Aerial Tour of the Columbia River

Buckle up and enjoy this breathtaking aerial tour of the mighty Columbia River. The journey starts at the river's headwaters at Columbia Lake in British Columbia and ends at the Pacific Ocean, west of Astoria, Oregon. The view takes you about a mile up (or 1.6 kilometers) while moving at approximately three times the speed of sound. You'll also get a brief stop at each dam along the way out to the ocean. So pull that seatbelt tight for this one-of-a-kind flight over one of the Pacific Northwest's most valuable and beloved resources.

Save the Frogs Day

Northern Leopard Frogs Returning to the Columbia Valley - photo by Larry Halverson 

The Northern Leopard Frog (Southern Mountain population), is designated endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. The population is threatened by low recruitment, disease, predation, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and introduced fish species. 

Amphibian populations are declining around the world and species extinctions have occurred rapidly even in protected areas. Point Pelee National Park lost a minimum of 9 species of amphibians and reptiles during the 20th century. The Northern Leopard Frog is no longer found in Kootenay and is now endangered in both British Columbia and Alberta. In the 1990s, researchers conducted extensive surveys in southeastern B.C. and found frogs at only a single location, near Creston. In an attempt to prevent them from disappearing in BC altogether the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program recently reintroduced Northern Leopard Frogs at Bummer's Flats, near Wasa, B.C. and this year the Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners with funding from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund are reintroducing the Leopard Frog into historical habitat  found in the marshes north of Radium Hot Springs.

Read more about Returning the Leopard Frog to the Columbia Wetlands

Friends of Kootenay Blog

 The Friends of Kootenay National Park have something to Crow About!

It is their new Blog - with stories about a cougar and bighorn sheep falling from a cliff to the announcement of a newly listed endangered species. You can read the results from the resent owl survey and learn about Parks Canada’s biggest fault. Entries are always short, with photos and occasionally videos and audio clips.

Look for new posts about which flowers are blooming, notes from the past and updates about park research and monitoring.

Go to http://www.friendsofkootenay.ca/blog. Keep updated through RSS Feed of Google Reader. Subscribe on-line to receive new entries when they are posted.

Canada Geese Pairing UP

Canada Goose displaying it’s alert, wary of danger body language - Photo by Larry Halverson

The Canada geese have started  “pairing up” for nesting. And the Columbia Valley is sounding quite musical with lots of  “honk-a-lonk” filling the air. If you listen closely you can distinguish between the male’s lower “honk” and the female’s higher “hink’.