Canada has some of the world’s last wild places. Are we keeping our promise to protect them?
In 2010, Canada committed to protecting a large amount of natural land by 2020 – Aichi Biodiversity targets.
Our world is facing down what scientists call the Sixth Extinction Event — a dramatic decline of the world’s living species, driven in part by habitat loss.
The Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program (OCCP), in partnership with UBCO and local and provincial governments, is taking action to protect land in the Okanagan – focusing on major wildlife corridors.
The Okanagan wildlife corridor extends from Vernon into Washington State. This corridor provides critical habitat for an array of plants and animals that are unique and rare, some of which are found nowhere else in Canada. This important habitat allows species to forage, migrate, and find a mate which is essential for their long-term survival. It also links the core protected habitat areas found in Okanagan Mountain and Kalamalka Lake Provincial Parks.
Protecting wildlife corridors helps
- Ensure ecosystem functionality
- Protect migratory species use
- Conserve remaining wilderness
- Preserve climate refugia
“The Kalamalka-Okanagan Mountain connectivity route is critically important - it’s the last low elevation route that bypasses the City of Kelowna.” - Dr. Lael Parrott, Professor, Director of the Biodiversity Institute UBCO
Learn more about the Okanagan wildlife corridor project by clicking here.
Find out how you can get involved in conservation activities here in the Okanagan in our blog post "Connect With Nature."
"Conservation is humanity caring for the future." - Nancy Newhall