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The Importance of the North Okanagan Grasslands Introduction Some of the public and all levels of government are beginning to understand the importance of biodiversity and are putting words to paper with the intent to improve our country's environmental protection and biodiversity of wildlife and plant life. We know that the Thompson/Okanagan/Nicola and other dry-belt areas of BC are very unique in this province and are very sensitive and vulnerable to ecosystem and habitat destruction. If urban development continues along the same path as in the last few decades, the natural ecosystems and biodiversity of wildlife habitat in these areas will be gone. The goals of provincial and federal governments are to protect 30% of land and water by 2030. This is just a number, if the right areas and connective corridors to maintain biodiversity of species are not considered. If in each ecoregion we protect, preserve and restore the areas of sensitive habitat and the supportive connectivity for wildlife movement and genetic diversity, then we will accomplish our international commitment to preserving Canada’s biodiversity. The Importance The Grasslands of the North Okanagan provide an important wildlife corridor for animals with an opportunity to move freely between two or more habitat patches or habitat types in an otherwise fragmented landscape. This movement is essential to provide genetic links between populations and prevent inbreeding, and to compensate for temporary population declines in one of the habitat patches. Reasons to Protect, Preserve and Restore Biodiversity, species at risk survival, recovery of extirpated species, wildlife connectivity from south to north, maintaining wetlands, gullies, ravines, nesting and denning locations as well as recreational opportunities and preservation of Indigenous cultural history. BC Government Ministry of Environment (published 1998) Habitat Atlas for Wildlife at Risk Preserve Ecosystem Corridors Excerpts from: https://www.env.gov.bc.ca/okanagan/esd/atlas/preserve.html Landscape Linkages For a functional biodiversity strategy, areas of similar terrain should link the core reserves. Landscape linkages should permit movement up and down the Okanagan Valley on both the eastern and western sides. We must also maintain intact elevational landscape connections from low-elevation grasslands, lakes and wetlands up to forests, rugged terrain and subalpine areas. Preserve Grassland Corridors The Okanagan is a critical biological highway to the British Columbia central interior. Originally, the whole of the valley could serve this purpose but the corridor is difficult to maintain with current urban and agricultural land use patterns divided between private, Crown and Indian Reserve ownership. The Okanagan Valley has been a vital landscape corridor and linkage between the grasslands of the intermontane areas and the Great Basin to the south, and the Thompson Valley and Cariboo-Chilcotin grasslands to the north. It still serves as a channel for the movement of plants and animals. It will become even more important as a corridor and landscape linkage with future climate change caused by global warming. Excerpts from: Sensitive Ecosystems Inventory: Vernon Commonage, 2005 https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/acat/documents/r4159/wha_4477_rpt_1149095902327_eb94b0d2ace348668725ad272a341dc2.pdf Extensive land development is fragmenting and encroaching on important wildlife habitats, contributing to wildlife and habitat declines. 1.2 Ecological Importance of the Study Area The Okanagan Valley is a region of nearly unparalleled biological diversity within British Columbia, Canada, and North America. The complex terrain of the area, combined with a semi-arid climate moderated by the influence of Lake Okanagan has resulted in a wide diversity of ecosystems and organisms in relatively close proximity to one another. The terrain and presence of glacial-relict lakes distinguish the Okanagan Valley from the broad Columbia Basin to the south. Increasingly, scientists are finding that populations at the edge of their range, such as those in the Okanagan, are likely to persist longer than core populations during population declines. This phenomenon may allow these populations to adapt to future changes such as global warming19. The Okanagan Valley is a north to south corridor that connects the dry interior valleys of British Columbia to southern grassland ecosystems of the Columbia Basin in the U.S. The valley is a corridor for migrating birds and a point of entry for organisms entering into B.C.’s dry interior from the Columbia Basin. The Vernon Commonage was identified in the Vernon Natural Features Inventory as an area that is regionally important for bird life, including a provincially significant year-round concentration of raptors. The area is relatively large and natural, only partly fragmented by roads and development, and has a great diversity of ecosystems, plant and wildlife species, landforms, and bedrock geology. The area received a very high importance ranking in the Natural Features Inventory for rare species and communities. With proper planning and management, the natural features of the study area provide the potential for long-term viability of many endangered species and sensitive ecosystems. The area may be an important area for the northward migration of species during global warming. Finally, the area provides many community values including aesthetics, hiking, and observing wildlife and nature.  Figure 1. Vernon Commonage SEI study area outlined in red.
