I live in, love, or have been moved by the Okanagan.
This region is one of the most extraordinary places in Canada. The Okanagan Valley has more threatened, endangered, and rare species than any other part of BC — the South Okanagan alone is home to 30% of BC’s red-listed wildlife species and 46% of the province’s blue-listed species. Ancient grasslands, wetlands, and ponderosa pine forests shelter plants, birds, reptiles, and mammals found nowhere else in this country, like the Sage Thrasher, Pallid Bat, and Western Rattlesnake.
Sacred to the Syilx Okanagan Nation. Beloved by hikers, birders, paddlers, farmers, and families across the region. The ecosystems of the Okanagan are irreplaceable.
I am calling on the federal and provincial governments to:
→ Protect more land and water across the province through protected areas
And specifically in the Okanagan:
→ Finalize the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve
→ Support Indigenous-led conservation like the Ashnola IPCA
I am signing this statement to tell my elected representatives: we want to see this landscape protected and we want action now.
