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What’s Here is Here: The Race to Conserve Napier Lake Ranch
By Lesley Marian Neilson
In 1974 an eager young Kamloops couple
purchased some land in the Nicola Valley.
The century-old ranch had been worked
hard and grasslands were the worse for wear.
“When we bought the ranch, the bunchgrass
was worn out,” says Agnes Jackson. “But the
land responds to good stewardship.”
Today, after 40 years of careful management,
the bunchgrass of Napier Lake Ranch
once again grows as high as a horse’s belly,
and a recent assessment confirms the grasslands
are in good to excellent condition.
“It’s been quite a challenge to bring it back,”
says Jackson. “This piece of land sustained
my family. It has been so good to us.”
Looking around the Nicola Valley, it’s easy
to see that much of the native grasslands
are being carved into smaller parcels and
populated with homes, hobby farms and
disruptive human activity. Industrial activity
and incompatible agricultural practices are
eroding the health of the native ecosystems.
Wildlife is being pushed to the margins or
simply disappears.
This is not the future Jackson wants for the
land that sustained her and her family for 40
years. Instead, Jackson is working with the
Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to protect
more than 1,300 acres of Napier Lake
Ranch’s most productive grasslands.
Napier Lake Ranch’s credentials as a biodiversity
hotspot cannot be understated.
Sitting in the heart of the Nicola Valley, the
ranch spans an important ecological transition
zone from mid-elevation grasslands to
Douglas-fir forests, linking a variety of habitats
that provide movement corridors for
animals shifting between summer and winter
ranges. Gently rolling hills of bunchgrass
provide cover for the abundance of birds and
other small animals that flourish here. Hawks
and falcons circle in the sky above, searching
for movement in the waving grasses
below. Cliffs and rocky outcrops are home to
hibernating snakes and bats, while pockets
of trembling aspen woodlands grow in the
gullies, providing shade and niche habitat for
wildlife.
Birds flourish in BC’s native grasslands, and
the ranch is particularly suited to provide
prime habitat for these species. Situated
in the Douglas Lake Plateau Important Bird
Area, Napier Lake Ranch is a known breeding
site for Long-billed Curlews and Sharp-tailed
Grouse, both species-at-risk.
“In the spring hundreds of Sandhill Cranes
come to the west side of the property,” says
Jackson. “If someone were to build a house
there and have a couple of dogs and some
Llamas, the birds would be pushed aside.
That’s what is happening – they are driven
into smaller and smaller spaces.”
BCnature Spring 2014
Sharp-tailed Grouse males squaring off
Photo: R. Howie
Conserving Napier Lake Ranch will protect a large, intact swath of native
grassland from development, while also allowing for some gentle cattle grazing
that follows the wise use established by the Jackson’s over their ranching
career.
“The key to making these grassland conservation projects succeed is to
combine habitat protection with sensitive, sustainable land use,” says Barb
Pryce, a program director with NCC. “We have been fortunate to work with
some of British Columbia’s most inspiring ranching families. Each of them has
learned by direct experience how to build a productive ranching business that
both relies on and enhances the native ecology of their land. Their knowledge
supports our conservation efforts.”
NCC is currently fundraising to purchase 1,318 acres of Napier Lake Ranch
and create a first-class conservation area. A key component of this project
will be to encourage more people to experience the beauty and vitality of the
grasslands by welcoming walk-in access to the conservation area.
“Grasslands are part of our natural heritage,” says Pryce, “Everyone should
know what it feels like to stand out under the big sky while the grasses blow
around you and the hawks circle above.”
Jackson too is hopeful that people will come out and experience the grasslands,
especially those who live in the city and can so easily feel disconnected
from nature. This is the legacy she truly hopes to leave behind.
“We can’t make more native grasslands, says Jackson. “What’s here is here.
We need to raise the awareness about them.”
Help make history
Conserving Napier Lake Ranch will make a significant impact on the natural
and cultural legacy of the Nicola Valley. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is
well on its way to reaching the May 8 deadline for raising $3.4 million needed
to protect this incredible grassland property, but still requires support of all
sizes to reach the goal. Achieving this target will ensure Napier Lake Ranch is
conserved and will support the stewardship of this and all NCC lands in the
Heritage Grasslands Natural Area – forever.
For more information and to make a donation, please contact barbara.
pryce@natureconservancy.ca or 250-497-8010 or toll-free 1-888-404-8428.
Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation’s leading land conservation
organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and
the species they sustain. Since 1962 NCC and its partners have helped to protect
more than 2.6 million acres, coast to coast, including over 1 million acres
here in British Columbia. www.natureconservancy.ca/bc
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