VICTORIA –  

Summary

• The Province is working with First Nations and other partners on conservation-planning projects in Qat'muk (west of Invermere), Skagit Headwaters (in the Manning Park area) and Raush Valley (in the Robson Valley south of McBride)
• This work will address watersheds, ecosystems and wildlife over a combined 127,000 hectares
• Feedback collected from the public during fall 2026 engagement opportunities will shape conservation recommendations
• The proposed conservation measures would support the B.C. government’s goal of protecting 30% of land and inland waters in B.C. by 2030 (the “30x30” goal)

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The B.C. government is moving forward on conservation-planning processes for three new project areas to better protect watersheds, ecosystems and wildlife in British Columbia. 

The Province is working on conservation recommendations for the Qat'muk area (west of Invermere), Skagit Headwaters (Manning Park area), and Raush Valley (Robson Valley south of McBride). These areas have had significant local, provincial and First Nations investment due to the cultural and ecological values they represent. Combined, these proposed areas would total approximately 127,000 hectares (0.13% of the provincial landbase).

This work will be done together, alongside First Nations, environmental organizations, communities, industry, residents and other partners, ensuring these conservation efforts are a credit to the work done and relationships built in B.C., and making sure the end results align with the interests of people in B.C.

Recommendations will be drafted through transparent and inclusive planning processes that will include public engagement before any final conservation decisions are made. More information about public engagement opportunities will be available this summer.

Conservation planning in British Columbia

Conservation planning is a targeted approach to land-use planning that is focused on protecting:

• biodiversity, including rare or threatened ecosystems, habitats of species at risk (e.g., northern goshawk) or keystone species (e.g., grizzly bear, salmon)
• ecological corridors connecting existing protected areas
• other intact areas of importance to First Nations

Conservation planning identifies the types of activities that stakeholders and the public are doing in a planning area. Then the best way to protect natural values identified by the B.C. government and First Nations partners is considered.

Learn More:

• Information about land use planning in B.C.:
  https://planninginpartnership.ca/lup
• Factsheet - Land Use Planning in British Columbia: What You Can Expect (August 2025):
  https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/natural-resource-use/land-water-use/crown-land/land-use-plans-and-objectives/factsheets/factsheet_lup_what_you_can_expect.pdf  

 A backgrounder follows.

Qat’muk:

• The area known as Qat’muk, and as Le7 té scenc by the Shuswap Band, is of significant cultural importance to both Ktunaxa Nation and Shuswap Band. It’s located west of Invermere and north of Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Park.
• Ktunaxa Nation has made significant efforts over three decades, in collaboration with local community and stakeholder groups, to conserve this area due to the habitat, biodiversity and cultural values it contains. The Shuswap Band also maintains enduring relationships with these lands and waters. Environment and Climate Change Canada has supported advancing these conservation interests.
• A conservation planning process could recommend conserving 70,000 hectares to connect the Bugaboo and Purcell Mountain Protected Areas and provide protection for important habitat and cultural and recreational values.
• If approved, a Qat’muk conservation area would support species at risk, healthy watersheds, grizzly bear habitat and stands of whitebark pine trees, and would improve ecological connectivity in the Purcell Mountains between existing parks and conservancy areas.
• A three-year pause on applications for new mineral tenures was implemented on Monday, July 6, 2026, to support the conservation planning process and ensure that the area’s values are maintained, while this work is underway.
• This pause does not restrict current mining tenure holders from normal, everyday operations in the proposed conservation area.

Skagit Headwaters:

• A proposed Skagit Headwaters conservation area would cover about 5,800 hectares in a pocket of Crown land between E.C. Manning Provincial Park and Skagit Valley Provincial Park, about 15 kilometres north of the B.C.-Washington border.
• Establishing a new conservation area would help protect ecologically and culturally significant lands within the Upper Skagit River watershed.
• There are no existing tenures in this area.
• There is an existing 2022 restriction on acquisition of mineral tenures.
• This area has long been an area of environmental and cultural interest to First Nations and environmental groups.
• From the perspective of First Nations in the region, this land is integral to their cultural identity and traditional practices.
• This area also provides a source of clean water to the downstream watershed that includes provincial parks, transboundary U.S. tribes and Seattle’s hydroelectric supply.
• The B.C. government and Sto:lo, Nlaka'pamux and Syilx Nations have established a collaborative, inclusive process to work on this project, with support from the federal government.

Raush Valley:

• The Raush Valley planning area is a largely untouched landscape that contains approximately 51,000 hectares of highly biodiverse habitat.
• It is located west of the Robson Valley between McBride and Valemount and east of Cariboo Mountains Park and Wells Gray Park, near the existing Upper Raush Protected Area.
• The entire watershed is largely undeveloped and is mostly free of roads, cutblocks and other industrial disturbances.
• It includes intact forests and wetlands from the valley bottom to higher elevations and supports a diverse range of wildlife habitats, old-growth trees and rare plants.
• The area is home to grizzly bears, whitebark pine trees and southern mountain caribou.
• The Raush Valley is also of significant cultural importance to Simpcw First Nation.