An area of dry, rolling hills in British Columbia's Interior known for its varieties of grasses and home to many of the province's at-risk species is being protected as part of a $54 million conservation project.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada said Wednesday the 60-square-kilometre site south of Kamloops, now known as Bunchgrass Hills, is the result of funding and work of businesses, individuals, foundations and the federal and B.C. governments.
"We're calling this new conservation area Bunchgrass Hills in honour of the many grass species that define and sustain the landscape," Nancy Newhouse, Nature Conservancy of Canada regional B.C. vice-president, said during a virtual news conference.
"It's not just grasses, Bunchgrass Hills conservation area encompasses the truly impressive mosaic of grassland, wetland and woodland habitat that will now be protected well into the future," she said.
Among the participants at the news conference was federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who said the federal government contributed almost $17 million to the project through the Canada Nature Fund.
"It is important to protect these types of landscapes, especially when they are home to endangered species," he said.
Newhouse said preserving Bunchgrass Hills will secure vital habitat and safe pathways for dozens of species living in the Thompson-Nicola region.
Several of those species are listed as threatened, including the great basin spadefoot toad and great basin gopher snake, as well as the American badger and Lewis’s woodpecker, she said.
The grasslands were once part of the 140-year-old Stump Lake Cattle Ranch and will still support sustainable cattle grazing, but the land will be managed for conservation, making Bunchgrass Hills the conservancy's fourth collaboration with conservation-minded ranchers, said Newhouse.
The nature conservancy said in a statement that funding for the protected habitat came from the provincial and federal governments and several private foundations and individuals.
Rolling hills of the grasslands are covered in bluebunch wheat grass and other native grasses, punctuated by Douglas-fir woodlands and scattered wetlands, forming some of the traditional territories of the Secwepemc, Nlaka’pamux and Syilx Indigenous nations.
Prof. Wendy Gardner, a grasslands ecologist at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, said B.C.'s grasslands comprise a small part of the province's total land mass but play a large part in the ecosystem.
"B.C. grasslands cover approximately point eight per cent of the province, but they're home to more than 30 per cent of our species at risk, making these areas hugely important for habitat," she said. "Unfortunately, these nature habitats are facing continued pressure due to a variety of factors."
Gardner said the greatest loss of grasslands habitat in B.C. is from development, particularly housing.
Danielle Cross, a nature conservancy director, said Bunchgrass Hills is a rare ecosystem that is an essential habitat for wildlife.
It filters water, provides clean air, stores carbon and supports local communities, she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 28, 2023.
Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press
