Biodiversity

The Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area supports an amazing amount of biodiversity. There are over 300 bird, close to 60 mammal, 17 fish, 6 reptile and 6 amphibian species that have been recorded in the area. Plus, there are thousands of invertebrate and plant species.

The Creston Valley is a migration corridor for Tundra Swans, Greater White-fronted Geese, and other waterfowl and is the largest regional locale for wintering birds of prey in the interior of the Province. It is considered that in British Columbia, the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area is second only to the coast as a flyway route for numbers of migrating waterfowl that follow it twice yearly.

There are so many wildlife species that use the area – close to 400 – that we could not possibly talk about them all! But here are a few interesting ones..

• The only known breeding population of Forster’s terns in BC.
• Home to six species of grebes
• Very high density of ospreys
• One of two known breeding populations of the northern leopard frog in BC

Warm shallow waters encourage luxuriant growth of the many important aquatic plant species such as pondweeds, arrowhead, duckweed, watershield and many more.

Aquatic vegetation plays an important role in the freshwater ecosystem including:

• Food for many species of wildlife – ducks eat the seeds, leafy parts and tubers.
• Nesting and den-building material for birds and mammals
• Habitat for aquatic insects, snails and crustaceans
• Cover for young fish and amphibians
• Protection to shorelines from erosion
• Oxygen supply and nutrient cycling

This richness and diversity of life forms would not be present on the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area without habitat management. Because of careful management of water levels, vegetation, and other habitat features since 1968, there are now more species and larger breeding populations of birds and other wildlife at the CVWMA than in previous years. Please see the Habitat Management section for more details on how we manage the area.