The road to a conservation win in Canada is a noisy one filled with many voices. So, when we have a win, we tend to get a little loud. This is your cue to make some noise now that the BC government has announced a ban on all oil, gold and coal extraction in the Flathead River Valley. The announcement came down during this week’s throne speech and it means big things for the environment.

 

Read the CBC story from Wednesday, February 10, 2010.

 

The Flathead River Valley is located in the southeastern corner of British Columbia and, in addition to being home to many familiar big mammals, is also home to more species of wild flowers than anywhere else in Canadat. And, since last fall, the Flathead River Valley has been a featured campaign on The Big Wild.

 

A ban on oil, gold and coal extraction is the third of five steps toward total protection of the Flathead River Valley. The fourth step involves setting up a wildlife management area that will ensure wildlife can travel freely along a protected north-south corridor more than 1000 kilometres in length. The relationship between these two countries is an integral part of the fifth step - the creation of an International Peace Park that crosses three borders: British Columbia, Alberta and Montana.Simply put, our work is not done.

 

One of the highlights of this campaign has been getting to know the people working to protect this eco-system, like Ryland Nelson of Wildsight BC. I challenge you to find someone more committed than Ryland to Canadian conservation with a yen for Star Wars theme music. Ryland’s videos are a staple on The Big Wild.

 

In the summer of 2009, a group of photographers from the International League of Conservation Photographers set off on a RAVE or Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition. The end result is some of the most beautiful photos I’ve ever seen of our Canadian landscape.