Range Reference Areas of British Columbia

Range Reference Areas are permanent installations designed to monitor the impact of livestock, wildlife and other disturbances on rangelands throughout British Columbia. As rangelands and open grasslands closely overlap across the province, many of these monitoring sites are situated on natural grasslands. Range Reference Areas consist of fenced exclosures combined with permanent vegetation monitoring plots, but may also include abandoned grazing areas and sites which have never been grazed.

There are approximately 361 Range Reference Areas found throughout the province. Attempts have been made to establish Range Reference Areas in both open and forested range types where serious gaps exist in our knowledge of potential natural communities. More information about Range Reference Areas, including information relating to each forest district, at the Ministry of Forests and Range's Range Reference Areas of BC site.

For further information on changes to the BC Forest and Range Practices Act, which came into effect in 2004, please [click here].