CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS ECOREGIONAL ASSESSMENT Volume One: Report Version 2.0 (May 2004) British Columbia Conservation Data Centre CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS ECOREGIONAL ASSESSMENT • VOLUME 1 • REPORT i TABLE OF CONTENTS A. CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS ECOREGIONAL TEAM..................................... vii Canadian Rocky Mountains Ecoregional Assessment Core Team............................................... vii Coordination Team ....................................................................................................................... vii Canadian Rocky Mountains Assessment Contact........................................................................viii B. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................... ix C. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................... xi Description..................................................................................................................................... xi Land Ownership............................................................................................................................. xi Protected Status.............................................................................................................................. xi Biodiversity Status......................................................................................................................... xi Ecoregional Assessment ............................................................................................................... xii Conservation Targets .................................................................................................................... xii Portfolio Design...........................................................................................................................xiii Portfolio of Conservation Areas ..................................................................................................xiii Priority Setting............................................................................................................................. xiv Threats Assessment....................................................................................................................... xv Conservation Blueprint ................................................................................................................. xv D. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 17 Background and Purpose .............................................................................................................. 17 Conservation Goal for the Canadian Rocky Mountains (CRM) Ecoregion ................................. 17 Planning Process And Results ...................................................................................................... 17 E. CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS OVERVIEW.......................................................... 18 Description of the Ecoregion ....................................................................................................... 18 Ecoregional Context...................................................................................................................... 19 Ecoregional Subdivisions.............................................................................................................. 19 Shining Mountains ........................................................................................................ 19 Sections and subsections ............................................................................................... 20 Section descriptions for the CRM ................................................................................ 21 Ecological Drainage Units ............................................................................................................ 23 Anthropogenic Influence .............................................................................................................. 25 Land Ownership and Management ............................................................................................... 26 Socio-Economic History and Trends............................................................................................ 27 First Inhabitants............................................................................................................. 27 European Contact .......................................................................................................... 27 The Early Years of Settlement ...................................................................................... 27 Population and Economic Growth................................................................................................ 28 Biodiversity Status........................................................................................................................ 29 F. ECOREGIONAL PLANNING PROCESS......................................................................... 30 Background................................................................................................................................... 30 Ecoregional Planning Steps .......................................................................................................... 30 G. DATA SOURCES AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT........................................... 31 Information Management.............................................................................................................. 31 Data Sources ................................................................................................................................. 31 Experts Workshops ....................................................................................................................... 33 CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS ECOREGIONAL ASSESSMENT • VOLUME 1 • REPORT ii H. PROTECTED AREAS ASSESSMENT............................................................................... 34 I. CONSERVATION TARGETS ............................................................................................. 36 Coarse Filter Targets..................................................................................................................... 37 Terrestrial Coarse Filter................................................................................................. 37 Aquatic Coarse Filter..................................................................................................... 39 Fine Filter Targets......................................................................................................................... 39 Vascular and Non-Vascular Plants................................................................................ 41 Rare Plant Associations................................................................................................. 41 Amphibians ................................................................................................................... 41 Mammals....................................................................................................................... 41 Wide-Ranging Carnivores............................................................................................. 42 Invertebrates .................................................................................................................. 42 Birds .............................................................................................................................. 42 Aquatic Animals............................................................................................................ 42 J. CONSERVATION GOALS................................................................................................... 43 Background................................................................................................................................... 43 Conservation Goals for Terrestrial Species .................................................................................. 43 Conservation Goals for Terrestrial Ecosystems............................................................................ 44 Conservation Goals for Aquatic Species and Ecosystems............................................................ 45 Conservation Goals For Wide-Ranging Carnivores ..................................................................... 45 K. VIABILITY ASSESSMENT................................................................................................. 46 L. PORTFOLIO ASSEMBLY................................................................................................... 47 Portfolio Design Methods............................................................................................................. 47 SITES Optimization Tool ............................................................................................................. 48 Suitability Index............................................................................................................................ 48 Units of Analyses.......................................................................................................................... 49 Expert Review............................................................................................................................... 49 Aggregation of Planning Units ....................................................................................................