species, including over 215 species at risk. The increasing pressure and demands on the land base, particularly on private lands, is accelerating the loss of habitat for native plants and animals.
The issues facing habitat are well known, as are the conservation actions needed to ensure the viability of these habitats and their inhabitants. How can we capitalize on conservation efforts so far, and move up to the next level of conservation where people are working from common priorities, and therefore, achieving efficiency, synergy and even greater success? Agreement on priorities can lead to immediate conservation dividends derived from sharing expertise, mutual project support, leveraged funding. Synergies can be compounded through effective communication between partners.
The East Kootenay Conservation Program has made excellent progress over the past 7 years. To date, partners have secured over 86,000 ha through acquisition in the East and West Kootenay and 4,500 through covenants.
If you climb
high into the southern Canadian Rockies there are places where you can overlook the entire expanse
of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The western horizon is the Purcell
Mountains which is separated from the Rocky Mountains by an enormous valley known as the Rocky
Mountain Trench. Two great rivers begin here, the Kootenay fl owing south through dry grasslands
with signs of historic wild fires; the Columbia flowing north through a series of long valley-bottom
lakes and lush wetlands. Another river, the Elk begins its journey in the Rocky Mountains and
winds its way along towering cottonwoods to join the Kootenay.
This diversity in the landscape along with variations in climate and water cycles, has created conditions and habitats that support rare plant life, productive aquatic systems, and abundant wildlife populations. These populations have often been compared to those of the great African plains. Such abundant animal life naturally attracts predators. Wide-ranging carnivores are still common here. Additionally, over 270 species of birds make use of the region. It is easy to see why the East Kootenay has a concentration of natural values that are of local, national and global significance.
Humans have used the natural bounty of the East Kootenay for thousands of years. The K'tunaxa-Kinbasket First Nations enjoyed a rich and well- established culture connected to the area long before the first fur traders arrived. They lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering. Fire was part of their way of life. Burning kept the forest from overtaking the grassland that supported a host of animals and plants.
The valley bottoms continue to attract people. They are the choice locations for human settlement, urbanization, highways and utility corridors. But these same valley landscapes are also the most critical habitat for wildlife. Human settlement and development in the East Kootenay has accelerated to the point that it is now affecting wildlife habitat and species.
The grasslands, dry forests, montane forests, scattered wetlands, and cottonwood habitats in the East Kootenay create diversity unique in the province. This provides the habitat for some of the region’s rarest species such as the badger, Swainson’s hawk, leopard frog, long-billed curlew and wild licorice. There is concern that the list of plants and animals at risk is growing, as is the list of species that are no longer found here. The landscape may remain as breath-taking as ever, but the animals and plants that live on it are disappearing. A coordinated conservation effort is needed to ensure the vitality of the East Kootenay and the enjoyment it provides.
For more information about the EKCP landscape, you may download our prospectus "Conserving Working Landscapes - A Framework for Conservation on Private Land".
