Commonage Preservation Alliance sees this project as a phased project over time, with increasing Provincial Park Land connecting the Campbell Brown Ecological Reserve on Kalamalka Lake with Ellison Provincial Park and new Provincial Parks in northwest and the northeast portion of The Commonage with wildlife corridors connecting the Parks and Protected Areas. This may be done through easements, covenants, land donations or purchases. As these corridors are secured, it may bring the opportunity to create a hiking trail system throughout The Commonage.
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Commonage Preservation Alliance wishes to continue the work of preserving a large percentage of the entire Commonage. Additionally to the work being done in the City of Vernon and NORD's jurisdiction of the northern part of The Commonage, there is much work to preserve the special habitat and wildlife in the Lake Country portion of The Commonage.
We have a very short opportunity to preserve a very special area in the North Okanagan we call the Commonage. The Commonage is a representation of the natural, Indigenous and European settlement history of the Okanagan Valley. It has provided food, medicine, travel
and trade routes and seasonal homes for the first people of this area. It was settled and used for a short time cooperatively by both the Okanagan (Syilx) people and European ranchers. The Commonage sustained ranchers (new people) for more than two generations, inspired artists, filled the hearts and calmed the spirits of recreational users, sustained biodiversity of rare species of plant and animals. This area has been fragmented by residential developments and will continue to
be, and once it is covered with buildings or used for agriculture or resort development, there will be no way to get nature back. Yes the price tag to purchase these private properties will be huge, but it only has to be done once and the benefits will be for ever.
and trade routes and seasonal homes for the first people of this area. It was settled and used for a short time cooperatively by both the Okanagan (Syilx) people and European ranchers. The Commonage sustained ranchers (new people) for more than two generations, inspired artists, filled the hearts and calmed the spirits of recreational users, sustained biodiversity of rare species of plant and animals. This area has been fragmented by residential developments and will continue to
be, and once it is covered with buildings or used for agriculture or resort development, there will be no way to get nature back. Yes the price tag to purchase these private properties will be huge, but it only has to be done once and the benefits will be for ever.
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British Columbia's grasslands and wetlands have been relatively ignored when it comes to substantial protecting as you can see by the map above-left. The government has protected rainforests, mountainous landscapes and extremely remote and inaccessible areas. The grasslands and wetlands of the Thompson/Okanagan/Nicola/Cariboo/Chilcotin regions have had very little attention to large scale habitat protection. These habitats of lower elevations and valley bottoms are susceptible to urban, agricultural and recreational development that fragment the relatively small habitats that many species can only exist in. The map above-right shows the wildlife movement corridors throughout the North and Central Okanagan. Commonage Preservation Alliance has drawn in red where we think wildlife corridors should be set aside for the vulnerable at risk species that live in this area, as well as all the other animal that need to move over large areas in order to survive.