Will the real Flathead Park please stand up?
One third of the valley needs park protection
Have you heard of the proposed Flathead National Park?
Wildsight and other groups want Canada to protect a corner of the Flathead Valley in the B.C. Rockies as a national park reserve wilderness area. The proposed park—in the southeastern one-third of the B.C. valley—would have no developments except trails and some camping sites.
Based on extensive research, conservation groups also recommend the rest of the Flathead Valley—and an adjacent corridor along the Rockies—be designated as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA.) Traditional activities would continue in the WMA but wildlife protection would be prioritized in future land use decisions.
Why a national park ?
The Flathead River Valley is unique in southern Canada: a wide, low-elevation river valley with no permanent human settlement. It’s home to the highest density of grizzly bears in inland North America and to a mix of other species—including large predators like wolf, cougar, lynx and wolverine—that are disappearing from the rest of the continent.
“A national park is the only status that will ensure long-term protection for this part of the Flathead,” said Wildsight’s Ryland Nelson. “The land in question, the southeastern one-third, is surrounded by two national parks, one in Alberta and one in Montana. These two parks became the world’s first-ever International Peace Park back in 1932, a symbol of cooperation between two countries for the sake of a spectacular wilderness.”
The groups want protection for 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of B.C.’s Flathead River Valley to complete Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and Biosphere Reserve.
“This will round out the core wilderness sanctuary and help keep a precious ecosystem intact far into the future.”
What part of the Flathead?
“The farthest one-third of the Flathead in the national park is very different from the whole thing.” Nelson said. “One third is enough to fill in the missing piece of the Peace Park. This along with the Wildlife Management Area in the remaining two thirds will provide adequate wildlife protection, and that traditional human uses—such as hunting, fishing and responsible forestry—can continue in the majority of the Flathead.”
The biggest threat
Loss of habitat is the biggest threat to wildlife and wilderness values in the Flathead, even after the Provincial government put a ban on mining and oil and gas in the valley.
“Without the permanent protection offered by a national park, the Flathead’s potency as a wildlife incubator, a refugia, an ark, will diminish over time,” Nelson said. “We can’t allow our government to wait until it’s too late.”
