Canada’s National Parks Agency promises to create at least one national park in each of Canada’s 39 “natural regions”. Natural Region 7, a large and impressive Boreal region in northern B.C. and the Yukon, still lacks a national park. CPAWS works behind the scenes to create a stunning and ecologically-smart park in this northern wonderland.
In 2007, CPAWS-BC contracted Jim Pojar, a well-known B.C. conservation scientist, to create an assessment of representative natural areas that would be best fit for a national park in Region 7. He found that there are 14 potential sites for a new national park and ranked them according to the importance from a conservation perspective. This information has since been presented to Parks Canada.
Reviews of each of these areas need to get underway for recreational and tourism opportunities, First Nations and government interest, and conflicts with industry. Once these are complete, CPAWS-BC will shortlist a few areas and then urge the Province of BC, Government of Canada and relevant First Nations to work together to see if a national park is feasible.
Region 7 is a boreal region, where intact areas of mountains and plateaus meet valleys and plains. Major rivers formed beautiful canyons and lakes of all sizes dot the region. In fact, the largest lakes in both B.C. and Yukon occur in Region 7. The region covers the northern interior of B.C. between the Coast Mountains and the Rocky Mountain Trench, and the southern two-thirds of the Yukon between the Coast-St. Elias Mountains
and Mackenzie Mountains.
Region 7 supports an estimated 68 species of mammals and 220 species of birds. The mammals include healthy populations of thinhorn sheep, woodland caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines and lynx, many of which require large areas of undisturbed wilderness for their survival. The area also sustains large quantities of migrating bird species including sandhill cranes and waterbirds, as well as large amounts of neotropical songbirds and birds of prey. A diversity of fish species includes all five species of Pacific salmon, various trout species, mountain whitefish and northern pike.
A large park of consequence in Region 7 will be important on a global scale. It is an immense opportunity to safeguard habitat for North America’s dwindling animals. Take a look at the map below – this is where carnivores and ungulates remain. This might become the only place in the world where they continue to exist in a rapidly changing climate. We have a responsibility to all of North America, and to the world, to protect this habitat.
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