Kootenay River Ranch is home to a number of distinct habitats that support a wide array of biodiversity, including bunchgrass savannah with areas of ponderosa pine, larch and Douglas-fir forest, and small wetlands. The savannah is a form of grasslands, which is one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems.

Kootenay River Ranch also falls within an identified grizzly bear linkage zone that runs from the Rockies to the Purcell Mountains. This makes the conservation area a critical corridor for highly mobile and migratory wildlife including the grizzly bear, which is listed as a species of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act, and the threatened Lewis’s woodpecker. 

By conserving private land, NCC is also helping endangered American badger populations, which are found in open forest ecosystems like the grasslands in East Kootenay. Private land conservation addresses a major threat to badgers: direct mortality caused by roads and collisions. 

Creating functioning ecosystems also means bringing back the natural processes that shape them. The landscape around Kootenay River Ranch historically experienced periodic low-intensity wildfires, which prevented the open forests and grasslands from filling with trees. When settlers arrived in the area, communities suppressed these fires, and as settlement expanded throughout the 20th century, grasslands and open forest ecosystems turned into dense forests. By thinning these forests, NCC is bringing back the open forest and grassland savannah that was present hundreds of years ago. With more intact and functional ecosystems, the area is better adapted and resilient to the effects of climate change while providing habitat for many species.

NCC’s stewardship work at Kootenay River Ranch also involves controlling the spread of invasive species such as spotted knapweed and hound’s tongue. Second to habitat loss, invasive plants pose the largest threat to native biodiversity.

With a focus on improving the condition and integrity of grasslands and open forests in Kootenay River Ranch, NCC can better achieve conservation for the wildlife that depend on it.