Landscape connectivity: Disturbed grasslands provide buffers, and connectivity between other ecosystems. Rare vertebrates of disturbed grasslands Swainson's Hawk (R) (Buteo swainsonii) Ferruginous Hawk (R, COSEWIC-SC) (Buteo regalis) Prairie Falcon (R) (Falco mexicanus) Upland Sandpiper (R) (Bartramia longicauda) Burrowing Owl (R, COSEWIC-E) (Athene cunicularia) Grasshopper Sparrow (R) (Ammodramus savannarum) Brewer’s Sparrow (R) (Spizella breweri ssp. breweri) Lark Sparrow (R) (Chondestes grammacus) Preble's Shrew (R) (Sorex preblei) Merriam's Shrew (R) (Sorex merriami) Pallid Bat (R, COSEWIC-T) (Antrozous pallidus) Badger (R, COSEWIC-E) (Taxidea taxus) Great Basin Spadefoot (B, COSEWIC-T) (Spea intermontana) Painted Turtle (B) (Chrysemys picta) Racer (B, COSEWIC-SC) (Coluber constrictor) Gopher Snake (B, COSEWIC-T) (Pituophis catenifer ssp. deserticola) Western Rattlesnake (B, COSEWIC-T) (Crotalus oreganus) Long-billed Curlew (B, COSEWIC-SC) (Numenius americanus) Lewis's Woodpecker (B, COSEWIC-SC) (Melanerpes lewis) Fringed Myotis (B, COSEWIC-SC) (Myotis thysanodes) Western Small-footed Myotis (B) (Myotis ciliolabrum) Great Basin Pocket Mouse (B) (Perognathus parvus) Western Harvest Mouse (B, COSEWIC-SC) (Reithrodontomys megalotis) 16.3 Status Grassland ecosystems cover only 0.8% of British Columbia’s land area and many of these grasslands have been lost or disturbed. The SEI showed that disturbed grasslands covered 24% (1350 ha) of the study area. Although these sites had up to 50% non-native plants, they could provide a source of grassland ecosystems through restoration. In particular, disturbed grassland ecosystems that occur in association with other sensitive and important ecosystems are higher priorities for preservation and restoration. 16.4 Management Recommendations Although 17% of the study area is covered by undisturbed grassland; disturbed grasslands covered a greater proportion. These disturbed grassland ecosystems need to be restored to replace invasive plants with native vegetation. Where disturbed grasslands occur in association with other sensitive ecosystems, they have a higher preservation value and should be a higher priority for Provincially endangered or threatened (R-red-listed) or vulnerable (B-blue-listed) vertebrate species and natural plant communities as of June 2005 are noted. Nationally rare vertebrate species ranked by COSEWIC, as of May 2005, are noted as endangered (E), threatened (T), or of special concern (SC). Grasslands Conservation Council of B.C. 2002 Management recommendations have been adapted from McPhee et al. 2000 and Iverson and Cadrin 2003. Badger populations have declined Badger populations have likely declined from habitat loss, persecution and traffic mortality. Fragmentation of habitats has also likely contributed to their decline. The study area and the Bella Vista – Goose Lake Range are important refuges of expansive grasslands suitable for Badgers. What can we do? Providing adequate habitat and reducing human-caused mortality are the keys to Badger survival in British Columbia. This involves control of urban expansion into grasslands, establishment of protected areas, responsible stewardship of ranges used for cattle grazing and mitigation of highway developments. Conservation of Badger populations in British Columbia cannot be achieved without strong public support. Wildlife Corridors Wildlife corridors provide animals with an opportunity to move freely between two or more habitat patches or habitat types in an otherwise fragmented landscape. This movement is essential to provide genetic links between populations and prevent inbreeding, and to compensate for temporary population declines in one of the habitat patches. The habitat needs of all priority species should be incorporated into the design of the corridor. Corridors must be suitably wide, with appropriate habitat features to provide security cover during movement. Corridors usually consist of linear habitats such as gully or streamside riparian areas; they are often composed of two or more ecosystem types to provide complexity to the corridor. Development and roads should avoid these zones, and mitigation will be required where roads and other developments transect the corridor. Wildlife corridors were identified to connect core areas to each other and to outside the study area, including connections to Okanagan Lake and Kalamalka Lake. In some cases, corridors have already been fragmented by roads and connections need to be restored. In particular, it will be challenging to restore connections across Highway 97. Corridors, where possible, include riparian draws with adjacent warm aspect grasslands, and ridges. These habitat features are those most commonly used for travel between habitats. Larger scale mapping and additional wildlife inventory might identify some small areas that could be developed without compromising connectivity and other corridor values. This would depend upon the type and configuration of development, and site-specific issues. BC Government Farming, natural resources