A new proposal to legally safeguard a wildlife conservation and connectivity corridor on Fernie's western slope has led to discussions about land acquisition.
Local non-profit Elk Valley Regional Land Trust is interested in purchasing land on the western slope in order to legally preserve and protect the area from development and industrial activity.
The western slope is part of a key wildlife corridor that allows animals to migrate through the area on the way to other regions.
"One of the things that makes the valley special is that it is a globally important wildlife connectivity corridor," explained executive director Kevin LaRoche. "The Elk Valley, together with the Flathead, connect the American Rockies to their Canadian counterpart, and, in particular, to the Kananaskis and Banff Parks systems. The Elk Valley, together with the Flathead, is the spine of the Rockies."
LaRoche said that the trust is worried that with an increase in recreation and resource extraction, and expanding housing developments, the valley might not be able to fulfill its function as a wildlife movement corridor in future.
"There's very little room left," he said. "What is left, the scientists tell us, is functional. It's not as good as it could be, but it is absolutely worth saving and it is absolutely our last chance to do it."
The area of interest to the trust is a 946 hectare portion of land on Fernie's western slope, stretching from Fernie Alpine Resort and Island Lake watershed in the south to Fairy Creek watershed in the north. There are 16 individual parcels of land or parts of parcels that are located within these boundaries; a mixture of public, private, Crown and First Nations land, including the Galloway Lands, and property owned by East Kootenay Land Corporation and Shoesmith Enterprises.
LaRoche said discussion is underway with EK Land Corporation to purchase their property, which lies on either side of Fairy Creek at the north end of the corridor. The property is currently being marketed for a subdivision of 84 multi-state units and 109 single family lots, and LaRoche said they're aiming to acquire this land before it's developed.
A proposal to build a residential development at Galloway Lands passed last year at an RDEK board meeting with a vote of 9-6, with the condition that 250 acres out of the 450 acre holding be zoned for environmental protection and gifted to a currently unnamed conservation organization. LaRoche said the trust may not be the conservancy that is chosen, and in that case it would seek to work with the one that is to co-manage the land.
$7 million worth of funding is needed to purchase property from EK Land Corp. and LaRoche said the group has submitted applications to the federal government, senior conservancies, private foundations and philanthropists to help meet this goal. Two sources of federal funding would yield up to $1 million each.
The proposal is a result of over a year of conversations with wildlife scientists, landowners, recreation groups, and conservation groups, including VAST Resource Solutions, Macdonald Hydrology Consultants Ltd., and Dr. Clayton Lamb.
VAST found the area was an important connectivity corridor for 22 sensitive species, including the grizzly bear, American badger and westslope cutthroat trout, and is a winter range for ungulates like the moose, mountain goat, and mule deer.
It also discovered there are eight different species of tree in the area up to 250 years old, including the black cottonwood, trembling aspen, western red cedar, interior Douglas fir, western larch, lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce, and a hybrid of Engelmann spruce and white spruce, as well as some of the last old-growth trees in the valley.
Researchers advised the trust that over 25 years, a forest carbon project at this site could sequester 37,500 to 67,500 tonnes of CO2, which is the equivalent of 8,750 to 16,500 Canadian homes being powered for one year.
Macdonald Hydrology Consultants found that hazard to grizzly bears is currently high throughout most of the area due to encroaching development and that hazard to aquatic life is moderate, a result of sediment accumulating in Fairy and Lizard Creeks from high road density, affecting fish movement.
It also found that although habitat is still available for animals, it is less desirable because of roads and development.
LaRoche said that wildlife corridors allow animals to migrate through valley bottoms on their way to other areas, ensuring they can maintain genetic diversity.
When wildlife corridors are disrupted by development, LaRoche said it becomes difficult for animals to navigate around an urban area, resulting in genetic isolation and more vulnerability.
"It's not necessarily the survival of an individual bear. It's a questions of the survival of the species and maintaining the diversity within that species," he explained.
The trust is an environmental non-profit with representation from various local groups including Wildsight, Fernie Trails Alliance and Coal Creek Heritage Society. It was formed in 2019 by five residents who were concerned about the impact deforestation was having on the land in the valley. One of them was Roger Swierstra, who currently serves as director.
"We're not an anti-development organization, but development needs to be controlled and it needs to be looking at conservation values," said Swierstra.
"Our natural forest is our greatest living resource," he added. "Not only is it vital to the ecology of the region, but being a tourism town, it's also vital to the economy. When we talk about natural resources, we need to flip the script and look at where the real value lies."
Looking to the future, the trust has set a goal to have binding commitments of funding support from private donors and foundations, binding agreements to purchase land parcels from EK Land Corp. and Shoesmith Enterprises, and covenant agreements by 2025.
For more information, visit the Elk Valley Regional Land Trust on Facebook, Instagram or at www.elkvalleylandtrust.org.
The full report can be read online
