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The Okanagan Region, a unique dry-land area of British Columbia situated in the rainshadow of the Cascade Mountains experiences hot summers and limited rainfall. This makes the Okanagan ecologically unique in British Columbia, and in Canada. Snowy Mountain Protected Area had been proposed as an addition to Cathedral Provincial Park for over 30 years. This 25,889 hectare (63,974 acres) protected area features attractive alpine and dry grasslands. In addition to being connected to Cathedral Provincial Park Snowy Mountain also adjoins Pasayten Wilderness and North Cascades National Park in the United States, and Manning Provincial Park and Skagit Provincial Park in Canada. As such, together these parks form a 1.2 million ha (2.9 million acre) complex, the largest expanse of protected wilderness along the 49th parallel, Canadian-U.S. border.


"Snowy Mountain Protected Area had been proposed as an addition to Cathedral Provincial Park for over 30 years."


location

Snowy Mountain Protected Area is located approximately 30 km south (18.5 mi) of the town of Keremeos, adjacent to Cathedral Provincial Park. It takes approximately 5 hours to drive to Keremeos from Vancouver by way of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1) and Highway 3. From Keremeos, it is easiest to access Snowy Mountain Protected Area by driving up the Ashnola forest road to the confluence of Ewart Creek and then by hiking along trails that come up Juniper Creek from the east side of Cathedral Provincial Park. Alternatively, the Protected Area can be reached by four-wheel drive vehicle along logging roads that climb the west side of the Similkameen Valley. However permission must be sought to drive these roads as they go through Lower Similkameen Band Native Reserve Land.


Click on the map to view an enlargement

wildlife

The Snowy Mountain Protected Area features the greatest vertical range of ecosystems of any park in Canada. It protects everything from dry, semi-desert, grassland valley bottoms right up through dry subalpine forests to the alpine tundra. This variety means that the area supports many types of vegetation and animals. Snowy Mountain protects crucial winter range for California bighorn sheep at Juniper Creek. Mountain goats, mule deer, porcupines, hoary marmots, and Columbia ground squirrels are also common in the area. In the lower elevation Ponderosa Pine forests and grasslands, the Protected Area supports species specifically associated with the dry Okanagan-Similkameen region.


"The Snowy Mountain Protected Area features the greatest vertical range of ecosystems of any park in Canada."


recreation

canoeistSnowy Mountain is a new protected area, created primarily for the protection of the areas rare ecosystems. Since the emphasis here is on leaving nature in its wild form, there are limited recreational opportunities.

It is possible to hike and wilderness camp in the park, but trails are limited and alpine hikes require route-finding skills. There are no facilities within the Protected Area. The trails in Snowy Mountain Protected Area, primarily maintained by guide outfitters, are suitable for use by horses.

There are some fishing opportunities in the park (please remember that a valid fishing license is required for fishing anywhere in British Columbia).

history

The Snowy Mountain Protected Area had been proposed as an addition to Cathedral Provincial Park for over 30 years. First proposed for protection in the late 19960s by Katie Madsen and John Woodsworth of the Okanagan-Similkameen Parks Society, in the early 1970s BC Parks planners confirmed its preservation values. The opportunity to protect it was recognised in the late 1980s by a coalition of conservationists in both Washington State and BC. This initiative was led by Lloyd Manchester of the Earthcare Society out of Kelowna and Mitch Friedman of the Bellingham-based Northwest Ecosystem Alliance. They were joined by the Okanagan- Similkameen Parks Society, and BC Spaces for Nature (whose Executive Director, Ric Careless, had co-authored the BC Parks plan for the protection of the area in the 1970s). Together these groups worked to ensure that Okanagan Land and Resource Management Plan concluded that protection of the Snowy Mountain area was a top priority. As a result, the park was established April 18, 2001.

Snowy Mountain Protected Area adjoins Cathedral Provincial Park on the Canadian side and to Pasayten Wilderness in the United States. These adjacent areas in turn link together the American North Cascades National Park and BC's Manning Provincial Park and Skagit Parks. With the addition of Snowy Mountain, this 1.2 million ha (2.9 million acre) complex completes the largest protected wilderness area on the 49th parallel, Canadian-US boundary.


"The Snowy Mountain Protected Area had been proposed as an addition to Cathedral Park for over 30 years."



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