PENTICTON – Wildlife habitat in the Okanagan is better protected today following the establishment of the McTaggart-Cowan/nsek’tniw’t Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
The announcement by Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson creates the McTaggart-Cowan/nsek’tniw’t WMA on the east side of Skaha Lake. The new Wildlife Management Area conserves 6,491 hectares of habitat, including 6,375 hectares Crown land and 116 hectares of property owned by The Nature Trust of BC. The area is important for protecting species at risk and their habitats in the South Okanagan, most notably, California bighorn sheep, which use it in a number of important ways including lambing and foraging.
Chief Jonathon Kruger, Penticton Indian Band:
“I’m encouraged to see that we worked together in a government-to government way to protect this habitat for the priority of wildlife conservation, first and foremost. I would also like to note how proud I am of our traditional ecological knowledge keepers, such as Richard Armstrong for keeping our connection to the land alive though sharing its traditional name – a shared success for all people and our future generations.”
The McTaggart-Cowan/nsek’tniw’t WMA has been designated to honour renowned conservationist, the late Dr. Ian McTaggart-Cowan, and the site was chosen in consultation with his family. McTaggart-Cowan was a zoologist, educator and one of Canada’s foremost conservationists.
Originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, McTaggart-Cowan became an acclaimed naturalist and expert in the science of wildlife management. He devoted a lifetime to studying, teaching and conserving the natural resources of British Columbia and elsewhere. He won multiple awards during his distinguished career.
The site for the new WMA is also important to the Penticton Indian Band (a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance) who have provided a Syilx language name for the site. The word, ns’k’niw’t, is roughly translated from the Syilx language as “a gash on the side.” The name refers to the portion of the trail used by First Nations winding up and alongside a steep walled canyon south of the Skaha Bluffs for travel, trade, and to access medicine gathering areas.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations works to maintain and restore the province’s ecological diversity of fish and wildlife species and their habitats. One way the ministry meets these goals is through the management of the province’s various types of conservation lands, including the establishment of WMAs under Section 4 of the Wildlife Act. This designation gives the ministry additional tools to manage the land and associated land uses.