For a more in depth look at the information provided below, click here. 

Grasslands Landscape

• large, deep, steep-sided valleys of Thompson, North Thompson, Bonaparte and Fraser Rivers
• grasslands are extensive in valley bottoms and lower slopes
• ocky outcrops, talus slopes and gullies are an important feature of these grasslands  

Special Features

Upper (foreground) and Middle (background) Grasslands in Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area. B. Needham.

• 30 % in hot, dry Lower Grasslands with widely spaced plants and cryptogamic crust
• Cooler and moister Middle Grasslands have more plant cover with few big sagebrush
• Rough fescue dominates many communities in the moister Upper Grasslands and parklands
• Large area around Ashcroft as dry as grasslands in the South Okanagan
• Valley floor to sub-alpine elevations over only 15 kilometres at Cornwall Hill

Current State

• Heavy grazing in some areas since the 1850s
• Better range management introduced in the 1970s
• Fencing of pastures and rotation grazing is allowing native species to recover
• Large areas converted to hayfields or crops, extensive areas lost to urban development
• Some critical areas protected in parks and other conservation areas

A Species At Risk in Thompson-Pavilion

Red- and Blue-listed grassland elements in the Thompson-Pavilion:

*Red list: List of ecological communities, and indigenous species and subspecies that are extirpated, endangered or threatened in British Columbia.

**Blue list: List of ecological communities, and indigenous species and subspecies of special concern (formerly vulnerable) in British Columbia.

For more information on species at risk in BC, visit our SAR page.

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For a more in depth look at the Thompson-Pavilion , click here.