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Tucked into the west Kootenay region of southern British Columbia, and nestled between large low elevation lakes, Goat Range Provincial Park is an area of wild drama. It encompasses a wide range of ecosystems, from lush valley bottom to open alpine. The 78,947 hectares (195,086 acres) of the park include not only important interior wet belt old growth and expansive high country but also a variety of sparkling lakes, untamed rivers and fast flowing creeks. These secluded and wild waters are home to fish of legendary size, which help to sustain the park's other wildlife, including rare white hued grizzly bears. The Goat Range is the only place in BC where grizzlies with this unusual coloration are found.
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"These secluded and wild waters are home to fish of legendary size, which help to support the park's other wildlife, including rare white hued grizzly bears."
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Goat Range Provincial Park is located in the Selkirk Mountains of the Kootenay Region. The valleys on both sides of this range feature large lakes, and the park is located between Arrow and Duncan Lakes in the north and Slocan and Kootenay Lakes in the south. The park is reached by driving north from the town of Nelson on Highway 3a along the north shore of Kootenay Lake to Highway 31. Alternatively, it is possible to reach Highway 31 from the west, taking Highway 31a from New Denver. Once on Highway 31 continue north from the tiny town of Kaslo for about 80 km (50 mi) (about midway the road becomes gravel). Highway 31 travels directly through the northern portion of the park.
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"...Goat Range Park is the only spawning location of the well-known and renowned giant Gerrard rainbow trout."
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Goat Range Provincial Park is an excellent place for backcountry hiking. While there are no facilities in the park, there are plenty of beautiful opportunities for backcountry camping. The excellent subalpine flower meadows and vistas into the Selkirk Mountains make the high altitude hiking in the park particularly stunning.
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"Goat Range Provincial Park is an excellent place for backcountry hiking...there are plenty of beautiful opportunities for backcountry camping."
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Goat Range Park is an important area because it contains critical habitat for several species of large mammals. The park is home to a unique variety of grizzly bears, which exhibit a distinctly white coloration to their fur. Elk, mountain goat and woodland caribou all depend on the park's habitat to ensure their survival. Waterways within the park are also important habitats. In fact Goat Range Park is the only spawning location of the renowned giant Gerrard rainbow trout. Kootenay Lake Kokanee spawn in the park as well.
The park also contains examples of mid to high-elevation wet belt forests, including important stands of old-growth trees. The park's Interior Cedar Hemlock forests, with their heavy underbrush and abundance of ferns and shrubs are particularly interesting, as they are very reminiscent of the coastal rainforest. At the highest elevations there are expansive alpine meadows.
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The Selkirk Mountain area was home to several native groups, and the land contained within Goat Range Park was important to the Shuswap, Ktunaxa/Kinbasket and Okanagan peoples. With the arrival of Europeans the area became subject to mining and logging. There is sign of this historical use within the park, including a townsite and railway station located at the south end of Trout Lake.
The area was originally proposed for protection under the name of White Grizzly, by the Valhalla Society in the mid-1980s. Wayne McCrory, a bear biologist, was an especially strong advocate for this issue, as was his sister Colleen McCrory. Wayne, based in nearby New Denver, had undertaken some of the original grizzly research in the area and had been the first person to inform the public about the existence of the uniquely coloured race of bears found in the Goat Range. Subsequently, following the suggestions of citizens involved in the West Kootenay Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) negotiations, Goat Range Provincial Park was recommended for protection in the 1995. Shortly thereafter the area was formally designated a Class A park by the BC government.
"As a result of the West Kootenay Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) negotiations Goat Range Provincial Park was protected."
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