May 7, 2010

Conservation Partners Working to Restore the Okanagan River

(Oliver, BC) The Nature Trust of BC and Ducks Unlimited Canada along with partners of the BC Trust for Public Lands and Habitat Stewardship Program are pleased to announce that 2.25 hectares on the banks of the Okanagan River near Oliver have been conserved as part of a restoration plan to restore original oxbows to the river. All parties wish to express their appreciation to the Schafer family.

Since 2005, there has been a focus to restore the Okanagan River to its natural flow. Following severe flooding between the 1920s and 1940s, the majority of the Okanagan River was channeled and diked. Almost 90 per cent of the riparian habitat was lost.

“Small wetlands and riparian areas such as the ones on this property are at high risk due to conversion to other uses given their valley-bottom location,” says Bruce Harrison, regional biologist with Duck Unlimited Canada. “This targeted purchase adds to the growing bank of conservation lands in the Okanagan.”

As the river reclaims its former territory, one of the major benefits will be the creation of additional fish habitat, including spawning grounds for rainbow trout, kokanee and sockeye salmon. The Okanagan River supports one of only two viable sockeye salmon stocks in the entire Columbia River Basin. Numerous species of wildlife, including the Western screech owl, the yellow-breasted chat, tiger salamander and the Western harvest mouse, all listed as endangered, will also obtain new habitat.

The Okanagan River Restoration properties contain slow moving water channels, temporary wetlands and riparian habitat. The property falls within Bunchgrass BEC zone which has been identified as 1 of 4 BEC zones of conservation concern as per Taking Nature’s Pulse: the Status of Biodiversity in British Columbia. In terms of overall species richness, the property is in an area that rates very high. These properties are adjacent to other conservation holdings recently donated by the Okanagan Region Wildlife Heritage Fund Society to The Nature Trust of BC.

The Nature Trust of BC is a leading non profit land conservation organization in British Columbia with a focus in the Okanagan. With the help of partners, The Nature Trust has conserved over 3000 hectares of private land and oversees an additional 40,000 hectares of Crown grazing tenure in the South Okanagan.

Ducks Unlimited Canada is a private, non-profit organization that conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.

Additional funding for this initiative was leveraged through the Natural Areas Conservation Program, a Government of Canada partnership that secures ecologically sensitive lands in partnership with Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

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For more information, please contact:
Robin Rivers, Communications Manager
(604) 924-9771 ext. 226