and industry Rangelands Ecology Excerpts from: Rangeland restoration https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/rangelands/ecology/restoration Ecosystem restoration is the process of assisting with the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed by re-establishing its structural characteristics, species composition and ecological processes. In the fire-maintained ecosystems of B.C.’s interior region, a lack of wildfire due to decades of suppression, the absence of prescribed fire and applying no other intervention or disturbance processes as an adequate surrogate for the role of fire, has contributed to trees encroaching onto historic grasslands, as well as excessive in-growth of trees in previously open forests. Hundreds of thousands of hectares have been affected by this ecological change province-wide, causing a reduction of ecosystem resiliency to climate change pressures and a host of negative trends in open forest and grassland ecosystems. Government management of fire maintained ecosystems To partially mitigate these adverse effects on Crown rangelands, the B.C. government is targeting fire-maintained ecosystems. In certain cases it may be necessary to initiate treatment activities on other key ecosystems as well. The expected benefits are ecological, economic, social and cultural. They include:
Extirpated animals Burrowing Owls Excerpts from: https://www.birdatlas.bc.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=BUOW&lang=en Over the past three decades, the Burrowing Owl population in Canada has declined from an estimate of over 3,000 pairs to fewer than 800 pairs, most of which are in the Prairies ( Environment Canada 2012). British Columbia Species Explorer (British Columbia Ministry of Environment 2014) gives a current British Columbia population estimate of 1-50 birds based on a COSEWIC (2006) estimate of 9 known wild birds. Designated Endangered nationally under the Species at Risk Act, and Red-listed provincially, the Burrowing Owl is also one of only four species to be designated as Endangered under the British Columbia Wildlife Act. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/plants-animals-and-ecosystems/species-ecosystems-at-risk/brochures/burrowing_owl.pdf Over much of its North American range, this owl is most abundant in active colonies of ground squirrels or prairie dogs, where numerous nesting and satellite burrows are available. This indicates that the availability of burrows is a major factor controlling the abundance of Burrowing Owls. Burrows dug by Badgers are also important in many areas. In British Columbia, habitats that are otherwise suitable for this owl have relatively few burrowing mammals. If we save and protect Badgers and their habitat in the Commonage, we can provide the way back for the Burrowing Owl and support the survival of many other species.
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My Story
I grew up in the lower mainland (Burnaby and Coquitlam) then moved up to Vernon in 2002. As long as I can remember I have had a connection with nature, I guess from playing in the small patches of forests near my house in both cities. A few years after moving to Vernon and working in construction, I saw first hand what the new housing and resort development was doing to the area and didn’t like it. I started to look at ways I could help change the trend. I got involved with the City of Vernon’s planning department to try and help steer the urban development toward a balance with the natural elements (creeks, wetlands and grasslands). Since then I have been communicating with North Okanagan Naturalist Club (member), OCCP, NCC, Sierra Club (was the chair of Okanagan Local Group), Allan Brooks Nature Centre (Director of Marketing for 2 years), Grasslands Council of BC and many others (since 2006 if memory serves). I first tried habitat preservation (grasslands, wetlands and riparian areas around greater Vernon) efforts by meeting with Barb Pryce (southern interior program director of NCC), the meeting went really well, but were unable to get any projects going. Next I worked with Sierra Club (chair of Okanagan Local Group for 5 years), I got some success with local governments and the media, but that was about it. Then last spring I read about the start up of BC Parks Foundation, so I started to compile information that would resonate with all like minded people with the understanding of what needs to be done in order to preserve and restore biodiversity in all ecosystems and habitats throughout the province. Locally in the North Okanagan, the Commonage, Bella Vista/Goose Lake Range and the Coldstream South Facing Slope Grasslands are all very important for connectivity from the Southern Okanagan to the Thompson/Nicola/Cariboo/Chilcotin, so my focus has been on that. So that's part of my story in a nutshell. Always passionate for nature Brad Foster  One Badger family can support the survival of several other species. There are only an estimated 25 to 30 Badgers left in the Okanagan Valley and only around 250 in all of BC.
