Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park
Encyclopedia
Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park is a provincial park
in British Columbia
, Canada
. Nearly the complete Stein River
watershed
from the mountains to the Fraser River
is protected in this park, though there are some areas of the watershed that were left out.
announced a moratorium on logging the Stein. After strong public support, and an annual music festival that raised awareness, the Stein Valley was finally protected as a park on November 22, 1995. It is jointly administered by the Lytton First Nation
and BC Parks.
The name "Stein" comes from the Nlaka'pamux word "Stagyn", which means "hidden place". This land is an important spiritual land for the First Nations in the area. There are a number of petroglyphs in the park. Some are easily visible, others must be sought out, and some are closely guarded secrets of the local people.
The park protects over 50 species of mammals, including mountain goat
, cougar, wolverine
, black bear
and grizzly bear
. Bird species include golden eagle
s, sharp shinned hawks, barred owl
s, pygmy owl
s, white-tailed ptarmigan
, pileated woodpecker
s and rufous hummingbird
s, as well as several species of chickadees, warblers and nuthatches. The Stein River contains Dolly Varden char, rainbow trout
and Rocky Mountain whitefish
, as well as steelhead trout, coho, pink and chinook salmon
.
across the river.
, or 185 kilometres west of Kamloops, British Columbia
.
Provincial park
A provincial park is a park under the management of a provincial or territorial government in Canada.While provincial parks are not the same as national parks, their workings are very similar...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Nearly the complete Stein River
Stein River
The Stein River is a tributary of the Fraser River in the Canadian province of British Columbia.The name is derived from the Nlaka'pamux word Stagyn, meaning "hidden place", referring to the fact that the size and extent of the Stein River valley is not very noticeable from the river's confluence...
watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
from the mountains to the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
is protected in this park, though there are some areas of the watershed that were left out.
History and conservation
In the 1980s there was a plan to log the valley. This was protested by the environmentalists who argued that this was the last untouched watershed in the southern Coast Mountains. In 1988 Fletcher ChallengeFletcher Challenge
Fletcher Challenge is a now defunct multinational corporation from New Zealand, formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper...
announced a moratorium on logging the Stein. After strong public support, and an annual music festival that raised awareness, the Stein Valley was finally protected as a park on November 22, 1995. It is jointly administered by the Lytton First Nation
Lytton First Nation
The Lytton First Nation is a First Nations government headquartered at Lytton in the Fraser Canyon region of the Canadian province of British Columbia...
and BC Parks.
The name "Stein" comes from the Nlaka'pamux word "Stagyn", which means "hidden place". This land is an important spiritual land for the First Nations in the area. There are a number of petroglyphs in the park. Some are easily visible, others must be sought out, and some are closely guarded secrets of the local people.
The park protects over 50 species of mammals, including mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
, cougar, wolverine
Wolverine
The wolverine, pronounced , Gulo gulo , also referred to as glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae . It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids...
, black bear
American black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
and grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
. Bird species include golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s, sharp shinned hawks, barred owl
Barred Owl
The Barred Owl is a large typical owl. It goes by many other names, including eight hooter, rain owl, wood owl, and striped owl, but is probably best known as the hoot owl.-Description:...
s, pygmy owl
Pygmy owl
Pygmy Owls are members of the genus Glaucidium. They belong to the typical owl family Strigidae, one of the two generally accepted living families of owls....
s, white-tailed ptarmigan
White-tailed Ptarmigan
The White-tailed Ptarmigan, Lagopus leucura, is the smallest bird in the grouse family. It is found in the mountains of the western United States, Canada and Alaska.-Description:...
, pileated woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
The Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow-sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...
s and rufous hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
The Rufous Hummingbird is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm long with a long, straight and very slender bill. The female is slightly larger than the male.-Description:...
s, as well as several species of chickadees, warblers and nuthatches. The Stein River contains Dolly Varden char, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
and Rocky Mountain whitefish
Mountain whitefish
The mountain whitefish is one of the most widely distributed salmonid fish of western North America. It is found from the Mackenzie River drainage in Northwest Territory, Canada south through western Canada and the northwestern USA in the Pacific, Hudson Bay and upper Missouri River basins to the...
, as well as steelhead trout, coho, pink and chinook salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
.
Recreation
This park has 150 km of backpacking trails and a number of wilderness camping areas. There are four cable crossings and a suspension bridgeSuspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
across the river.
Location
Located near Lytton, British ColumbiaLytton, British Columbia
Lytton in British Columbia, Canada, sits at the confluence of the Thompson River and Fraser River on the east side of the Fraser. The location has been inhabited by the Nlaka'pamux people for over 10,000 years, and is one of the earliest locations settled by non-natives in the Southern Interior of...
, or 185 kilometres west of Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...
.