Kingcome/Atlazi Rivers Purpose statement

PHYSICAL:The reserve River Valley. Mountains adjacent to the reserve rise to 1,700 m, but those at the headwaters of the Kingcome River are among the highest in the province. Proximity to the center of origin of the most ponderous glaciers in British Columbia resulted in pronounced glacial scouring, isostatic depression, and marine flooding, and probably in persistence of glacial environments until a relatively late date. The relatively broad, low-gradient valley of the lower Kingcome River and its peculiar wetlands are unusual in the Coast Mountains and undoubtedly reflect local glacial history.

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BIOLOGICAL:Fairly extensive stands of lodgepole pine in a fen-swamp environment are what first focused attention on this area. The northern unit shows zonation from a wet central fen-marsh through extensive hardhack swamps and boggy pine forest to better-drained sites supporting Sitka spruce, western hemlock and western redcedar. The southern unit has less open fen but equally large hardhack swamps, surrounded by lodegepole pine bog forest which gives way to mixed woods containing cottonwood, red alder, Sitka spruce and hemlock.
A great variety of wetland communities are present. Open wetlands may be dominated by sedges, cotton-grass, marsh cinquefoil, swamp horsetail or buckbean. Hardhack and Sitka sedge cover large treeless swamps. Treed swamp communities contain all or some of lodgepole pine, red alder, western redcedar, Sitka spruce, hardhack, huckleberries, blueberries, crab apple, black twinberry and salmonberry, and are always characterized by skunk cabbage and sometimes slough sedge and water-parsley.
The presence of both black and grizzly bears has been confirmed, but neither the vertebrate nor invertebrate fauna have been surveyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Threats:
As temperature continues to climb, the unique bogs, fens and wetlands may be altered or lost. It has also been projected that modes of disturbance, such as beetle infestations, may be accelerated due to favourable conditions for the pests.
There is an insufficient buffer zone between the logging area and the reserve, increasing the risk of wind throw within the reserve.
Forestry practices cause fringe effects on the reserve along with increased sedimentation in riparian areas, increased access and introduction of non-native species.
Harvesting in adjacent areas increases risk of trespass within the reserve boundaries.
Unauthorized fishing within reserve.
Lack of funding for aerial inspections of reserve boundaries and adjacent crown and private land.

Flora:
alder, red (Alnus rubra)
blueberry (Vaccinium sp.)
buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)
cinquefoil, marsh (Comarum palustre)
cotton-grass (Eriophorum sp.)
cottonwood, black (Populus trichocarpa ssp. trichocarpa)
crab apple, Pacific (Malus fusca)
hardhack (Spiraea douglasii ssp. douglasii)
hemlock, western (Tsuga heterophylla)
horsetail, swamp (Equisetum fluviatile)
huckleberry (Vaccinium sp.)
pine, lodgepole (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)
redcedar, western (Thuja plicata)
salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
sedge, Sitka (Carex sitchensis)
sedge, slough (Carex obnupta)
skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus)
spruce, Sitka (Picea sitchensis)
twinberry, black (Lonicera involucrata)
water-parsley, Pacific (Oenanthe sarmentosa)

Fauna:
Bear, American Black (Ursus americanus)
Bear, Grizzly (Ursus arctos)