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The Challenge
BC’s Flathead River Valley is compared with Africa’s Serengeti for its richness of species. It has the highest density and greatest diversity of carnivores on the continent—16 species in all, from tiny martens to towering grizzlies. It is also home to more types of vascular plants than anywhere else in Canada—more than 1,000 wildflower species alone.
The Flathead River is one of North America’s last wild rivers. It has water so pure that scientists like Dr. Rick Hauer of the Flathead Lakes Biological Station in Montana use it as a benchmark for measuring water quality in rivers around the world.
Logging, off-road vehicle use and hunting of grizzly bears and other animals continue to threaten the missing piece of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and World Heritage site. British Columbia has no wildlife sanctuaries whatsoever in the province’s southeastern region.
The federal government has included the Flathead in its National Parks Action Plan. Yet the BC government must agree before a national park feasibility study can take place—a prerequisite for any new national park in Canada.