Few details given other than map and news release

Wildlife habitat in the Okanagan is better protected today following new additions to the South Okanagan Wildlife Management Area.

Land totalling about 514 hectares gifted to the existing South Okanagan Wildlife Management Area. The additions will more than double the size of the wildlife management area to 903 hectares.

The lands in question represent riparian and upland habitat for important wildlife including several species at risk, such as the Behr’s hairstreak butterfly and the Lewis’ woodpecker.

The South Okanagan Wildlife Management Area was established in 1994, and this is its first expansion since that time. The existing wildlife management area and additions are not contiguous but consist of a series of ecologically important land parcels integrally tied to the Okanagan River and which conserve important habitat. The parcels stretch from Oliver in the north to the Inlet of Osoyoos Lake in the south.

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 wildlife management areas under Section 4 of the Wildlife Act. This designation gives the ministry additional tools to manage the land and associated land uses.