Graystokes Provincial Park is a provincial park located on the border between the regional districts of Central Okanagan and

North Okanagan North Okanagan was the name of a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia beginning with the election of 1916. Following the 1975 election boundary revisions accompanied the riding's renaming to Okanagan North. ...

in south-central British Columbia. It was established on 18 April 2001 to protect a large area of the ecologically diverse

Okanagan Highland The Okanagan Highland is an elevated hilly plateau area in British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. state of Washington (where it is spelled Okanogan Highlands). Rounded mountains with elevations up to above sea level and deep, narrow valleys are ...

east of the Okanagan Valley.

Description

Graystokes Park is set in the

, a plateau featuring a rich collection of

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

wetlands 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 ...

, meadows, and riparian habitats set within the larger

Okanagan dry forests Okanagan dry forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion in the Pacific Northwest of North America, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. It is closely associated with the Okanagan region of British Columbia and ...

ecoregion. The highland provinces critical mid-to-late summer habitat for local wildlife when the valley floor is no longer productive. The park is underdeveloped with no dedicated trails or running water. Motorized vehicles are forbidden from entering the park, with the exception of snowmobiles during winter months. Hunting is a popular activity during open season. Despite its backcountry nature, the park is rated as a Category II

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Ecology

Greystokes Provincial Park protects an extensive old growth forest dominated by subalpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. Large mammals found within the park include

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

mountain caribou A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

, moose, mule deer, and white-tailed deer.

References

External links

Graystokes Protected Area
Monashee Mountains Provincial parks of British Columbia 2001 establishments in British Columbia Protected areas established in 2001 {{BritishColumbia-park-stub

Description

Ecology

See also

References

External links