Island News & Views
Events · 19th February 2009
Judy
BC’s Serengeti – The Flathead
The Flathead River Valley, tucked into B.C.’s southeast corner, is one of the last unsettled low-elevation valleys in southern Canada. The National Geographic Magazine calls this area “one of the most diverse and ecologically intact natural ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world.” The Canadian Geographic Magazine describes the Flathead River Valley as “a nursery, incubating wildlife that disperses and repopulates neighbouring habitats.”
The Flathead has the highest density and greatest diversity of carnivores in all of North America. It teems with many species that are threatened elsewhere, including lynx, fishers, grizzlies, wolverines and grey wolves. It has been compared with Africa’s Serengeti for its biological richness. The Flathead’s location at the narrowest point in the Rocky Mountain chain means that it is a mixing zone for plant species from north, south, east and west. Purple camas found in coastal Gary Oak meadows grows side by side with northern plants like the Arctic gentian. Water in the Flathead River is so pure that scientists like Dr. Rick Hauer, of the Flathead Lakes Biological Station in Montana, use it as a benchmark for measuring water quality in rivers around the world.
This remarkable valley and river are under threat from a coal strip-mining proposal and other industrial development. On Saturday, February 28th Sarah Cox from Sierra Club BC will give a multimedia presentation about the Flathead and explain how you can help protect this remarkable wilderness. Community Centre doors will be open at 7 pm with this Sierra Quadra presentation starting at 7:30 pm. This event is free, though donations towards expenses are appreciated.
The Flathead River Valley, tucked into B.C.’s southeast corner, is one of the last unsettled low-elevation valleys in southern Canada. The National Geographic Magazine calls this area “one of the most diverse and ecologically intact natural ecosystems in the temperate zones of the world.” The Canadian Geographic Magazine describes the Flathead River Valley as “a nursery, incubating wildlife that disperses and repopulates neighbouring habitats.”
The Flathead has the highest density and greatest diversity of carnivores in all of North America. It teems with many species that are threatened elsewhere, including lynx, fishers, grizzlies, wolverines and grey wolves. It has been compared with Africa’s Serengeti for its biological richness. The Flathead’s location at the narrowest point in the Rocky Mountain chain means that it is a mixing zone for plant species from north, south, east and west. Purple camas found in coastal Gary Oak meadows grows side by side with northern plants like the Arctic gentian. Water in the Flathead River is so pure that scientists like Dr. Rick Hauer, of the Flathead Lakes Biological Station in Montana, use it as a benchmark for measuring water quality in rivers around the world.
This remarkable valley and river are under threat from a coal strip-mining proposal and other industrial development. On Saturday, February 28th Sarah Cox from Sierra Club BC will give a multimedia presentation about the Flathead and explain how you can help protect this remarkable wilderness. Community Centre doors will be open at 7 pm with this Sierra Quadra presentation starting at 7:30 pm. This event is free, though donations towards expenses are appreciated.
(Flathead_DI.doc)