The Nature Trust of BC is raising $250,000 to protect 38.5 acres of sensitive dry interior ecosystems that is home to many species at risk such as American badger and sage thrasher.
The land, known as Showy Phlox Hills, is within the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Syilx People of the Okanagan Nation and the Nlaka’pamux Nation. The parcel is largely in a natural condition and is directly adjacent to NTBC’s White Lake Biodiversity Ranch conservation complex. Acquiring this land will expand a connected conservation network to over 10,500 hectares, including White Lake Grasslands Protected Area, Mahoney Lake Ecological Reserve, and Vaseux-Bighorn National Wildlife Area.
why is SHOWY PHLOX HILLS so important?
- Rare native grasslands: Approximately 70% of the parcel is classified as sensitive grassland, with additional rare and fragile ecosystem types throughout. Temperate grasslands are among the most altered and threatened ecosystems globally and are considered endangered on most continents.
- Habitat for species at risk: Showy Phlox Hills provides habitat for a wide range of species at risk, with federally designated critical habitat for American badger, western rattlesnake, Great Basin gophersnake, pallid bat, Lewis’s woodpecker, sage thrasher, and western tiger salamander.
- Home to an endangered plant: The entire parcel supports federally designated critical habitat for Showy phlox, a beautiful, pink flowering, threatened plant species.
- Sensitive Ecosystems: The entire site contains sensitive ecosystems, with potential for multiple provincially Red-listed or Blue-listed ecological communities.
Once secured, these 38.5 acres will remain intact forever, protecting biodiversity, supporting climate resilience, and benefiting future generations.
