Dry Gulch Forest Restoration, Kootenay National Park

The objective of this project is to reduce the current forest ingrowth and encroachment of the open Douglas Fir forests and grassland ecosystems. Maintaining the natural mosaic of open stands and creating connectivity between these natural open grasslands would help restore vital ungulate winter range habitat and reduce wildfire risk in an area that has historically seen fire suppression. This will be achieved by thinning vegetation that encroaches on the open grasslands as well as thinning vegetation within stands of forest that would allow for connectivity between these grassland habitats. This project will contribute to the larger restoration efforts in the Redstreak Restoration area and the Stoddart Creek Restoration area (provincial) to restore open forests and grasslands. Decades of fire exclusion in this area has contributed to dense interior Douglas-fir stands that have crowded out grassland habitat. This has resulted in high fuel loads, increase probability of crown versus surface fires, loss of valuable understory forage and increased vulnerability to insect and disease damage (Government of BC, 2020). There are a number of public use areas surrounding the project area, including Dry Gulch Provincial Park, Redstreak Campground and a mobile home park located along Highway 95. Reducing fuel loads in the forest will lower the risk of a damaging wildfire in the area, which may threaten public infrastructure, private homes, and public use areas. The total project area is approximately 360 hectares.


Latest update

September 22, 2021 - The assessment decision statement has been issued to the proponent.

Participate

Contacts

Kootenay National Park
P.O. Box 220
Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia V0A 1M0
Email: noelle.summers@pc.gc.ca


  • Location

    • Kootenay National Park (British Columbia)
  • Nature of Activity

    • Remediation and conservation
  • Assessment Status

    Completed
  • Start Date

    2020-12-13
  • Proponent

    Parks Canada
  • Authorities

    • Parks Canada Agency
  • Assessment Type

    Project on federal lands
  • Reference Number

    81141
Disclaimer

This map is for illustrative purposes. The markers represent the approximate locations based on available data. More than one marker may be identified for a given assessment.

 

Nearby assessments

...within 200 kilometres
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