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The Rocky Mountain Forest District is over 2.6 million hectares in size and
stretches from Parson in the north to the BC/Montana border in the south. With an
annual harvest of over 1.6 million cubic metres, forestry is an important economic
driver in the region. Crown range also provides around 60, 000 AUM for grazing of
livestock, another important economy in the area. The climate of the area is generally
characterised by hot, very dry summers with cool winters and generally light snowfall
although this changes with elevation. Tree species in the area range from subalpine
larch and Engelmann spruce in the high elevation areas to the classic western larch
and ponderosa pine forests of the low country. The district is composed of two
timber supply areas (TSA). The Cranbrook and Invermere TSAs
Cranbrook TSA
The Cranbrook TSA covers approximately 1.24 million hectares. The Cranbrook
TSA is bounded by the Skookumchuck Valley to the north, the Canada-U.S. border to
the south, the Alberta border to the east, and the southern Purcell Mountains
height-of-land to the west. Three major physiographic regions characterize the
varied terrain of the Cranbrook TSA: the Rocky Mountains in the east, the Purcell
Mountains in the west, and the Rocky Mountain Trench in the middle. The trench
varies in width from five kilometers in the north to 27 kilometers near Cranbrook.
The western side of the Trench features irregular, comparatively low foothills
gradually rising until they merge with the extremely rugged backbone of the Purcell
Mountains. In contrast, the eastern side of the trench is characterized by an abrupt
rise and continuous wall of mountains broken only by tributary valleys.
The Cranbrook TSA includes the cities of Cranbrook, Kimberley and Fernie,
and the smaller communities of Sparwood and Elkford. Total population is around
50,000 people. Some small, unincorporated communities and a number of rural residences
are dispersed throughout the TSA. The Cranbrook TSA offers many and varied opportunities
for recreation and tourism, due to its lakes, parks and spectacular mountains. The
area is well traveled as major highways provide access to Alberta and the national
and provincial parks in the Canadian Rockies. Within the Cranbrook TSA, there are
the Akamina-Kishinena, Elk Lakes, and Gilnockie Provincial Parks as well as numerous
smaller parks and recreation areas and portions of the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy,
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park, and Top of the World Provincial Park.
Invermere TSA
The Invermere TSA is bounded by the Cranbrook TSA to the south, the Golden
TSA and TFL 14 to the north, the Rocky Mountains / Alberta border to the east,
and the Purcell Mountains to the west. Between these two mountain ranges lies the
Rocky Mountain Trench, a broad, flat valley with numerous rivers and wetlands.
The Columbia River flows north through the trench from Columbia Lake, creating a
large, complex wetland ecosystem called the Columbia Wetlands. The TSA includes
one national park (Kootenay) and eleven provincial parks: Mount Assiniboine, Height
of the Rockies, Top of the World, Purcell Wilderness Conservancy, Bugaboo Glacier,
Windermere Lake, Whiteswan Lake, Premier Lake, Canal Flats, James Chabot, and Dry Gultch.
The major population centers in the TSA are Invermere, Windermere, Canal Flats,
and Edgewater, while smaller communities include Radium Hot Springs, Wilmer, Fairmont
Hot Springs, and Parsons. Total population is around 10,000. Canadian Forest Products
currently operates out of Radium Hot Springs, while Tembec Industries’ main local
presence is in Canal Flats. The Invermere TSA offers many and varied opportunities
for recreation and tourism, due to its lakes, parks and spectacular mountains.
The area provides a wide range of front- and back-country recreational opportunities
including mountain biking, hiking, climbing, fishing, camping, wildlife viewing,
whitewater boating, heli-skiing, snowmobiling, ski mountaineering, cross country skiing,
and downhill skiing. The TSA also contains significant water resources. Numerous
watersheds are classified as either domestic or community watersheds.
In addition, many unique species of wildlife abound in the Rocky Mountain Forest District.
Ungulates include Rocky Mountain Elk, white-tail and mule deer, Rocky Mountain Bighorn
Sheep and Wyoming moose. Rarer species of birds such as the Long-billed Curlew, Flammulated
Owl, Lewis Woodpecker and Williamson's Sapsucker make this area their home. Unique
herptiles include the Rubber boa, Tailed frog and Painted Turtle.
The Rocky Mountain Forest District is administered out of the head office in
Cranbrook and a field office in Invermere.
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