I have been fortunate enough to visit both Churn Creek and the Grand Canyon of Arizona but the view of California bighorn sheep in Churn Creek during the spring of 1974 still remains one of my favourite memories. No doubt what made the range survey of the Gang Ranch in 74 so special was that most of it was done on horseback as well as fixed wing aircraft and helicopter.
The importance of Churn Creek was finally recognized in 1995 when Churn Creek Protected Area (CCPA) was established by the Province of British Columbia to protect nationally significant grasslands and associated wildlife. The Empire Valley Ranch was added in 1998, bringing the total area of CCPA to 36,747 ha.
According to Friends of Churn Creek “CCPA contains significant Douglas-fir forest but the conservation and management focuses are grasslands and associated wildlife. Uninterrupted grasslands, which are among the most rare and threatened ecosystems in B.C., extend from the bottom of the Fraser River valley where big sagebrush is abundant to extensive mid elevation bunch grass ecosystems and high elevation grasslands of the Interior Douglas-fir zone. Many of the grasslands are in near-natural condition.
Resident and migratory herds of California Bighorn Sheep are a principal interest in CCPA. These herds are among the largest in North America. With its extensive natural grasslands, CCPA also provides habitat for many of British Columbia’s most threatened plant and animal species.
Secwepemc (Shuswap) people have been a part of the CCPA landscape for thousands of years. The Tcexwe’ptem (Empire Valley) band occupied the area until 1862 when most died of smallpox and survivors moved across the Fraser River to join other bands. Today, the area continues to be important for people of the Stswecem’c (Canoe Creek), Xgat’tem (Dog Creek), and Esk’et (Alkali) communities. Evidence of early Secwepemc occupation is contained in physical remains and memories.
Ranching has had a long and complex history within the protected area, beginning in the late 1800s and first decade of the 1900s. Initially, many families settled in the area but the many small ranches were soon consolidated, eventually forming the modern Empire Valley Ranch. This ranch continues to operate within CCPA, with range management guided by the approved management plan and BC Parks.”
As noted above the main focus of the CCPA is the conservation and management of the native grasslands. Fortunately we have many decades of research by provincial vegetation ecologists. For example I heard a recent presentation titled Past, Present and Future Forests in the Interior Douglas-fir by Kristi Iverson, research vegetation ecologist Ministry of Forests Cariboo region.
She started by describing how First Nations cultural burning practices maintained a much more open forest environment then used air photos taken decades apart of the same area to show how the forests became much more dense and prone to more severe wildfires.
She also described how fire ecologists have used tree ring studies and fire scarring to show there are generally low, moderate and severe classes of fires with the intense fires occurring during drought periods. It turns out that many of the First Nations cultural burning was intended to meet many similar objectives we have for our forests today. For example, increase preferred plant species, improve wildlife habitat, fire-proofing of areas around winter villages, fish camps and travel corridors. In future articles I will cover some of the latest work being done to meet the goals of the CCPA.
