Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) [1] | |
Nearest city | Creston, British Columbia |
Coordinates | 49°10′N116°35′W / 49.167°N 116.583°W |
Area | 69 square kilometres (27 sq mi) |
Established | 1968 |
Governing body | Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area |
crestonwildlife | |
Official name | Creston Valley |
Designated | 21 February 1994 |
Reference no. | 649 [2] |
The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area is a Canadian river delta wetland and Wildlife Management Area near Creston in south-central British Columbia, on the floodplain of the Kootenay River at the south end of Kootenay Lake. Predominantly marshland, it was classified as a wetland of international importance on February 21, 1994, [3] and is also a globally significant Important Bird Area. [4] It is one of the "few significant agricultural areas of the province", [5] and is in the Montane Cordillera. 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 [6] and the only site with leopard frogs in the province, [4] 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. [7]
It covers an area of approximately 69.0 km2 of provincial Crown land. The wetland also contains the 15 km2 Duck Lake and 17 marshes. To the east are the Purcell Mountains and to the west the Selkirk Mountains.
The area is managed by the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area to prevent invasive species from establishing themselves in the wetland, particularly targeting cattails or reed canary grass. 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." [8] This also ensures broad biodiversity by preventing one plant species from dominating the region.
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.
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, biologists and nearby residents who wished to protect Duck Lake and its adjoining wetland habitats. 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 and flood cycles. [9]
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.
The Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area (NWA) located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River in the National Provincial Capital Region of Quebec, established on 28 April 1978. It is one of the critical habitats for the greater snow goose during migration. Flocks of tens of thousands of these birds stop over to feed on the bullrushes in the spring and fall. The tidal marsh was recognized as a wetland of international significance per the Ramsar Convention in 1981, the first North American site to receive that distinction.
The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana, then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region, where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.
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 the ecosystem in and around the water. The Kootenay Lake ferry is a year-round toll-free ferry that crosses between Kootenay Bay and Balfour. The lake is a popular summer tourist destination.
Creston is a town in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada.
Horicon Marsh is a marsh located in northern Dodge and southern Fond du Lac counties of Wisconsin. It is the site of both a national and a state wildlife refuge. The silted-up glacial lake is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States.
Oak Hammock Marsh is a marsh and a wildlife management area located 34 kilometres (21 mi) north of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The WMA is considered to be a Class IV protected area under the IUCN protected area management categories. The marsh is recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) for its globally significant numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds. It is a designated Ramsar site due to its international importance as a breeding and staging area for waterfowl and other migratory birds. It is 3,578.47 hectares in size.
Sasthamcotta Lake or Sasthamkotta Lake, also categorized as a wetland, is the largest fresh water lake in Kerala, a state of India on the south of the West Coast. The lake is named after the ancient Sastha temple located on its bank. It meets the drinking water needs of half million people of the Quilon district and also provides fishing resources. The purity of the lake water for drinking use is attributed to the presence of large population of larva called cavaborus that consumes bacteria in the lake water. The lake is a designated wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention since November 2002.
Polar Bear Pass, is a 262,400 hectare wetland and mountain pass on Bathurst Island within the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. The pass is on federal Crown land.
The Quill Lakes is a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake, and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of international importance via the Ramsar Convention. It was the first Canadian site in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, is a site in the International Biological Programme and Saskatchewan Heritage Marsh Program, and was designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site of International significance in May, 1994. The site is an important staging and breeding area for spring and fall migration of shorebirds. The site qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada for its globally and nationally significant migratory and breeding populations of more than a dozen species of birds. The IBA is designated as Quill Lakes .
Baie de l'Isle-Verte is a 22.2 square kilometres (8.6 sq mi) coastal wetland along the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. It was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 27, 1987, is classified as a globally significant Important Bird Area, and contains a National Wildlife Area and Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It is located in the Rivière-du-Loup Regional County Municipality, in the municipality of L'Isle-Verte.
Shepody Bay is a tidal embayment, an extension of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, which consists of 77 square kilometres (30 sq mi) of open water and 40 km2 (15 sq mi) of mudflats, with 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) of saline marsh on the west, and eroding sand and gravel beaches covering an area of approximately 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) on the eastern shore. The intertidal mudflats "support internationally important numbers of the crustacean Corophium volutator, the principal food source for millions of fall migrating shorebirds".
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. A rugged and mountainous ecozone spanning 473,000 square kilometres, it still contains "two of the few significant agricultural areas of the province", the Creston Valley and the Okanagan Valley. Primarily a mountainous region, it consists of rugged ecosystems such as alpine tundra, dry sagebrush and dense conifer forests. The interior plains are encircled by a ring of mountains. The area has a mild climate throughout the year, with typically dry summers and wet winters.
The Grand Codroy Estuary is a 925 hectare wetland on the southwestern coast of the island of Newfoundland in Canada, approximately 30 km north of Port aux Basques. It is "[one] of the most productive of Newfoundland's few estuarine wetland sites", and is "the province's most important wetland". It is a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, receiving this designation on May 27, 1987. To the south is a globally significant Important Bird Area.
Mary's Point is a 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) wetland in Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is at the head of the Bay of Fundy, just outside the small community of Harvey and approximately 40 km (25 mi) south of Moncton. Designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 24, 1982, it is also part of the Fundy biosphere reserve established in 2007, which also contains the Shepody Bay wetland. It was also the first Canadian site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve, as part of the Bay of Fundy Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. It is within the Shepody Bay National Wildlife Area, which is administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains. The CAF comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in Siberia to the southernmost non-breeding wintering grounds in West Asia, India, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
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