Badgers are a grasslands and open Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir forests dependent species. This area provides key habitat for badgers and other rare grassland species. The badger plays a key role in the grassland ecosystem. It digs, aerates and mixes the soil, helping plants to grow. They are the only true burrowing predator in Canada and are important for the control of burrowing rodents. Their abandoned burrows are used by the endangered burrowing owl as nesting sites. Other rare species use their abandoned burrows for homes, too – such as gopher snakes, rattlesnakes, and possibly rubber boas. Badgers need a lot of space. Male badgers have been found to need a territory an average of 500 km². . About Ecosystem Connectivity Ecosystem connectivity describes the interconnected network of habitat patches and migration corridors that species require to survive.
Maintaining ecosystem connectivity is essential for species survival. It allows the required space for activities such as:
Connectivity also provides the additional benefit of moderating impacts of climate change by:
Where corridors are not possible, effective connectivity for some species can sometimes be achieved by small ecosystem patches (steppingstone corridors). By Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program (OCCP) It all matters. It doesn’t matter if we protect Woodland Caribou in the Rocky Mountains or the Spirit Beer in the Great Beer Rainforest. It doesn’t matter if we protect Badgers and Rattlesnakes in the Thompson/Okanagan or the Southern Killer Whale Pod in Georgia Straight or the salmon of the Stikine. It doesn’t matter if we protect Trumpeter Swans or Screech Owls. It doesn’t matter if we protect Sitka Spruce and old growth Western Red Cedar on Vancouver Island or Prickly Pear Cactus, Sage Brush and Bunch Grass in the Thompson Okanagan or wetlands in the Columbia River Valley, but it all matters because it’s the heart and soul of this magnificent area of the world, we call British Columbia. If we can preserve all the natural wonders of this province, we can show the world it can be done everywhere, because it all matters.
Imagine the Okanagan Valley having as much variety of out door hiking and wildlife watching experience as other areas in BC, like Golden Ears and Garibaldi Provincial Parks outside of Vancouver, Strathcona and Pacific Rim on Vancouver Island, Tweedsmuir Provincial Park in the Chilcotin/Coast Mountain Range. Well maybe that's not realistic, because most of those parks are almost the size of the entire Okanagan Valley, but we can have more Kalamalka Lake and Okanagan Mountain Park sizes and experience. Imagine being able to go out each day from your home or hotel if you are just visiting and explore a difference experience in nature, see different vistas, different ecosystems, different wildlife all within an hours drive or maybe even a short walk from your door. The Okanagan Valley is unique in that there are several different ecosystems and wildlife and their habitat in close proximity to each other.
By Brad Foster Some of the public and all levels of government are beginning to understand the importance of biodiversity and are putting words to paper with the intent to improve our country's environmental protection and biodiversity of wildlife and plant life. We know that the Thompson/Okanagan/Nicola and other dry-belt areas of BC are very unique in this province and are very sensitive and vulnerable to ecosystem and habitat destruction. If urban development continues along the same path as in the last few decades, the natural ecosystems and biodiversity of wildlife habitat in these areas will be gone. The goals of provincial and federal governments are to protect 30% of land and water by 2030. This is just a number, if the right areas and connective corridors to maintain biodiversity of species are not considered.
By Brad Foster |
