Bonanza Biodiversity Corridor

What is the Bonanza Biodiversity Corridor?

The Bonanza Biodiversity Corridor (BBC), located between the communities of Hills and Summit Lake in Area H North, links Summit Lake at the north end to Slocan Lake at the south end of the Slocan Lake Watershed. The 14,000-hectare BBC encompasses the entire drainage of Bonanza Creek, with the following hydrologic boundaries: North-South (Summit Lake to the north shore of Slocan Lake) and East-West (from the watershed divide for Fitzstubbs Creek) to the western ridge line of the Valhalla Mountains.

The BBC represents the broad range of diversity present in the BC inland temperate rainforest, characterized by productive interior cedar-hemlock and high elevation subalpine spruce and fir forests. The valley bottom contains one of the highest concentration of wetlands in the watershed and hosts a diversity of wetland types (e.g. swamps, marshes and fens) along with a rare assemblage of plants and animals. It acts as an aquatic filter for sediment, and provides vital nutrients to the lake, supporting its water quality and fish habitat. Bonanza Creek is one of the primary spawning grounds for Kokanee on Slocan Lake. The BBC is recognized as a vital wildlife corridor connecting the Valhalla and Goat Mountain Ranges. With ongoing climate change, the BBC and its connectivity to other wildlife corridors will provide a refugia for several wildlife species of concern and continue to grow in ecological value.

What is currently threatening the ecological health of the BBC?

Invasive species, wildfires, recreational pressure, climate change, and resource extraction are significant threats to the hydrologic and biodiversity integrity of the corridor.

What is the conservation strategy for the BBC?

The ongoing protection of the BBC, its ecosystems, habitats and hydrologic functioning remain at the core of SLSS PROTECTION activities and currently sponsored projects. In 2014, SLSS co-founded the Slocan Wetlands Assessment & Monitoring Project which inventoried and mapped the BBC’s rich and diverse wetlands until 2016. In 2017, SLSS founded the BBC Working Group, a collection of professional ecologists, biologists, conservationists and naturalists whose purpose is to strategically and collaboratively achieve PROTECTION of the BBC. In 2019, Environment and Climate Change Canada formally recognized the importance of the BBC for PROTECTING species and habitats at risk through its funding of Kootenay Connect through the Canada Nature Fund. In 2020, Environment and Climate Change Canada formally recognized the BBC as a Community Nominated Priority Place for PROTECTING through the Canada Nature Fund program.