One of the most wild and beautiful locations in North America, and one of the most biologically diverse and important places on earth, just received news that it will be able to stay that way.
BC’s Flathead River Valley is the only large valley of low elevation in Canada that remains unsettled. The untampered, lush floodplain supports a staggering amount of plant and animal life. Now, everything from the dazzling array of fragile wildflowers to mighty carnivores like the grizzlies, can breathe a sigh of relief.
Just days before the start of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the Province of British Columbia announced a ban on all mining, oil and gas development, as well as on coalbed gas extraction, in the Flathead River Valley.
The news was unexpected, but most welcome, to many who have been working to protect the ecologically rich region. However, one further step would be the icing on the cake. “We hope the government continues to listen to British Columbians and soon takes action to protect the Flathead permanently – in the form of a National Park and Wildlife Management Area,” said BC Sierra Club spokesperson, Sarah Cox.
Conservationists hope that one day the area will be part of a protected network of parks spanning the Rocky Mountains of BC, completing the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, first established in 1932 as the world’s largest Peace Park. Such a move would further protect the area by prohibiting logging and hunting.
For a place so ecologically rich that it is compared to the Okavango Delta and the Serengeti, and for a region that is referred to as the “Crown of the Continent”, the ban is a critical first step which, for now, protects the Flathead River Valley from human exploitation.
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good work canada and congrats to BC & mother nature…this is a big first step