Environmental Issues
The natural environment of the Peace Region is home to numerous species of animals and plants, including some that are threatened or endangered. This region is divided into three ecoregions. The Peace River Basin Ecoregion is located along the Peace River and some of its tributaries and has the region’s mildest climate. Within this ecoregion, the Clayhurst Ecological Reserve and the Peace River Corridor Provincial Park, the Beatton River Provincial Park (at the confluence of the Beatton and the Peace Rivers), and the Kiskatinaw River Protected Area (at the confluence of the Kiskatinaw and the Peace Rivers) all have rich riparian habitat and are used for wildlife viewing. The Central Alberta Uplands Ecoregion encompasses the rolling plateau of the upland prairies from the Peace River to the Muskwa Plateau. This ecoregion has many wetlands with slow-moving streams and includes some high mountain ridges east of the Rockies. The Southern Alberta Upland Ecoregion extends southward from the Peace River basin to the Rocky Mountain Foothills and takes in much of the Kiskatinaw River watershed including Bearhole Lake. On the western end of the Peace Region is the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains Ecoregion, with the Peace and Hart foothills, where the eastward moving air from the Pacific Ocean loses much of its moisture.
At the same time the Peace Region is located in the Boreal White and Black Spruce Biogeoclimatic Zone which mixes upland forests and muskeg ecosystems. This zone receives little precipitation but long, cold winters and short, warm summers means that plants grow and decompose slowly. Forests usually mix trembling aspen, balsam poplar, white spruce, black spruce, and some lodgepole pine. Ungulates, like moose, caribou, and deer, are common here. Waterfowl inhabit muskegs and marshes, and birds and small mammals do well in the deciduous forests. The region is a major migratory corridor for many birds. Several species of freshwater fish are found here, such as the Arctic grayling, northern pike, walleye, slimy sculpin, flathead chub, lake trout, lake whitefish, northern squawfish and pearl dace. Several native species are at risk in this region, including Warbler birds. Likewise, the Arctic Grayling fish has had its habitat in the Peace River altered and grizzly bears have been pushed out of the Peace River Region as urban and agricultural development forced them into smaller habitat areas.
Role of the Peace River Regional District
The Regional District has a Parks function which recognizes and preserves designated areas. Currently the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) maintains four Regional Parks; Blackfoot Park, Montney Centennial Park, Spencer Tuck Park, and the Minaker River Park. The Regional District participates with senior levels of government and local organizations whose initiatives study and protect the natural environment. BC’s Ministry of Environment, as well as the federal agency Environment Canada, retains most of the jurisdiction for protecting environmental features.
Role of the Official Community Plan
The extent to which the Regional District considers the impact of development on the natural environment is determined in the Official Community Plan (OCP). The PRRD currently has voluntary Lakeshore Development Guidelines which could be made mandatory on some or all lakes. Another strategy is to use Development Permits which list criteria for new developments to meet with the specific objective of protecting the natural environment, its ecosystems and biological diversity. Alternatively, the OCP could support the Regional Board wielding discretionary power to refuse or place conditions on applications for development, on a case-by-case basis, that impact the natural environment.
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