Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park
Provincial park protecting Rocky Mountain ecological integrity.
Tucked into the southeastern corner of British Columbia, Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park safeguards a narrow slice of the Rocky Mountains. Created by order-in-council on July 13, 1995, the park covers 10,921.5 hectares of high peaks and forested valleys within the Flathead River watershed. It sits beside Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and Glacier National Park in Montana, which together make up the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.
For generations, both wildlife and early peoples used the park’s trails and passes to travel between the Flathead Basin and the Great Plains. The Kootenai aboriginal people, for example, crossed South Kootenay Pass to trade and hunt buffalo. Conservationists had pushed to protect the Flathead River watershed since 1917, arguing the area would complement the adjacent peace park. In 1986, the region became a provincial Recreation Area, and after review under the Protected Areas Strategy and Commission of Resources and Environment process, it was upgraded to a “Class A” provincial park on July 12, 1995.
The park preserves critical habitat for a transboundary grizzly bear population that is one of the last self-sustaining in the region, as well as a winter range for mountain goats and bighorn sheep. It also shelters rare plants found nowhere else in British Columbia, including the yellow monkey flower (Mimulus luteus) and the pigmy poppy (Papaver pygmaeum). The park lies near the 120th meridian west, which marks the actual easternmost point of British Columbia.
Quick Facts
- Iucn Category
- II
- Location
- East Kootenay, British Columbia, Canada
- Nearest Town
- Waterton Park, Alberta
- Area Ha
- 10,921.5
- Designation
- Class A Provincial Park
- Established
- July 13, 1995
- Governing Body
- BC Parks
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The trails and passes of the Akamina-Kishinena were used for many years by early peoples and wildlife travelling between the Flathead Basin and the abundant Great Plains. The Kootenai aboriginal people travelled through South Kootenay Pass to reach the plains for trading and buffalo hunting. Since 1917, conservationists have advocated for the preservation of the Flathead River watershed in the southeastern corner of the province, noting the park would complement and be worthy of adding to the adjacent Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.
Reader's Guide
Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park was established on July 13, 1995, upgrading a 1986 provincial Recreation Area to full 'Class A' park status under the Protected Areas Strategy and Commission of Resources and Environment process. The park encompasses high peaks and broad forested valleys in the Flathead River watershed, preserving critical habitat for the last self-sustaining grizzly bear population in the United States, as well as a winter range for goats and big horn sheep. It also protects rare plant species such as Mimulus luteus (yellow monkey flower) and Papaver pygmaeum (pigmy poppy), found nowhere else in British Columbia. The summit of Akamina Pass, on the border with Alberta, marks the easternmost point in British Columbia. The park's conservation significance lies in its role within the larger Waterton Glacier International Peace Park complex, protecting a corridor used historically by Indigenous peoples and wildlife.
Did You Know?
- The park was established by order-in-council on July 13, 1995.
- Rare plant species Mimulus luteus (yellow monkey flower) and Papaver pygmaeum (pigmy poppy) are found nowhere else in BC.
More in IUCN Category II 1-24
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