West Twin Protected Area

In April of 2006, we secured sixty-four hectares (156 acres) of important fish and wildlife habitat along the Fraser River near McBride with funds from the Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program, the Fraser Headwaters Alliance, and the BC Trust for Public Lands. This parcel of land is 20 kms west of McBride along the Fraser River and lies within the existing West Twin Protected Area, the only protected corridor across the Robson Valley Trench. With this acquisition, we help enhance the protected corridor that West Twin Protected Area represents, thereby helping to maintain a wildlife corridor across the upper Fraser Trench.

Most of this new conservation property is made up of a mosaic of stand ages and stand types. Of importance is the large stand of mature cottonwood on the property: increasingly rare in this region of BC. An additional and striking aspect of this property is the fact that it represents approximately 3.2 km of riverfront along the Fraser River. Combined, this property provides vital habitat to many birds and other wildlife species; moose and deer winter range, and important fish habitat. The Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program provided the majority of funds for this acquisition. Their interest in this property is directly related to the nature of this habitat. Low elevation habitat like this, near Valemount, was lost to flooding when the Mica dam was built. This acquisition helps protect some of the remaining habitat in the area. This parcel will be owned by TLC and will be leased to, and managed by, BC Parks under a jointly developed plan.