The South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program’s completed Biodiversity Conservation Strategy was introduced to the Regional District Planning and Development Committee at a recent meeting.
The SOSCP hopes that local government will embrace the findings and recommendations of the report as they seek to protect and conserve the natural environment of the RDOS.
The study raised some interesting points about environmental protection in the region - points that might challenge some current thought as to how best to protect the area’s natural environment.
One of the study’s most significant revelations was the degree of importance it placed on protecting remaining natural habitat in the region’s valley bottoms.
Half of all biodiversity values occur in the valley bottoms, even though it represents only one quarter of the strategy’s study area.
The strategy also pointed out that upland areas of the region are not as sensitive from a biodiversity standpoint. SOSCP Program Manager Bryn White told the committee, “We need to be focussed on the high biodiversity values of the valley bottom lands that remain.”
The strategy findings - and White’s comments are significant when one examines the regional debate taking place with respect to the formation of a national park in the area.
The majority of land in the proposed national park consists of the much less valued uplands area of the regional district. It would appear that the formation of a national park in the proposed area would not likely have the desired effect on environmental protection, since the concentration of biodiversity in the area is relegated to valley bottoms.
At the same time, the Kaleden waterfront property known as Sickle Point is an example of a lost opportunity to have an important piece of undeveloped valley bottom land added to the biodiversity landbank.
Several years ago the property came up for sale. While some interest was shown in acquiring the land for environmental protective purposes, it was deemed “too expensive” at the time to warrant consideration.
Since that time, the property has been purchased by private interests, who have proceeded to cut down trees, bring in fill, and damage the waterfront riparian areas. Reports of the damage during the initial development phase from nearby landowners spoke of wildlife fleeing the area as exvavators tore up their habitat. The shoreline of the property was damaged to the point that the regional district finally had a environmental restoration order applied to the property.
According to the findings in the biodiversity study, Sickle Point would appear to be a perfect example of the type of land remaining in the valley bottom that conservation efforts should be directed towards.
Today the once riparian point remains stripped of most of its original vegetation, and most of the wildlife that used to frequent the point have long vanished.
“All jurisdictions need to do something to protect biodiversity,” White told the board during her presentation, “there is no magic bullet.”
What the strategy results may be indicating is that the focus for many environmental groups over the past 10 years - the formation of a national park - is not the answer to environmental protection in the South Okanagan - Similkameen.
The current national park proposal consists of a large block of land, made up largely of highland areas.
It will not afford the biodiversity protection that a collective, unified effort to protect the remaining small portions of valley bottom that have environmental significance would have.