A globally endangered rainforest with cedar trees more than 1,000 years old will be permanently protected in a new conservancy in southeast B.C.
Forestry giant Interfor Corp. has given up 75,000 hectares (185,329 acres), of its tenure in the Incomappleux Valley, a remote wilderness southeast of Revelstoke. The Conservancy was announced Wednesday by Premier David Eby, who called the valley’s rare inland temperate rainforest “one of B.C.’s greatest treasures.”
The inland temperate rainforest is home to substantial areas of mature and old-growth trees, some ranging in age from 800 to 1,500 years. The forest also supports hundreds of lichen species, some of which are new to science. It provides a habitat for grizzly and black bears, as well as a variety of endangered fungal and plant species.
The river system in the valley supports kokanee salmon and bull trout, in addition to numerous waterfowl and wetland birds.
“Protecting our wild spaces for generations to come is one of the most important things we are doing to create a healthier future,” said Premier David Eby in a press release. “Our actions to preserve the Incomappleux Valley and its rare ecosystem will make this one of the most significant protected areas established in the province in a decade.”
Stewardship of B.C.’s waters, lands, and resources will mean partnering with First Nations and working with industry, communities, and more to help us reach our targets for protecting B.C.’s biodiversity.”
Believe it or not, but less than five percent of Canada’s inland temperate rainforest remains, following decades of industrial logging and hydroelectric projects that flooded valley bottoms. Scientists have warned the rainforest will suffer an ecological collapse in as few as eight years if industrial logging continues, reports The Narwhal.
Interestingly, Only in two other places in the world – Russia’s far east and southern Siberia -does a temperate rainforest grow so far from the coast.
Speaking via a video connection, Chief James Tomma of Skw’lax te Secwépemcúlecw (Little Shuswap Lake Band) said the intact Incomappleux Valley provides a glimpse of what B.C. looked like prior to widespread resource extraction.
“Old growth was just seen as a dollar value,” said the chief, who is also chair of the Pespésellkwe te Secwépemc Leadership Council. “Now people will be able to go and look and see the grandeur that the Creator put before us … I’m very excited. It’s quite an honor. And hopefully, in the future, we can go up and take a look at it and see exactly what our ancestors and first contact walked through and looked at.”
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