Seven out of ten Kootenay residents want to protect the Flathead River Valley as a national park, according to new polling results released today by Wildsight and Sierra Club BC. The poll, conducted by McAllister Opinion Research, found that 73 per cent of residents in East Kootenay, Nelson-Creston and Columbia River-Revelstoke favour protecting the Flathead River Valley in southeastern B.C.

The Flathead River Valley is compared to Africa’s Serengeti for its richness of plant species and was recently called “a nursery” for wildlife by Canadian Geographic magazine. The valley is under threat from proposals for coal strip mining, coalbed methane drilling and unbridled mineral extraction.

Only 16 percent of residents polled said they oppose a national park in the Flathead.

Sierra Club BC and Wildsight are calling for the lower one-third of the Flathead River Valley to be protected as a national park and for a Wildlife Management Area to be established in the rest of this biologically-rich valley. B.C.’s Flathead River Valley is a key area in the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and an integral part of the “Crown of the Continent” eco-region that includes Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Alberta and Montana–a World Heritage Site and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

“People who live here know the Flathead River Valley deserves the same level of protection and recognition as Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight’s Southern Rockies program manager. “These polling results confirm the impression we get from talking to people around the Kootenays-that they love nature and want to make sure it’s properly protected.”

“The Flathead River is one of North America’s last wild rivers and has some of the purest water in the world,” said Sierra Club BC spokesperson Sarah Cox. “The water is used by scientists as a benchmark by which to measure water quality in rivers around the world. The Flathead is much more than just another pretty valley and it deserves permanent protection.”

Parks Canada has included the Flathead Valley in its National Parks Action Plan but needs approval from the B.C. government before proceeding.

For more information visit www.flathead.ca