Stikinereport Feb 2001.02.28
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Skeena District Management Plan Background Report July 31, 2000 Draft for Stikine Country Ministry of Environment Lands and Parks Protected Areas BC Parks Division Stikine Country Protected Areas Technical Background Information Summary – July 31, 2000 – Draft Copy i STIKINE COUNTRY PROTECTED AREAS TECHNICAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION SUMMARY Preface The Stikine Country Protected Areas Technical Background Information Summary is a compilation of technical information in preparation for the management planning process. Relevant information will be incorporated directly into the Stikine Country Protected Areas Management Plan. The summary has been prepared in cooperation with the Tahltan First Nation. The summary covers all existing provincial parks situated in the middle and upper Stikine River region, protected areas and protected area additions proposed for that region by the Cassiar Iskut-Stikine (CIS) Land and Resources Management Plan (LRMP), and the Mt. Edziza Zone (formerly the Mt. Edziza Recreation Area). Although the Mt. Edziza Zone is not a protected area, it is an integral component of the Mt. Edziza ecosystem and is an essential part of the discussion for Mt. Edziza Park. The CIS LRMP proposed new protected areas, additions to existing protected areas and adjustments to the boundary of the former Stikine River Recreation Area and upgrading the Stikine River Recreation Area to Class A Park status. For ecological and administrative reasons, BC Parks is proposing to realign the Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park boundary to include the Mount Brock portion of the Upper Stikine/Spatsizi Extension proposed by the CIS LRMP. The analysis contained in this report is based upon the proposed protected area boundaries as at May 2000. The final protected area boundaries are slightly different from those used in this report, specifically those for the Stikine River Park and the Klastline addition. As result some of the area figures in the analyses presented may be slightly higher, in the order of about 3000 ha than if based on the final protected area boundaries. The following protected areas have recently been added to the Stikine protected area planning process and are not included in this analysis: Ningunsaw River Park and Ecological Reserve, Tuya Mountains Provincial Park, Great Glacier Provincial Park, Craig Headwaters Protected Area, Lava Forks Provincial Park, Boya Lake Provincial Park, Border Lake Provincial Park, Choquette Hotsprings Provincial Park, and Iskut River Hotsprings Provincial Park. For the purposes of the Stikine Country Protected Areas Technical Background Information Summary, the parks and protected areas are organized into the following units (Figure1): · Kinaskan Lake Park · Todagin Mountain Park (CIS LRMP proposal) · Mount Edziza Park o Mount Edziza Park o Mess Lake (CIS LRMP proposal) o Klastline River (CIS LRMP proposal) · Mount Edziza Zone · Stikine River Park o Stikine Grand Canyon (CIS LRMP proposal) o Upper Stikine/Spatsizi Extension (CIS LRMP proposal) § excluding Metsantan and Mt. Brock areas · Pitman River Protected Area · Chukachida River Protected Area · Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park o Spatsizi Plateau Wilderness Park o Metsantan (CIS LRMP proposal) o Mt. Brock portion of Upper Stikine/Spatsizi Extension (CIS LRMP proposal) · Gladys Lake Ecological Reserve · Spatsizi Headwaters Park ii · Tatlatui Wilderness Park Details and chronology for each protected area is presented in Appendix 1. The summary is organized into sections listed in the Table of Contents. Wherever possible each section includes an overall discussion for all the protected areas, a table summarizing the information for each protected area, and any significant information specific to a particular protected area. Information sources included: the BC Parks’ Skeena District Protected Areas catalogues, library files, databases and staff; Cassiar-Iskut-Stikine LRMP documents and maps; BC Environment files; BC Lands files; adjacent LRMP documents; and discussions with staff in the Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks, the Ministry of Forests, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, Canadian Forest Service and the Geological Survey of Canada (Appendix 2). Stikine Country Protected Areas Technical Background Information Summary – July 31, 2000 – Draft Copy iii Table of Contents 1 Natural Values ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Physical Features ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Climate.................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 Physiography and Geology..................................................................................................... 1 1.1.3 Hydrology................................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.4 Significant Physical Features.................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Biological Features ..................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1 Vegetation............................................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1.1 Biogeoclimatic Zones....................................................................................................... 5 1.2.1.2 Forest Cover .................................................................................................................... 7 1.2.1.3 Ecoregion Representation ............................................................................................... 9 1.2.1.4 Rare and Sensitive Plants and Vegetation Ecosystems ................................................. 9 1.2.2 Fish ....................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2.2.1 Species and Distribution................................................................................................ 14 1.2.2.2 Rare and Endangered Fish ........................................................................................... 16 1.2.3 Wildlife................................................................................................................................... 17 1.2.3.1 Inventory and Research................................................................................................. 17 1.2.3.2 Caribou .......................................................................................................................... 17 1.2.3.3 Stone’s Sheep ............................................................................................................... 19 1.2.3.4 Mountain Goats ............................................................................................................. 21 1.2.3.5 Moose ............................................................................................................................ 23 1.2.3.6 Grizzly Bears ................................................................................................................. 23 1.2.3.7 Wolves ........................................................................................................................... 25 1.2.3.8 Other Wildlife ................................................................................................................. 25 1.2.3.9 Rare and Sensitive Species .......................................................................................... 27 1.2.3.10 Prescribed Burning ........................................................................................................ 27 1.2.4 Ecosystem Dynamics/Processes.......................................................................................... 28 1.2.4.1 Natural Disturbance Factors.......................................................................................... 28 1.2.4.2 Predator/Prey Relationships.......................................................................................... 35 1.2.4.3 Wildlife Movements........................................................................................................ 37 1.2.5 Significant Biological Features.............................................................................................. 37 2 Natural Values - Human Uses............................................................................................................. 39 2.1 Hunting ..................................................................................................................................... 39 2.2 Angling...................................................................................................................................... 42 2.3 Trapping.................................................................................................................................... 43 3 Cultural Values .................................................................................................................................... 45 3.1 First Nations History and Cultural Values................................................................................. 45 3.1.1 First Nations Traditional Territories......................................................................................