The Churn Creek Protected Area is a
provincial protected area in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It is a mix of dryland canyon and steppe and adjoining rangeland flanking the canyon of
Churn Creek
Churn Creek is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Course
Churn Creek flows generally north before turning northeast on its final leg through grasslands, joining the Fraser River just south of the headquar ...
and that stream's confluence with the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
at the northern apex of the
Camelsfoot Range
The Camelsfoot Range is a sub-range of the Chilcotin Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia. The Fraser River forms its eastern boundary. The range is approximately 90 km at its maximum length and ...
. The historic
Gang Ranch
A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
is just north of the Churn Creek Protected Area. The Empire Valley Ranch ecological preserve was added to the Protected Area in an expansion.
Geography
The protected area is located in the southwestern area of the province of British Columbia, in the
Cariboo region, on the southern edge of the
Chilcotin Plateau
The Chilcotin Plateau is part of the Fraser Plateau, a major subdivision of the Interior Plateau of British Columbia. The Chilcotin Plateau is physically near-identical with the region of the same name, i.e. "the Chilcotin", which lies between t ...
. It encompasses most of the drainage area of
Churn Creek
Churn Creek is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Course
Churn Creek flows generally north before turning northeast on its final leg through grasslands, joining the Fraser River just south of the headquar ...
, and its eastern boundary is the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
. The southern portion of the park includes a large expanse of the western bank of the Fraser, including the lower parts of the drainages of Grinder and Lone Cabin creeks. It also includes several small lakes. The terrain is deeply cut by rivers and creeks into canyons and benchlands, and the Camelsfoot Range rises to more than in the western extreme of the park. The Churn Creek canyon contains erosional features, such as pillars and
hoodoos
A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the ...
.
History
The Churn Creek area has been home to
Tsilhqot'in and
Secwepemc First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
people for at least 7000 years. After the discovery of gold in the Cariboo region in the mid-1800s, Europeans moved into the area. They brought with them the
smallpox virus
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) cer ...
to which the First Nations people had no resistance. The population of the Tcexwe'ptem band in the Empire Valley was drastically reduced by smallpox in the 1860s, with the survivors joining the Canoe and Dog Creek bands to the east. Ranching became an important industry in the region; two large ranches, the Empire Valley and the Gang were formed around Churn Creek in the latter part of the 19th century.
Conservation history
Parks Canada
Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...
identified the Churn Creek area as a potential park due to its populations of
bighorn sheep
The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspec ...
and other mammals, but opposition from local ranchers stopped the formation of a National Park. After the Province of British Columbia completed an assessment of environmental resources in the Cariboo region in the 1990s, the area was again looked at as a potential park. The province compromised with ranchers by designating certain areas within the park as grazing land for cattle.
Churn Creek Protected Area was officially named in 1995, and expanded in 1997 with the addition of the former Empire Valley ranch to the park.
It is one of five parks in the province to protect grasslands areas.
Ecology
Flora
In the lower reaches of the grasslands,
bluebunch wheatgrass
''Pseudoroegneria spicata'' is a species of grass known by the common name bluebunch wheatgrass. This native western North American perennial bunchgrass is also known by the scientific synonyms ''Elymus spicatus'' and ''Agropyron spicatum''. The g ...
dominates the grass species, with
big sagebrush appearing in clumps. Lichens and mosses are very common, covering up to eighty percent of the ground surface under and around the vascular plants.
At higher elevations, the
Interior Douglas fir begins to cover much of the land area. Deciduous trees such as
aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
and
poplar are present in
copses and near the rivers, creeks, and lakes.
Fauna
Several herds of bighorn sheep live in the park, with some spending the whole year in the park, and some migrating into nearby alpine areas in the summer.
Mule deer
The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer.
Unlike the related whit ...
are also present. The grassland environment is home to birds, bats, small rodents, and reptile species. Bird species include the
Brewer's sparrow
Brewer's sparrow (''Spizella breweri'') is a small, slim species of American sparrow in the family Passerellidae. This bird was named after the ornithologist Thomas Mayo Brewer.
Description and systematics
Adults have grey-brown backs and speck ...
,
Lewis's woodpecker
Lewis's woodpecker (''Melanerpes lewis'') is a large North American species of woodpecker which ornithologist Alexander Wilson named after Meriwether Lewis, one of the explorers who surveyed the areas bought by the United States of America as pa ...
,
long-billed curlew
The long-billed curlew (''Numenius americanus'') is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species breeds in central and western North America, migr ...
,
gyrfalcon
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a reside ...
,
short-eared owl
The short-eared owl (''Asio flammeus'') is a widespread grassland species in the family Strigidae. Owls belonging to genus ''Asio'' are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or ...
, and
prairie falcon
The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&nb ...
. Bats include the
Western small-footed myotis, and reptiles include the
rubber boa
The rubber boa (''Charina bottae'') is a species of snake in the family Boidae and is native to North America. It is sometimes known as the coastal rubber boa or the northern rubber boa and is not to be confused with the southern rubber boa (''C ...
and the
gopher snake
''Pituophis'' is a genus of non venomous colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes, which are endemic to North America.
Geographic range
Species and subspecies within the genus ''Pituophis'' are found t ...
.
The forests contain
flammulated owl
The flammulated owl (''Psiloscops flammeolus'') is a small migratory North American owl in the family Strigidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Psiloscops''.
Taxonomy
The flammulated owl was formally described in 1852 by the Germ ...
,
Townsend's big-eared bat
Townsend's big-eared bat (''Corynorhinus townsendii'') is a species of vesper bat.
Description
Townsend's big-eared bat is a medium-sized bat (7-12 g) , and
sharp-tailed grouse
The sharp-tailed grouse (''Tympanuchus phasianellus''), also known as the sharptail or fire grouse, is a medium-sized prairie grouse. One of three species in the genus '' Tympanuchus'', the sharp-tailed grouse is found throughout Alaska, much of ...
.
See also
*
List of historic ranches in British Columbia
References
External links
Maps of the Park, British Columbia Ministry of EnvironmentFriends of Churn Creek Protected Area Society– a non-profit organization formed in 2009 to help BC Parks achieve the conservation and cultural heritage vision for Churn Creek Protected Area, as outlined in its management plan.
Empire Valley Ranchentry at the BC Archival Union
{{British Columbia parks
Provincial parks of British Columbia
Canyons and gorges of British Columbia
Landforms of the Chilcotin
Fraser Canyon
1995 establishments in British Columbia