New conservation area next to Kootenay National Park a boon for grizzlies and other wide-ranging animals

Photo: Nick Nault

The new Geddes Creek Conservation Area encompasses 193 hectares (477 acres) of Douglas-fir and montane spruce forest.

As development pressures increase in the Rocky Mountain Trench, wildlife habitat for species, like grizzly bears, is shrinking and becoming more disconnected.

To counteract this, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has added a new conservation area that links to a network of already protected and conserved lands in the region to give wildlife the room they need to thrive.

The new Geddes Creek Conservation Area encompasses 193 hectares (477 acres) of Douglas-fir and montane spruce forest, open grassy habitat and a seasonal creek north of Radium Hot Springs on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

The conservation area is adjacent to Kootenay National Park to the east and overlooks the Columbia Wetlands Wildlife Management Area in the valley bottom below. This makes it an important piece of the Radium wildlife corridor, identified by the Kootenay Connect initiative as an area critical for at-risk species and wildlife movement.

“Protecting the Geddes Creek area will improve wildlife corridors for several species, including Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and elk,” said Melanie Kwong, executive director, Parks Canada (Alberta).

These corridors are essential for wide-ranging species like grizzly bear, which are facing increasing pressure from habitat fragmentation due to development and land conversion. Grizzly bears are known to travel through Geddes Creek in search of food, mates and denning sites.

The conservation area also provides excellent winter foraging habitat for large mammals like elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer and white-tailed deer when conditions higher on the mountains become harsher in the winters. Endangered American badger also find open grassy habitat here to burrow and hunt for Columbia ground squirrel.

The land’s previous use as a Christmas tree farm has resulted in denser forests than would be found in this area naturally. NCC is collaborating with Parks Canada to determine next steps for the benefit of the land and the species that use it. NCC is also engaging with local First Nations to develop a better understanding of the cultural values of the land.

An access management plan is being developed so that Geddes Creek can be used by the public for walk-in access on its pre-existing trails.

This land purchase was made possible through funding from the partnership between the Nature Conservancy of Canada and Parks Canada, the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program and the Regional District of East Kootenay’s Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund.