Flathead River Valley: A Climate Change Refuge

May 2011

Tsunamis, tornadoes, record precipitation and forest fires crowd news stories this year. Taken together, these signs of human-caused climate change can be daunting. But there is hope. British Columbia is lucky enough to be blessed with the wild Flathead River Valley, a crucial link in a wildlife corridor that offers refuge for plants and animals as climate change reshapes their habitats.

The Flathead, along with the Castle Special Place in Alberta, form the Canadian Crown of the Continent (CCOC) region. In a 2010 report, biologist Dr. Richard J. Hebda surveyed the flora of this important ecoregion. He found that the region’s “physical and biological diversity, as well as naturalness and geographic location, make the Canadian Crown of the Continent highly resilient to the impacts of climate change. Conserving and protecting this diversity and naturalness will be increasingly important as climate change progresses.”

Click here to read the full report.

In addition to its importance as what Hebda calls “a climate change adaptation hot spot,” the Flathead River Valley is an important buffer for the adjacent Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and a vital piece of the Yellowstone to Yukon wildlife corridor. Following a campaign by Sierra Club BC and other groups, the B.C. government announced a ban on mining and oil and gas development in the Flathead in February 2010 and this year promised to sustain the ban through legislation.

However, this is only the first step on the road to permanent protection, and the Flathead is still threatened by logging, grizzly trophy hunting, increased road access and quarrying.

In order to permanently protect the Flathead and safeguard its value as a climate change refuge, we need a National Park in the south-eastern one-third of the Flathead and a Wildlife Management Area in the rest of the valley and adjoining habitat.

A new official petition, created by Sierra Club BC and our partners in the Flathead Wild coalition, calls on the Government of Canada to do just that, to commit to the establishment of a National Park Reserve in the south-eastern one-third of B.C.’s Flathead Valley. Highlighting some of the Flathead’s many spectacular natural values, including its high density of grizzly bears, diversity of carnivores and plants, and its pristine waters, the petition will be tabled in Parliament and officially recognized by the Canadian government. Click here to download a copy of the petition for printing.

The issue of climate change is an enormous global challenge, but permanent protection for the Flathead is one simple step that could produce a lasting impact. As Hebda says his report, “The diverse relatively intact natural flora of the CCOC reduces the risk for serious ecological and biodiversity impacts in the future.” Allowing these plants and animals the space to adapt their ranges to climate change could mean the difference between their extinction and their survival!