The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area is a Canadian river delta

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

and Wildlife Management Area near Creston in south-central

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, ...

, on the floodplain of the Kootenay River at the south end of

Kootenay Lake Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Kootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s–70s, has changed th ...

. Predominantly

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

land, it was classified as a wetland of international importance on February 21, 1994, and is also a globally significant

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. It is one of the "few significant agricultural areas of the province", and is in the

Montane Cordillera The Montane Cordillera Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is an ecozone in south-central British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, Canada (an ecozone is equivalent to a Level I ecoregion in the United St ...

. It stretches north along Kootenay Lake for approximately 20 km, and south to the United States border. It is both the only breeding site of the

Forster's tern Forster's tern (''Sterna forsteri'') is a tern in the family Laridae. The genus name ''Sterna'' is derived from Old English "stearn", "tern", and ''forsteri'' commemorates the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster. It breeds inland in North America ...

and the only site with

leopard frog Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the true frog genus Lithobates. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and behavior ...

s in the province, as well as one of the few Canadian habitats for the Coeur D'Alene salamander. Creston Valley provides staging and nesting areas for migratory birds on the

Pacific Flyway The Pacific Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in the Americas, extending from Alaska to Patagonia. Every year, migratory birds travel some or all of this distance both in spring and in fall, following food sources, heading ...

. It covers an area of approximately 69.0 km² of provincial

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

. The wetland also contains the 15 km² Duck Lake and 17 marshes. To the east are the

Purcell Mountains The Purcell Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains, which includes the Selkirk, Monashee, and Cariboo Mountains. They are located on the west side of the Rocky Mounta ...

and to the west the

Selkirk Mountains The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia which are part of a larger grouping of mountains, the Columbia Mountains. They begin at Mica Pe ...

. The area is managed by the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area to prevent

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

from establishing themselves in the wetland, particularly targeting

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...

s or

reed canary grass ''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern ...

. This is done by periodically drawing down the water level of the marshes. According to Brian Stushnoff, the area's manager, a strategy exists "to rehabilitate areas that get choked with vegetation, drying them up and then ploughing up the ground to get rid of the seed bank that develops over time." This also ensures broad

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

by preventing one plant species from dominating the region.

Wildlife Interpretation Centre

The Wildlife Interpretation Centre is located 11 kilometers west of Creston off Hwy 3 and is open May to October. The Centre features natural history displays, a hands-on science lab, viewing towers and a gift shop. Environmental educational programs and events are offered for schools, groups and visitors, including guided walks and canoe tours.

History

The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area was established in 1968, and acquired its mandate via the Creston Valley Wildlife Act. This followed nearly 26 years of persistence by

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

s and nearby residents who wished to protect Duck Lake and its adjoining wetland

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s. Subsequently, with assistance from BC Hydro and Ducks Unlimited, a system of dykes and other control structures were built to manage water levels in Duck Lake, and hence the wetlands, reducing the impact of yearly

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

cycles. Archaeological evidence indicates that First Nations have lived in the area for thousands of years. The area is the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa people.

References

External links

Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
- official site

{{Authority control Crown corporations of British Columbia Ramsar sites in Canada Important Bird Areas of British Columbia Kootenays Protected areas of British Columbia Nature centres in British Columbia