(Very) Rare Inland Rainforest Gets Full Protection!

British Columbia, Canada is home to a rare inland temperate rainforest that will be permanently protected thanks to the establishment of a new conservancy in the southeast of the province.

“It’s home to old-growth cedars and hemlock trees that are four metres in diameter,” explains Premier David Eby. “Over 250 species of lichen can be found in these forests, including some that are completely new to science. This is just a snapshot of the rich biodiversity of this area.”  

The 58,000-hectare conservancy, with cedar trees more than 1,000 – some close to 2,000 – years old, is located in the Incomappleux Valley, stretching from the Cariboo Mountains east of Prince George to the Rocky Mountains close to the Alberta border. Home to the highly endangered Central Selkirks’ deep-snow caribou herd, the valley is also the natural habitat for at-risk species such as grizzly bears, wolverines, and lichens. The latter provides food for mammals, nesting materials for birds, and a home for insects. With less than 5% of Canada’s inland temperate rainforest still intact, logging, mining, and large hydroelectric development will be prohibited or restricted in the conservancy. There are only two other places in the world where inland temperate rainforests grow so far from the coast: Russia’s far east and southern Siberia.